ABSTRACT
The article consists in two case reports of eldery patients who developed hyperthyroidism after cadexomer iodine treatment of small leg ulcers. The first was an 87-year-old woman who developed anxiety, hoarseness and tachycardia after five months treatment of a 12 cm2 leg ulcer with 350 g cadexomer iodine. Her serum level of free thyroxine (FT4) was 23.1 pmol/l (normal range, 11.7-28.0), and that of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) 0.01 mIU/l (normal range, 0.1-3.0). She had had a nodular goitre for thirty years. The second was an 86- year-old woman who developed depression and confusion after three months' treatment of an 8 cm2 leg ulcer with 170 g cadexomere iodine. Her serum level of FT4 was 30.0 pmol/l, and that of TSH 0.005 mIU/l. Both patients underwent Tc99m pertechnetate scanning and iodine uptake measurement with a view to treating the hyperthyroidism with radio-iodine. However, as iodine uptake was inhibited in both cases, radio-iodine treatment was impossible, and symptomatic treatment and antithyroid drugs had to be used. Thus, it is concluded that topical treatment with cadexomer iodine can induce hyperthyroidism difficult to manage clinically as the treatment options are limited, which should be borne in mind when cadexomer iodine treatment is considered.