Clearing the Skepticism about Subclinical Hypothyroidism: Is It Beneficial to Treat Patients with Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone >4.5 and <10 mIU/L?

Abstract

Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is a heterogeneous clinical condition ranging from asymptomatic to wide variety of clinical manifestations, which are often nonspecific. Being a common laboratory finding, clinicians often face the dilemma of whether to treat or not. Threshold of 10 mIU/L of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) is often used as a cutoff limit to offer treatment. However, still, debate remains on whether to treat less than 10 mIU/L considering special clinical conditions like pregnancy. Whether SCH exists, is screening needed in asymptomatic individuals, is treating asymptomatic cases beneficial or harmful and what threshold level of TSH to be considered for treatment are all potential questions that need to be answered.

Keywords

• hypothyroidism
• subclinical hypothyroidism
• thyroid
• thyroxine