ATA 2014 Flashcards
How long should a patient with Grave’s disease be treated with methimazole?
12 - 24 months.
Stop if TSH is normal at that time.
Which is bigger: TR alpha or TR beta?
TR beta
What percentage of people are ‘cured’ of hyperthyroidism with radioactive iodine therapy?
80%
Pre-operative potassium iodide should be given to Grave’s disease patients
True or false?
True
Does maternal TSH cross the placenta?
No
Does maternal T4 cross the placenta?
Yes - in low amounts.
Gestational thyrotoxicosis is secondary to elevation of which hormone?
Beta hcg.
How much PTU is 10 mg of methimazole equivalent to?
100 - 150 mg
Which crosses the placenta more: T3 or T4?
T4
Is levothyroxine alone or combination thyroid hormone therapy preferable in pregnancy?
Levothyroxine alone.
Approximately how much maternal T4 crosses the placenta?
About one third of T4.
What’s the starting dose of levothyroxine in infants?
10 - 15 mcg/kg/day
What percentage of the world birth population undergo newborn hypothyroidism screening?
30%
Should you biopsy a thyroid nodule that is less than 1 cm?
No.
Not even if looks suspicious
Should you do a lateral neck dissection without doing a biopsy of the lymph nodes?
No.
If you can’t - then at least do a neck ultrasound to look at the lymph nodes.
If you see suspicious lymph nodes which imaging studies should you do?
Neck ultrasound for surgical planning.
Lymph node survey
If a differentiated thyroid cancer / highly suspicious nodule is less than 1 cm in an old patient - can it be followed?
Yes - in selective cases.
If a thyroid mass (biopsy proven cancer) is fixed to structures in the neck should the vocal cords be looked at prior to surgery?
Yes
Patients with differentiated thyroid cancer > 1 cm and < 4 cm with no extra thyroidal extension and no lymph nodes - which surgery would to do?
Lobectomy/hemithyroidectomy
Near-total/total thyroidectomy
What are the approximate doses of radioactive iodine for:
- Remnant ablation
- Adjuvant treatment
- Treatment of distant metastasis
- Remnant ablation (30 mCi)
- Adjuvant therapy (30 - 100 mCi depending on risk)
- Treatment of distant metastasis (100 mCi or more)
Generally do surgeons use pharmacological DVT prophylaxis perioperatively for thyroidectomies?
No - bleeding risk (life threatening neck hematoma) too great.
Which germline mutation is associated with medullary thyroid cancer?
RET mutation.
Once you have reached 600 mCi of radioactive iodine what’s the likelihood that you will be able to cure the patient with radioactive iodine?
Very low likelihood.
What’s one the most commonly reported mutations reported in differentiated thyroid cancer?
BRAF
What iodide transporter - other than pendrin - causes iodide efflux from thyroid cells?
Anoctamin 1