NJ
A 49-year-old member asked:
I just had a thyroid uptake scan. 13.8% what does this mean?
3 doctor answers • 6 doctors weighed in

Dr. Robert Carrollanswered
Nuclear Medicine 54 years experience
Possible hypothyroid: Thyroid uptake depends on thyroid iodine trapping which is proportional to the rate at which the thyroid is making hormone. The total amount of iodine in the diet is also a major factor. If you use iodized salt and live by the seashore your body will have more iodine available to dilute the test dose; thus giving a lower uptake value.High sensitivity TSH is a much more reliable indicator.
6k viewsAnswered >2 years ago

Dr. TAPAN CHAUDHURIanswered
Nuclear Medicine 56 years experience
MAY BE NORMAL: Normal range of thyroid uptake varies from lab to lab and geographic region to region.
For those labs who accepts 10% to 30% as normal range, the 13.8% may be considered normal but lower range of normal.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago

Dr. Raymond Tailleferanswered
Nuclear Medicine 43 years experience
Normal uptake: This percentage refers to the percentage of radioiodine uptake at 24 hours after its administration. In your case, this means that 13.8% of the radioactive iodine you ingested during the test is present in your thyroid gland 24 hours later. A normal uptake usually varies between 10 and 30% at 24 hours. Other parameters such as thyroid hormone levels are used as well to verify the status of thyroid.
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Last updated Aug 4, 2017
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