SUBTOTAL THYROIDECTOMY

CHANGES IN THE THYROID AUTOANTIBODY LEVEL FOLLOWING SURGERY & RADIOIODINE THERAPY

Abstract

Objective: Autoimmunity is common in thyroid diseases. Antibody
level is affected after subtotal thyroidectomy and radio iodine treatment. We studied microsomal &
thyroglobulin autoantibody level in patients with toxic diffuse goitre and multinodular goitre before and
after surgery & radio iodine to determine effects of therapy. Design: Prospective study. Settings:
Postgraduate Medical Institute, Lahore. Material & Methods: Three serial blood samples from each of a
total of 30 seropositive patients ( 15 of multinodular goitre, undergoing thyroid surgery. 15 of toxic diffuse
goitre receiving radioiodine) were analyzed for microsomal & thyroglobulin autoantibody using tagged red
cell haemagglutination technique. Results: We found a female preponderance in thyroid diseases. The
microsomal & thyroglobulin autoantibody level in patients with multinodular goitre, decreased gradually and
progressively after subtotal thyroidectomy while subjects with toxic diffuse goitre receiving radioiodine
showed a rise in antibody level as compared to pretreatment period. The change became evident just after
10 days of therapy. Conclusion: The autoimmune status of thyroid disease patients is altered after subtotal
thyroidectomy & radioiodine therapy. The autoantibody levels after subtotal thyroidectomy are gradually
decreased while after radioiodine therapy the antibody levels have been found to increase.