The course of endocrine ophthalmopathy during antithyroid therapy in a prospective study.

In a prospective study the ocular manifestations of 105 thyrotoxic patients were carefully observed and registered during a 24-month antithyroid drug therapy. The treatment was supervised very closely and every effort was made to avoid iatrogenic hypothyroidism. None of the patients required any ocular surgery and in none did the ophthalmopathy become significantly worse. This favourable experience may indicate that a careful antithyroid regimen as outlined is not likely to be accompanied by worsening of the endocrine ophthalmopathy.