Abstract

Introduction: Graves’ disease (GD) is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism. Antithyroid hormone drugs (ATD) and radioactive iodine (RAI) are two popular treatments. Choosing treatment methods may lead to different outcomes of treatment.  

Objective: The study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effect between the ATD and the RAI on health utility as an aspect of quality of life (QOL).

Method:  A prospective study was conducted.  A total of 182 patients with GD were enrolled in the study (151 and 31 patients treated with ATD and RAI, respectively) in Damnoen Saduak Hospital, Thailand, between July 2014 and July 2020. The health utility was measured using the EuroQol (EQ-5D). The comparison of the treatment outcomes between each treatment modality was made using the independent sample t-test.

Result: After two years of the following periods, the patients in the RAI treatment group showed a significant improvement in the QOL than that of the ATD group; in terms of the utility score (p=0.034) and remission rate (p < 0.01).

Conclusion: RAI demonstrated a better improvement of the health utility than ATD. RAI is suitable for first line treatment strategy for severe GD.

Keywords: Health Utility; Graves’ Disease; Anti-Thyroid Drugs; Radioactive Iodine; Quality of Life

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