Thyrogen is a medicine that can be used before performing Iodoradioterapia, before exams such as full body scintigraphy, and also serves to aid in the dosage of thyroglobulin in the blood, necessary procedures in case of thyroid cancer.
The main advantage of using this medicine prior to radioactive iodine treatment and performing the scintigraphy is that the patient can continue to take the thyroid replacement hormones normally, improving their quality of life in relation to physical performance, vitality, social life and mental health .
Tyrogen is a drug from the Genzyme laboratory - A Sanofi Company, which contains 0.9 mg of Thyrotropin alfa powder for solution for injection.
What is it for
Tyrogen is indicated to be used in 3 ways:
- Before performing the treatment with Radioactive Iodine;
- Before performing Full Body Scintigraphy;
- Before taking the blood test for Thyroglobulin.
These three procedures are common in case of thyroid cancer.
What this drug does is increase the TSH dosage in the blood, which is important for detecting metastases. In addition, this drug also stimulates the production of thyroglobulin, which is a tumor marker that should be searched regularly on the blood test.
Although thyroglobulin may be unsearched without taking this drug, the results are more credible when using this drug, with fewer false negative results. The detection or increase of thyroglobulin in the blood indicates that there is residual tissue, possibly indicating metastases from thyroid cancer, and taking this medicine before the blood test can make its result more reliable, but in any case its use is not essential in none of the above three situations.
How to use
The drug Tyrogen consists of 2 intramuscular injections that should be applied within 24 hours. Treatment with Radioactive Iodine, Whole Body Scintigraphy or Thyroglobulin dosing should be done on the 3rd day after the first dose.
Price
The price of Thyrogen is around 4 to 5 thousand reais, and it is necessary to present a prescription to buy. However, it is possible to get this medicine by the health plan, according to the doctor's request.
Side effects
The side effects of Thyrogen are very well tolerated, and easier to bear than the time the patient would have to be without thyroid hormones, with the most common side effects being nausea, although others such as diarrhea, vomiting, dizziness, fatigue, weakness, headache or tingling sensation in the face and arms.
Contraindications
Thyrogen is contraindicated for pregnant women during breastfeeding and for patients with a human or bovine thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) allergy or some other component of the formula.
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