Pharmacotherapy for thyroid nodules - A systematic review and meta-analysis
Pharmacotherapy for thyroid nodules - A systematic review and meta-analysis
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DOI:
10.1016/s0889-8529(02)00010-5
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发表时间:
2002-09-01
影响因子:
4.5
通讯作者:
Clar, C
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
Richter, B;Neises, G;Clar, C
Clinicians use levothyroxine to supress thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) production and arrest growth or reduce the size of thyroid nodules. Clinical trials testing the efficacy of this intervention report conflicting results. To determine the impact of levothyroxine suppressive therapy on nodule size and growth, thyroid hormone levels, and adverse effects. We searched the Cochrane Library (issue 4, 2001) and Medline (1966 to October, 2001) using a strategy to identify clinical trials and thyroid nodules. We examined book chapters, editorials, and narrative reviews and the reference lists from eligible studies. We included randomized controlled trials that studied the effects of TSH suppression using levothyroxine on benign solitary thyroid nodules, Two reviewers independently selected the studies, evaluated their methodologic quality, and extracted data about participants, interventions, and outcomes using a standardized form. We found nine studies (596 patients) relevant to our question. Thyroxine and TSH changed significantly after levothyroxine suppressive therapy indicating good compliance with the intervention. Thyroxine suppressive therapy led to a nonsignificant improvement in the rate of response to therapy (defined as greater than or equal to 50% reduction in thyroid nodule volume by ultrasonography) (pooled relative risk 1.83, 95% confidence interval 0.90-3.73). Studies rarely observed adverse effects. TSH suppression therapy inhibits solitary thyroid nodule growth and reduces nodule size. Uncertainty about the impact of this therapy on outcomes that are important to patients leaves considerable doubts about the wisdom of using thyroxine suppressive therapy. We need larger and longer high-quality studies assessing the effects of TSH suppression therapy on patient-oriented outcomes such as thyroid cancer incidence, quality of life, long-term adverse effects, and costs.