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What Does This Thyroid Hormone Test Finding Indicate?
HI my question is about thyroid. Female, 60 year old, sudden onset of tiredness, constipation, dry skin for several months when under a lot of stress. TSH test normal, Free T3 normal, Free T4 test normal. TPO negative, and Thyroglob mildly elevated (although test say less than 1 norm, mine was at 24) Do I need to continue to see if Reverse T3 and Reverse T4 would be telling more information about use or causes of any disturbance? And what does 24 on the Thyroglob signify?
Sat, 24 Apr 2021
Hi,
The diagnostic and prognostic evaluation role of rT3 and rT4 has not been established yet fully, it is still a controversial issue. However, one thing is very clear, that in routine testing of thyroid functions, rT3 is not much helpful and therefore should not be ordered ordinarily. There is no clinical basis for use of T3 and rT3 ratio for assessing routine thyroid functions in non-critical patients.
Level of rT3 may be somewhat helpful in very critically ill patients or elderly persons. The diagnostic/prognostic value of rT3 may be only in non-thyroidal illness syndrome or in patients who are on amiodarone. Also if the unit of your thyroglob level is nanogram, then it is in normal range (Normal being 3-40 nanogram).
Take care. Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Satnarain Bansal, General & Family Physician
The diagnostic and prognostic evaluation role of rT3 and rT4 has not been established yet fully, it is still a controversial issue. However, one thing is very clear, that in routine testing of thyroid functions, rT3 is not much helpful and therefore should not be ordered ordinarily. There is no clinical basis for use of T3 and rT3 ratio for assessing routine thyroid functions in non-critical patients.
Level of rT3 may be somewhat helpful in very critically ill patients or elderly persons. The diagnostic/prognostic value of rT3 may be only in non-thyroidal illness syndrome or in patients who are on amiodarone. Also if the unit of your thyroglob level is nanogram, then it is in normal range (Normal being 3-40 nanogram).
Take care. Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Satnarain Bansal, General & Family Physician
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