Treatment of Nontoxic Goiter with Sodium Liothyronine

Administration of 75 μg of sodium liothyronine per day for 12 weeks resulted in a measurable decrease in the size of nontoxic goiters in about half of 46 patients. No nodules disappeared during these short courses of thyroid-suppressive therapy; in most cases, decrease in goiter size was relatively slow, and measurable changes were often not observed until after 8 weeks of therapy. Suppression of thyroidal iodine uptake or of endogenous hormone secretion was not necessary in order to obtain reductions in goiter size. This suggests the possibility that treatment of goiter with thyroid hormones could be reduced to a simple routine by using moderate doses for all patients and by omitting iodine uptake studies and determinations of protein-bound iodine.