Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1995 Sep;41(3):238-40.

Hypothyroid women need more thyroxine when pregnant

I R McDougall  1 , N Maclin
Affiliations
  • PMID: 7650501

Hypothyroid women need more thyroxine when pregnant

I R McDougall et al. J Fam Pract. 1995 Sep.

Abstract

Background: There have been several published reports that hypothyroid women do not need to increase the dose of levothyroxine when they become pregnant.

Methods: For this study, 20 pregnant women who were hypothyroid as a result of surgical thyroidectomy, radio-iodine therapy, or combination therapy were followed for the duration of their pregnancies. These patients were seen regularly, and evaluated clinically and by measurement of free thyroxine (FT4) and thyrotropin (thyroid-stimulating hormone [TSH]).

Results: The amount of levothyroxine that was adequate in the nonpregnant state was found to be inadequate during pregnancy. The dosage of levothyroxine given to these patients was increased by an average of 36 micrograms and returned to earlier levels after delivery. There was considerable individual variation in the requirement for additional levothyroxine during pregnancy.

Conclusions: For hypothyroid pregnant patients, thyroid function tests, especially TSH, are recommended during each trimester to determine the need for additional levothyroxine.

PubMed Disclaimer

LinkOut - more resources