A scoring system for the evaluation of thyroid function

A new method of evaluating thyroid gland activity is presented. It is based on statistical analysis of data collected from 438 patients following ¹³¹I uptake. On graphic analysis of the ¹³¹I uptake values in 233 patients with normal thyroid function, 150 with hyperthyroidism and 55 with hypothyroidism, it was found that the results in hypothyroidism overlapped the upper range of normal. To achieve a more meaningful evaluation of thyroid state, a scoring system was devised based on giving a relative number to each clinical sign, symptom and laboratory result and taking into account demographic data, such as sex, age and origin. This information was processed and for each patient a quantitative expression of thyroid state was obtained. This scoring system allowed separation of borderline cases with a greater level of confidence than would a single test, and it should be of diagnostic value to the clinician.