Triiodothyronine-predominant Graves' disease in childhood: detection and therapeutic implications (original) (raw)

ObjectiveTo assess in a pediatric population, the clinical characteristics and management of triiodothyronine-predominant Graves' disease (T3-P-GD), a rare condition well known in adults, but not previously described in children.DesignWe conducted a university hospital-based observational study.MethodsAll patients with GD followed for more than 1 year between 2003 and 2013 (n=60) were included. T3-P-GD (group I) was defined as high free T3 (fT3) concentration (>8.0 pmol/l) associated with a normal free thyroxine (fT4) concentration and undetectable TSH more than 1 month after the initiation of antithyroid drug (ATD) treatment. Group II contained patients with classical GD without T3-P-GD.ResultsEight (13%) of the patients were found to have T3-P-GD, a median of 6.3 (3.0–10.5) months after initial diagnosis (n=4) or 2.8 (2.0–11.9) months after the first relapse after treatment discontinuation (n=4). At GD diagnosis, group I patients were more likely to be younger (6.8 (4.3–11....