Iodine capsules in thyroid therapy: An individually controlled study of I-131 uptake kinetics as compared to liquid administration

The aim of this study was to determine the additional radiation dose sustained by parts of the patients gastric mucosawhen given I-131 therapy in capsular rather than liquid form, and thus to establish the safety of this procedure. 16 patients with benign thyroid diseasewere studied by measuring serum radioactivity at 0, 5, 10, 20, 40, and 80 min. after administration of the capsule (120-200 MBq I131). These serum uptake values were compared to the uptake after administration of a liquid diagnostic dose of I-131 (2 MBq). From the resulting uptake curves the delay due to capsular dissolution was determined. The average dissolution time was found to be 12 min. with a large standard deviation of 7 min. Also, a theoretical curve was computed to indicate the dose rate as a function of the distance from the surface of the capsule. Based on this information the maximum dose to the gastric mucosais of the order of 250 cGy for a therapeutic activity of 185 MBq, which is the maximum dose which may be given as single application to outpatients in Switzerland. By having the patient swallow some liquid during the first ten minutes, the capsule can be mademore » to move around, and hence, the local radiation dose can be reduced substantially. The authors conclude, that I-131 in capsular form is a safe galenic form for therapeutic use in patients with thyroid disease. When large doses are given, administration of the dose in several capsules may be advisable.« less