Loading…
RenThyroid is a brand name for Levothyroxine (also known as Thyroxine). The medicine, its uses, side effects and dosage are the same regardless of brand.
Used for: INDICATIONS AND USAGE RenThyroid (Thyroid Tablets, USP) are indicated: As replacement or supplemental therapy in patients with hypothyroidism of any etiology, except transient hypothyroidism during the recovery phase of subacute thyroiditis. This category includes cretinism, myxedema, and ordinary hypothyroidism in…
Verbatim from this product's FDA label. Tap a section to expand.
DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION
The dosage of thyroid hormones is determined by the indication and must in every case be individualized according to patient response and laboratory findings. Biotin supplementation may interfere with immunoassays for TSH, T4, and T3, resulting in erroneous thyroid hormone test results.
Inquire whether patients are taking biotin or biotin-containing supplements. If so, advise them to stop biotin supplementation at least 2 days before assessing TSH and/or T4 levels (see PRECAUTIONS ). Thyroid hormones are given orally.
In acute, emergency conditions, injectable levothyroxine sodium (T4) may be given intravenously when oral administration is not feasible or desirable, as in the treatment of myxedema coma, or during total parenteral nutrition. Intramuscular administration is not advisable because of reported poor absorption.
Hypothyroidism Therapy is usually instituted using low doses, with increments which depend on the cardiovascular status of the patient. The usual starting dose is 30 mg RenThyroid (Thyroid Tablets, USP), with increments of 15 mg every 2 to 3 weeks.
A lower starting dosage, 15 mg/day, is recommended in patients with long-standing myxedema, particularly if cardiovascular impairment is suspected, in which case extreme caution is recommended. The appearance of angina is an indication for a reduction in dosage.
Most patients require 60 to 120 mg/day. Failure to respond to doses of 180 mg suggests lack of compliance or malabsorption. Maintenance dosages 60 to 120 mg/day usually result in normal serum T4 and T3 levels. Adequate therapy usually results in normal TSH and T4 levels after 2 to 3 weeks of therapy.
Readjustment of thyroid hormone dosage should be made within the first four weeks of therapy, after proper clinical and laboratory evaluations, including serum levels of T4, bound and free, and TSH. Liothyronine (T3) may be used in preference to levothyroxine (T4) during radio-isotope scanning procedures, since induction of hypothyroidism in those cases is more abrupt and can be of shorter duration.
It may also be preferred when impairment of peripheral conversion of levothyroxine (T4) and liothyronine (T3) is suspected. Myxedema Coma Myxedema coma is usually precipitated in the hypothyroid patient of long-standing by intercurrent illness or drugs such as sedatives and anesthetics and should be considered a medical emergency.
ADVERSE REACTIONS
Adverse reactions other than those indicative of hyperthyroidism because of therapeutic overdosage, either initially or during the maintenance period, are rare (See OVERDOSAGE ).
WARNINGS
Drugs with thyroid hormone activity, alone or together with other therapeutic agents, have been used for the treatment of obesity. In euthyroid patients, doses within the range of daily hormonal requirements are ineffective for weight reduction.
Larger doses may produce serious or even life-threatening manifestations of toxicity, particularly when given in association with sympathomimetic amines such as those used for their anorectic effects. The use of thyroid hormones in the therapy of obesity, alone or combined with other drugs, is unjustified and has been shown to be ineffective.
Neither is their use justified for the treatment of male or female infertility unless this condition is accompanied by hypothyroidism.
CONTRAINDICATIONS
Thyroid hormone preparations are generally contraindicated in patients with diagnosed but as yet uncorrected adrenal cortical insufficiency, untreated thyrotoxicosis, and apparent hypersensitivity to any of their active or extraneous constituents.
There is no well-documented evidence from the literature, however, of true allergic or idiosyncratic reactions to thyroid hormone.
Not medical advice. Always read the patient information leaflet and follow your prescriber or pharmacist.
Other brands of Levothyroxine in United States of America.
Know a brand we are missing in United States of America? Suggest a brand →
Brand names are compiled from public regulatory records for active-ingredient mapping only. Drugvu is not affiliated with any manufacturer. This is not medical advice.
Therapy should be directed at the correction of electrolyte disturbances and possible infection besides the administration of thyroid hormones. Corticosteroids should be administered routinely. Levothyroxine (T4) and liothyronine (T3) may be administered via a nasogastric tube but the preferred route of administration of both hormones is intravenous.
Levothyroxine sodium (T4) is given at a starting dose of 400 mcg (100 mcg/mL) given rapidly, and is usually well tolerated, even in the elderly. This initial dose is followed by daily supplements of 100 to 200 mcg given IV. Normal T4 levels are achieved in 24 hours followed in 3 days by threefold elevation of T3.
Oral therapy with thyroid hormone would be resumed as soon as the clinical situation has been stabilized and the patient is able to take oral medication. Thyroid Cancer Exogenous thyroid hormone may produce regression of metastases from follicular and papillary carcinoma of the thyroid and is used as ancillary therapy of these conditions with radioactive iodine.
TSH should be suppressed to low or undetectable levels. Therefore, larger amounts of thyroid hormone than those used for replacement therapy are required. Medullary carcinoma of the thyroid is usually unresponsive to this therapy. Thyroid Suppression Therapy Administration of thyroid hormone in doses higher than those produced physiologically by the gland results in suppression of the production of endogenous hormone.
This is the basis for the thyroid suppression test and is used as an aid in the diagnosis of patients with signs of mild hyperthyroidism in whom base line laboratory tests appear normal, or to demonstrate thyroid gland autonomy in patients with Grave's ophthalmopathy.
131I uptake is determined before and after the administration of the exogenous hormone. A 50% or greater suppression of uptake indicates a normal thyroid-pituitary axis and thus rules out thyroid gland autonomy. 56 mcg/kg of body weight per day given for 7 to 10 days.
These doses usually yield normal serum T4 and T3 levels and lack of response to TSH. Thyroid hormones should be administered cautiously to patients in whom there is strong suspicion of thyroid gland autonomy, in view of the fact that the exogenous hormone effects will be additive to the endogenous source.
Pediatric Dosage Pediatric dosage should follow the recommendations summarized in Table 1. In infants with congenital hypothyroidism, therapy with full doses should be instituted as soon as the diagnosis has been made. 8 mg