Year: 2015
Type: article
Abstract: We live in a culture that is busy and constantly on the go. With little time to spare, often symptoms of an alteration in bodily function are pushed to the side and attribute to the stress of everyday life. With symptoms including nausea, fatigue, weight loss, nervousness, and irritability, one may be more inclined to disregard these symptoms, only to attribute them to effects of a busy lifestyle. The presentation of the previously listed symptoms can formulate a medical diagnosis of hyperthyroidism. According to the American Thyroid Association, 20 million Americans will develop some type of alteration in thyroid function throughout their lifetime, and 60 percent of those individuals will go undiagnosed. When a diagnosis is given, drug treatment options are limited. The two most common drug therapies include Propithiouracil and Methamazole (Rosove, 1977). Although drug therapies are beneficial in the treatment of hyperthyroidism, adverse affects from drug therapy can occur. A more serious adverse affect of drug therapy would be Agranulocytosis. Agranulocytosis is condition in which the bone marrow is not producing adequate amounts of neutrophils. With hyperthyroidism, the prescribed antithyroid drug therapy, suppresses the bodies ability to produce mature white blood cells, causing a drug-induced agranulocytosis. “Propylthiouracil and methimazole are used widely in the treatment of hyperthyroid disorders. The most important complication of the use of these drugs is depression of the neutrophilic granulocyte count.
Author: Elizabeth Spears
Institution: Otterbein University
Language: English
Subfield: Hematology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2341783543