Oral Thyroxine

Excerpt

To the editor: Sawin and colleagues (1) conclude in their recent article, "In the meantime [until the thyroxine content is known to be as stated], a reasonable course would be to use an oral thyroxine preparation that is known to contain approximately its stated content."

I question the basis and ethics (2) of this conclusion favoring a switch to Levothroid (Armour Pharmaceutical Co., Kankakee, Illinois). A switch to a more potent thyroid preparation might be dangerous for patients who have reached a steady state on their current regimen. Ramos-Gabatin (3) found not only the expected change in thyroid function tests