Treatment results in 25 patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy during 1998 and 2001

In our outpatient clinic 25 patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy were treat ed, 21 women, mean age 58.8 years (range 19-74 years) and 4 men, mean age 4 7.5 years (range 38-56 years). In the female group two showed euthyroid Gra ves' ophthalmopathy and one Hashimoto's disease; in the male group one show ed euthyroid ophthalmopathy. Treatment was done depending on the findings o f the NOSPECS-classification in identical way for each group. Final results were obtained three and six months after therapy, at that time all patient s were euthyroid. In five patients (two men and three women) sicca-treatmen t was sufficient because the ophthalmopathy improved by therapy of the thyr oid disease only. Three women were treated by oral steroids over three mont hs and had a complete remission. Nine women were treated by oral steroids a nd external radiation, six of them showed major improvement but in one case orbital decompression had to be done. Somatostatin therapy was done over s ix months in six women who showed no change after oral steroids plus radiat ion. Out of them five showed major improvement but in spite of a positive o ctreoscan in one case orbital surgery had to be performed. Two men were tre ated by oral steroids and external radiation without change of disease, som atostatin therapy was not done because of a negative octreoscan. With the e xception of one nonsmoking woman in whom orbital surgery had to be done, th e treatment results were worse in smokers.