Excerpt from MY3 of Dr. Bolton’s work.
As expected, 100% of dogs at that time of nonthyroidal illness diagnosed had a low total T4 and ~90% had a low total T3. These values returned to normal as the disease process resolved. Free T4 (low) and TSH (high) was normal in all but 8 cases. The TSH, in most cases, appeared to significantly increase at the 2- and/or 4-week rechecks, albeit still within the reference range. Interestingly, in three cases, the TSH increases above the reference range after normalization of all other thyroid hormones (total T4, free T4, total T3) prior to returning to normal.
Enunciating differences between the pattern of thyroid hormone recovery in dogs and humans with naturally occurring disease will be postponed until all cases are enrolled and analyzed.
Grant MY3 02686-A: Pattern of Thyroid Function Tests during Recovery from Acute Nonthyroidal Illness
