Potential Risks and Benefits of Desiccated Thyroid Extract for the Treatment of Hypothyroidism: A Systematic Review
Authors' conclusion
Most studies of DTE treatment are hampered by an inferior design, and data on long-term effects and side effects are lacking. Two RCTs could not demonstrate any difference in QoL or symptom scores when comparing DTE with other thyroid hormone substitutions.
Study context
- Population
- Adults with hypothyroidism; 6 electronic databases searched up to January 6, 20249 nonrandomized studies of interventions (NRSIs) · 2 randomized clinical trials (RCTs) · 3 case reports
- Comparison
- Desiccated thyroid extract (DTE) vs LT4 or combination liothyronine + LT4
- Outcome
- QoL
Methodological detailsqualitative synthesis
- Qualitative synthesis
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
- RCTs: no difference between treatments in quality of life (QoL)
- NRSIs: QoL assessments in favour of DTE
- Overall quality of evidence moderate to very low
Further pooled results
Symptoms
- RCTs: no difference between treatments in symptom scores
- NRSIs: symptom assessments in favour of DTE
Heart rate, body weight, HDL-C
- DTE may cause increased heart rate, lower body weight and lower HDL-C vs other regimens; results conflicting
Original publication
Potential Risks and Benefits of Desiccated Thyroid Extract for the Treatment of Hypothyroidism: A Systematic Review. Thyroid. Published 11 April 2024. doi:10.
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