Study of Optimal Replacement of Thyroxine in the Elderly

Summary

All patients with hypothyroidism are currently treated the same way, regardless of age. The investigators want to look at whether people aged 80 years or older would benefit from being treated with lower doses of levothyroxine. There are three reasons why the investigators think this could be beneficial, but this is not yet proven:

1. Some older people with hypothyroidism may have few symptoms.
2. Doctors look at the amount of Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) in the patient's blood to decide the dose of Thyroxine received. The standard "normal" TSH range used to determine the dose of levothyroxine is from younger people. The investigators wonder whether this is appropriate to all age ranges particularly as the investigators know that older people may normally have higher TSH values.
3. If TSH levels are too low there may be a slight increased risk of problems such as brittle bones or an irregular heartbeat.

The best way to test whether older people benefit from lower doses of levothyroxine is by a large clinical trial. Before the investigators can do this, the investigators need to run a smaller clinical trial called a "pilot study" (SORTED 1) to examine whether this is practical and acceptable. The pilot study aims to recruit 50 patients with hypothyroidism aged 80 or above.

Participants will be randomly allocated to receive their routine or lower dose of levothyroxine. Follow-up will be conducted over approximately 25 weeks.

The investigators also propose a qualitative study (SORTED 2) to specifically understand patient's willingness to take part in a RCT and participant's experience of the intervention.

Finally, the investigators propose a retrospective cohort study of 400 treated hypothyroid patients aged 80 years or more registered in 2008 in Primary Care Practices with the aim of studying outcomes after 4 years. The cohort study will collect data required to inform a sample size calculation for a future full study where the primary outcome will be 4 year mortality.

Conditions

• Hypothyroidism

Interventions

DRUG

Levothyroxine

Participants in the lower dose arm of the study will receive a lower dose of levothyroxine than their usual dose

DRUG

Levothyroxine

Participants in the standard dose of treatment will receive their usual dose of levothyroxine

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute for Health Research, United Kingdom

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• Newcastle-upon-Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Salman Razvi · Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

80 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2012-08-31

Primary Completion

2014-08-31

Completion

2014-08-31

Countries

• United Kingdom

Study Locations