RESULTS OF LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP AFTER COMPENSATED FIXED-DOSE THERAPY FOR THYROTOXICOSIS

To evaluate the effects of simple compensated fixed-dose iodine-131 therapy for thyrotoxicosis, the long-term results for 74 patients treated with a fixed dose of iodine-131 ranging from 5 to 12 mCi (185 to 444 MBq) were evaluated in the first 2 years of a trial. The dose selected was loosely based on the gross size of the thyroid gland. Routine antithyroid drug therapy was given for a minimum of 3 months after iodine-131 therapy. The mean (+/- SD) duration of follow-up was 74.5 +/- 42 months. The results indicated that roughly 25% of patients treated in this way will become hypothyroid after 5 years and that 85% are cured (need no further therapy during the follow-up period) using a single dose of iodine-131. Of those cured using a single iodine-131 dose, 81% were no longer receiving drugs after 6 months and 85% after 1 year. Such a regimen seems currently to be among the best available where prolonged periods of medication-free euthyroidism after therapy are sought

PHARMACODYNAMIC OPTIMIZATION OF WARFARIN THERAPY

A pharmacodynamic (E(max)) model for optimizing warfarin initiation had previously been reported. This study assessed the validity of this model, adjusted further for age in both the initial cohort and another cohort distinct from that used for the formulation of the model. Thirty-one patients undergoing oral anticoagulation for mainly cardiac indications were recruited from Kuala Lumpur. Thirty-four patients undergoing oral anticoagulation for deep vein thrombosis were recruited from Cambridge. They were studied for their anticoagulant response to the initiation of warfarin. The former were intuitively dosed after a 2-day loading of 10 mg warfarin/d. The latter all were commenced on warfarin via a standard 4-day induction protocol of Fennerty et al that allows early estimation of the required maintenance dose. The actual maintenance doses in both cohorts were compared with their predicted doses on the initiation of therapy that was calculated both from this model and from the induction protocol of Fennerty et al. The third day's international normalized ratio and age combination was additive in terms of their influence on the maintenance dose. The predictive model in both cohorts returned similar results and explained at least two thirds of the interindividual variability in warfarin maintenance dose requirements, whereas the induction protocol of Fennerty et al explained only one third of this interindividual variability. Use of this model in the form of the included nomogram should be able to decrease both the occurrence of either under- or overanticoagulation as well as the time taken to initiate treatment and decide the correct maintenance dose during the initiation of oral anticoagulation with warfarin in hospitals. A prospective evaluation of the nomogram is recommended

DIGOXIN THERAPEUTICS - STRAIGHTENING OUT THE FACTS

This article is essentially a review of the pharmacokinetic rationale behind digoxin therapeutics. It covers the various approaches to digoxin therapeutics including the therapeutic endpoint and the use of plasma concentrations of digoxin, the various problems involved in dosage design (particularly pharmacokinetic variability), prescribing aids (and their total impact on the variability in plasma concentrations achieved), and finally, the alternative use of blood-level data to separate and identify the variation in absorption-disposition from the variation in the relationship of plasma concentration to effec