Bottom Line: Treatment with the thyroid medication levothyroxine did not improve pregnancy outcomes for women in China undergoing in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer for infertility.
Why The Research Is Interesting: Women who test positive for thyroid autoantibodies are reported to be at higher risk for miscarriage. Limited studies with conflicting results exist on whether levothyroxine treatment can improve pregnancy outcomes among women who test positive for thyroid autoantibodies but have normal thyroid function.
Who and When: 600 women who had normal thyroid function and tested positive for thyroid autoantibodies treated for infertility at a Beijing hospital from September 2012 to March 2017.
What (Study Measures): Half the women received levothyroxine treatment and half did not. Investigators measured rates of miscarriage, pregnancy and live-births
How (Study Design): This was a randomized clinical trial (RCT), which allows for the strongest inferences to be made about the true effect of an intervention. However, not all RCT results can be replicated in real-world settings because patient characteristics or other variables may differ from those that were studied in the RCT.
Authors: Jie Qiao, M.D., Ph.D., Tianpei Hong, M.D., Ph.D., of the Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, and coauthors.
Results: There was no important differences between groups in the proportion of women who miscarried, became pregnant, or delivered live babies:
Study Limitations: This study was a single-center trial. Caution should be used when extending this result to other patient populations.
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(doi:10.1001/jama.2017.18249)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
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JAMA