FELINE HYPERTHYROIDISM: EFFICACY OF TREATMENT USING VOLUMETRIC ANALYSIS FOR RADIOIODINE DOSE CALCULATION

Hyperthyroidism was diagnosed in 80 cats with thyroid scintigraphy using technetium pertechnetate. These cats were subsequently treated with radioiodine using a modified fixed dose method based on the volume of hyperfunctioning thyroid tissue calculated from the pertechnetate scans. The medical records and thyroid scintigrams were evaluated retrospectively. Follow-up was obtained on the cats to evaluate treatment success. Several parameters were evaluated in an attempt to identify a difference between treatment success and failure. Cats that failed to become euthyroid after one dose of radioiodine had a significantly higher pretreatment serum thyroxine level, had a significantly larger volume of hyperfunctioning thyroid tissue on scintigrams, and cats receiving oral versus intravenous radioiodine were over represented. Based on our results we conclude: 1) the administration of a dose of radioiodine based solely on the volume of hyperfunctioning thyroid tissue as estimated from the pertechnetate scan may be inadequate for those patients with extremely elevated serum thyroxine levels or large thyroid glands, and 2) oral administration of radioiodine is not recommended for the treatment of feline hyperthyroidism.