High dose radioactive iodine therapy and its short term adverse effects

Abstract

The disorders of the thyroid gland are on the rise. Radioactive iodine (RAI- I-131) is now used for the treatment of hyperthyroidism and thyroid carcinoma. This helps in the destruction of the follicular cells and radiation help in annulling the cancer cells. RAI has many adverse effects; the short-term effects include – gastrointestinal, salivary dysfunction, and thyroiditis, and long-term adverse effects - secondary carcinomas. The facilities for giving radioactive iodine therapy (RAIT) are less in the state of Kerala; also the adverse effects of RAIT are less studied in our population.To evaluate the pattern of short-term adverse effects following high doses of radioactive iodine therapy in patients with thyroid carcinomaThis study was designed as a prospective observational study conducted on patients attending the Department of Nuclear Medicine for high-dose radioiodine therapy in a tertiary care center. Patients were followed up for any occurrences of adverse effects for six months. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 18 and an independent t-test was done to find the association between dose and adverse drug reactions (ADR).The study comprised 75 participants, of which, 59(79%) were females. The adverse reactions were reported by 59 participants (79%). Loss of taste and smell in 48 participants (64%), xerostomia in 30 patients (40%) were reported. After one month of RAIT, these subsided. The association of dose vs ADR was found to be significant (p=0.008). The complete blood counts (CBC) were done pre-and post- RAIT showed a statistically significant decrease in all parameters (p=0.00 each).Radioactive iodine produces short-term adverse effects which are self-limiting. However, there is a need to identify and manage it for better treatment and patient compliance.