Monitoring whilst taking antithyroid drugs

The CSM and MCA have made the following recommendations:

• patients taking antithyroid drugs should be asked to report symptoms suggestive of infection particularly sore throat
  
  
• if there is clinical evidence of infection then a FBC should be performed
  
  
• if there is clinical or laboratory evidence of neutropenia then the antithyroid drug should be stopped
  
  
• routine FBC monitoring is not indicated (1)

Reference:

• Current Problems in Pharmacovigilance (February 1999), 25, 1-4.