The Clinical Course and Prognostic Factors to Medical Treatment of Graves' Disease in Children and Adolescents

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to observe clinical course including remission rate during antithyroid medication for Graves' disease in children and adolescents, and to evaluate factors related to remission. METHODS: This is a retrospective study of 42 patients (8 males), who were diagnosed at pediatric endocrine clinic in Chungbuk National University Hospital from January 1994 to December 2009. They were treated with antithyroid drugs only and were followed for at least 2 years. Their average age at diagnosis was 11.5 +/- 3.4 years, and average follow-up period was 4.5 +/- 2.2 years. RESULTS: At diagnosis, 64.3% of the subjects were in puberty, 87.8% showed goiter which was significantly prevalent in females (P < 0.05), and 38.9% manifested exophthalmos. Thyrotropin receptor antibody was positive in all the patients, whereas anti-microsomal antibody was positive in 88.1% and anti-thyroglobulin antibody in 81.0%. Twenty two (52.4%) patients remitted with 4.3 +/- 2.5 years' medication, and the others were continuously medicated at the last follow-up of 4.8 +/- 1.8 years. By quartile estimate for the remission time, 25 percentile was remitted at 3.7 years, 50 percentile at 7.1 years, and 75 percentile at 9.2 years. Among the factors for the remission, initial thyroid stimulating hormone level was significantly lower in non-remission group compared to remission group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: In pediatric Graves' disease treated only antithyroid drugs, the time required for remission is so long that it is necessary to establish fixed medication period and to choose definitive treatment modality as in adult Graves' disease through multicenter clinical study.