CRP-lymphocyte ratio as a novel marker of treatment response to hyperthyroidism with radioactive Iodine 131

Abstract

Aim:  To compare CRP/lymphocyte ratio (CLR), a new inflammatory marker, before and after treatment of hyperthyroidism with Radioactive iodine 131 (RAI 131).

Methods: Patients who received RAI 131 treatment for hyperthyroidism in the Department of Nuclear Medicine between January 2020 and May 2023 were included in this retrospective study. Age, gender, WBC, hemoglobin neutrophil, platelet, glucose, AST, ALT and CLR values were compared before and within 1 year of treatment.

Results: There were 59 patients in the current study. 38 were women (64.4%) and 21 were men (33.3%). The mean age was 56.3±15.4 years. There was no statistically significant difference between before and after treatment values of WBC, hemoglobin, neutrophil, platelet, glucose, ALT and AST. However, CLR before treatment (1.74±2.34) was higher than after treatment (1±1.72) and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.048).

Conclusions: CLR, an inflammatory marker, decreased in patients receiving RAI 131 treatment due to hyperthyroidism after treatment.  This supports that the presence of an inflammatory burden play an important role in thyroid pathologies. We think that this marker is a simple and useful marker that can be used to monitor the response of CLR to treatment in patients receiving RAI 131 therapy for hyperthyroidism.