Serum concentrations of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in antithyroid drug-induced agranulocytosis

Use of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in the treatment of methimazole-induced agranulocytosis: a case report

A comparison of this case to previously published reports suggests that granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor may be associated with improved prognosis in severe antithyroid drug‐induced neutropenia, and that weight‐based doses could be an appropriate strategy.

Antithyroid drugs induced agranulocytosis and multiple myeloma: case report and general considerations

Antithyroid drugs as thionamides are largely used in the treatment of the thyrotoxicosis. Side effects were reported in less than 10% of the cases, especially hematological, hepatic or skin allergies. One of the most severe manifestations is agranulocytosis, probably based on an immune mechanism that is exacerbated by the presence of the thyroid autoimmune disease itself. If the presence of the severe leucopenia is actually an epiphenomenon of a preexisting hematological disturbance as multiple myeloma is debated. The myeloma may also be correlated with an autoimmune predisposition. We present the case of a 56 years old female patient diagnosed with Graves’ disease, who developed agranulocytosis after 8 months of therapy with thiamazole. Two months after antithyroid drug’s withdrawal, the granulocytes number increased and she received therapy with radioiodine. Two years later she came back for diffuse bone pain that turned out to be caused by a multiple myeloma, confirmed by bone marrow biopsy. It might be a connection between the severe form of leucopenia that the patient developed and the medullar malignancy.

Radioiodine treatment in pediatric Graves' disease and thyroid carcinoma

Graves' disease (GD) is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism in pediatric patients. Most pediatric thyroid cancer is differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). The two diseases can be treated using different methods, such as antithyroid drug, radioactive iodine (RAI), and surgery for GD and surgery and RAI for DTC. RAI can be used to treat pediatric GD and DTC. In the article, we reviewed the RAI application in pediatric GD and DTC.

The relation of initial methimazole dose to the incidence of methimazole-induced agranulocytosis in patients with Graves' disease

The relation between the incidence of methimazole (methylmercaptoimidazole; MMI)-induced agranulocytosis and initial MMI dose was evaluated in a group of 514 patients with Graves' disease who were treated between 1995 and 2005. One hundred and forty-six (28.40%) patients had received an initial dose of 30 mg MMI and 277 (53.89%) patients had been treated with 15 mg MMI. Nine patients (1.75%) developed agranulocytosis due to MMI treatment. Six (4.11%) of 146 patients who received an initial dose of 30 mg MMI, two (4.54%) of 44 patients given an initial dose of 20 mg MMI, and one (0.36%) of 277 patients given an initial dose of 15 mg MMI developed agranulocytosis. There was a statistically significant difference in agranulocytosis incidence between patients receiving an initial dose of 30 mg MMI and those who received an initial dose of 15 mg. Although 8 (4.10%) of 195 patients in the high-dose group (20 mg or higher) developed agranulocytosis, only 1 (0.31%) of 319 patients in the low-dose group (15 mg or lower) did. In conclusion, the incidence of agranulocytosis with low-dose MMI therapy was ten times lower than that of the high-dose regimen.