Propylthiouracil
Indications and Usage
- This drug is useful to decrease the thyroid's retention of radioiodine
and may be considered if it is too late for KI (potassium iodide) to be effective.
- The adult dose is
50 mg tabs, 2 tabs p.o. tid x 8 days.
FDA Product Safety Info
- Not FDA approved for this indication/off-label use
- When KI is unavailable or contraindicated, propylthiouracil and methimazole may be considered alternative drugs for blocking thyroid uptake of radioiodine. However, propylthiouracil is not FDA-approved as a substitute for KI, and it should be used only in the case of documented and serious internal contamination with radioiodine when KI is unavailable or unlikely to be effective.
- Propylthiouracil should not be used unless a health physicist has documented the expected thyroid radiation dose.
- For adults over 40 years of age, treatment for radioiodine inhalation is not recommended unless the predicted thyroid dose exceeds 500 rem.
- The potential for granulocytopenia and agranulocytosis is significant.
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Drug Label
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References |
- Marcus, CS. Administration of decorporation drugs to treat internal radionuclide contamination: medical emergency response to radiologic incidents. RSO Magazine, 2004;9(5):9-15. (PDF - 34 KB)
- "Radiation Bioterrorism," Tochner ZA, Lehavi O, Glatstein E, Chapter 207 in Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, Kasper DL, Braunwald E, Fauci AS, Hauser SL, Longo DL, Jameson JL, eds. 16th Edition, pp 1294-1300, McGraw-Hill, 2005
- Management of Persons Accidentally Contaminated with Radionuclides, National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, NCRP Report No. 65, Bethesda, MD, 1980.
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