Section1

Medication Tips

Make sure to talk to your patients about medication tips to ensure they are compliant with their treatment.

  1. Incorporate your medication into your daily routine.
  2. Refill your prescription a couple of days early.
  3. Keep taking your medication as your doctor prescribed, even if your symptoms go away.
  4. Notify your health care provider if you stop taking or start new medications.
  5. Check your pills at the pharmacy.
Section2

Dosing for Special Populations

Certain populations require specific considerations with their treatment, including the elderly, patients with possible cardiac issues, and pregnant women.1

The increase in thyroid hormone requirement may continue throughout pregnancy, therefore serum TSH levels should be monitored approximately every 4 weeks during the first half of pregnancy. TSH should be checked at least once near 30 weeks' gestation.2

DID YOU KNOW?

Consequences of hypothyroidism in pregnancy include potential for impaired fetal neurocognitive development, increased incidence of miscarriage, low birth weight and preterm delivery.2

References:
  1. Gaitonde DY, Rowley KD, Sweeney LB. Hypothyroidism: an update. Am Fam Physician. 2012;86(3):244-251.
  2. Alexander EK, Pearce EN, Brent GA, et al. 2017 Guidelines of the American Thyroid Association for the diagnosis and management of thyroid disease during pregnancy and the postpartum. Thyroid. 2017;27(3):315-389.

What extra precautions would you take with elderly, cardiac, or pregnant patients?

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