This is the first survey on the use of TH by Belgian specialists. As elsewhere in Europe [12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20] and in agreement with international guidelines, the survey confirmed that LT4 is the treatment of choice for Belgian hypothyroid patients. However, a significant proportion of respondents also use TH for more controversial indications, such as infertile euthyroid TPOAb positive women and a growing benign goiter. A similar or even greater preference for the treatment of infertile euthyroid women in the presence of thyroid autoimmunity was reported by French (31.7%), Greek (31.9%), Romanian (36.4%), Italian (37.3%), Danish (42.1%), Swedish (47.3%), Spanish (48.5%) and Polish (63.4%) endocrinologists who responded to this question, respectively [12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20], although the limited available evidence does not support this approach. In the case of assisted reproductive technology, all large randomized controlled trials in this population concluded that there is no benefit from LT4 treatment [21, 22], which was confirmed in the recent TABLET trial including euthyroid TPOAb positive women with a medical history of (recurrent) miscarriage or receiving treatment for infertility [23]. The ETA guidelines on thyroid disorders prior to and during assisted reproduction published in 2021 [24] state that association with adverse fertility outcomes appears to emerge at TSH levels above 4.0 mIU/L, when LT4 treatment should be started. Nevertheless, limited data indicate that LT4 treatment optimized the ovarian reserve, fertilization and embryo development. Therefore, it has been suggested to consider LT4 treatment in infertile women with thyroid autoimmunity and serum TSH > 2.5 mIU/L on a case-by-case basis, taking into account factors such as ovarian causes of subfertility, older age (> 35 years), a history of recurrent miscarriage, or high levels of thyroid antibodies [24].
In contrast to current evidence, a surprisingly high proportion of Belgian specialists (50%) consider TH treatment in patients with a euthyroid benign goiter growing over time, a rate similar to Bulgarian (55%), Polish (40.9%) and French (40.2%) colleagues [14, 15, 19], but higher than 24.2% of Greek [18], 21.2% of Spanish [17],18% of Italians [12],14% of Swedish [20] and 12.5% of Danish endocrinologists who responded to this question [13]. This response may be related to adherence of older endocrinologists to outdated clinical practices, no longer recommended by recent guidelines [25]. Among these outdated ideas, one may be reminded of the misbelief that LT4 is a source of iodine in previously iodine-deficient areas. Euthyroid goiter is more prevalent in populations with low or borderline iodine intake and evolves from a diffuse thyroid enlargement at younger ages to an autonomous nodular disease in elderly. A number of studies show that goiter size is at best marginally reduced by LT4 [26, 27], and that lowering TSH is associated with osteoporosis and cardiovascular morbidity [28] and mortality [29] in a dose-dependent way [30]. A diffuse goiter might benefit from TSH-lowering treatment [27], but surgery or radioiodine are more effective [26, 27, 31]. In Belgium, radioiodine is not traditionally used for the treatment of nontoxic goiter. Although radioiodine does lead to significant thyroid volume reduction, relatively high activities of radioiodine are needed [32], because of a frequent finding of a low thyroid radioiodine uptake, especially since the iodine salt addition policies have been largely implemented. Moreover, in Belgium, radioiodine can be given in outpatient clinic only up to 15 mCi. Thyroid radioiodine uptake can be enhanced by using recombinant TSH [27] but the product is not reimbursed in Belgium for this indication. Belgian specialists might also fear that thyroid autoimmunity, including thyroid-associated orbitopathy, might be induced or exacerbated by radioiodine administration. These limitations of alternative treatments may explain the choice of Belgian specialists for thyroid hormones in the management of simple euthyroid goiter. At contrast, in Denmark, where radioiodine is the preferred treatment for nontoxic goiter [33], only one in ten specialists recommend thyroid hormone for this indication [13].
Contrary to other European countries, LT3 and combination of LT4 + LT3 are not available on the Belgian market, but may be ordered from other European countries. This might be the reason why less than 10% of Belgian specialists use these therapies, compared with e.g. 58.6% of their Danish colleagues [13]. However, a higher number of respondents (20% of Belgians) are willing to switch to combination treatment in patients with normal TSH and persisting symptoms of hypothyroidism on LT4, a tendency noted in other THESIS surveys (25% of Greeks [18], 32.2% of Polish [15], 40% of Italians [12]. This proportion was even higher in Danish (71%) and Swedish (78.5%) specialists [13, 20], despite the lack of evidence of superiority of combined treatment over LT4 and lack of long-term safety data. The preference towards combined treatment was more frequent in Belgian endocrinologists than other Belgian physicians, but was not influenced by the physician working environment or years of practice. We can only speculate that the endocrinologists may be more aware of the LT4 monotherapy controversies and the alternative of combination LT4 + LT3 treatment. As an example, in Polish THESIS, physicians who believed that persistent symptoms are not due to inability of LT4 to restore normal physiology were less likely to prescribe combination LT4 + LT3, than physicians who believed that LT4 does not restore normal physiology [14]. A recent expert consensus stated that a new clinical trial of LT4 + LT3 therapy is justified but should be correctly designed to address unsettled questions, such as: effect of deiodinase and TH transporter polymorphisms, inclusion of patients taking significant doses of LT4 and use of multiple daily doses or slow-release LT3 [34]. In the meantime, specialists should be aware that current guidelines suggest that a trial of LT4 and LT3 combination treatment may be considered only in symptomatic patients achieving biochemical euthyroidism for at least six months and after the exclusion of interfering conditions and comorbidities [10], the latter being very prevalent in patients with hypothyroidism [35]. Furthermore, combination treatment should be discontinued after a few months if there is no clinical improvement.
Although hypothyroid patients dissatisfied with their treatment represent a minority, our survey suggests, as other investigations of this type [12,13,14, 20], that their proportion is either stable or increasing over time. The reasons for this dissatisfaction are much debated and include a number of contributors other than hypothyroidism per se, among them psychosocial factors, comorbidities and aspects of the patient-physician communication [5, 36, 37]. In this respect, our survey did not enquire about patient compliance with treatment.
The clinical experience with LT4 formulations other than tablets is very limited in Belgium. Nevertheless, the percentage of specialists expecting no major clinical changes for a symptomatic euthyroid patient switching to another formulation was similar to the one observed in Italy (42.5% Belgians vs. 50.3% Italians). Italian specialists are familiar with soft-gel capsules and liquid solution alternatives which they prefer in patients with specific conditions (interfering drugs, actual or suspected malabsorption, inability to take LT4 in the fasting state, unexplained poor biochemical control of hypothyroidism) [12]. In these conditions, the use of alternative LT4 formulations may also be favored by some Belgian specialists, but more than one in three were unable to formulate an opinion in the absence of clinical experience.
Selenium supplementation in addition to thyroid hormones was recommended by some of our survey respondents, although there is insufficient evidence to support this approach. A decline in thyroid autoantibodies in patients treated with selenium [38], does not offer documented clinical efficacy in chronic autoimmune thyroiditis [39]. Nevertheless, one third of the respondents prescribed dietary supplements, including selenium, at the patients’ request. This trend was already noticed among physicians in Europe [40], and is not recommended by current guidelines on management of hypothyroidism [41].
The strength of our survey is an acceptable response rate of 50%, comparable to that of a previous national Belgian survey on thyroid nodule management [42], and one of the highest of all THESIS surveys (vs. 25.5% in France, 25.8% in Spain, 28.2% in Sweden, 31.2% in Denmark, 39.3% In Italy, 42.4% in Romania) [12, 13, 16, 17, 19, 20], despite the constraints of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Physician surveys performed anonymously can reveal important habits and practices that are not evidence-based, potentially harmful, and identify the extent to which these may need to be prioritized as educational unmet needs that require to be addressed by professional organizations and societies. Although the absolute number of participants in our survey is limited, they were experienced with TH treatment and mostly of them treated at least as many hypothyroid patients on a daily basis compared to larger countries participating to THESIS initiative (62.5% of Belgians vs. 57.8% of Italians, 49.1% of Swedish or 34.2% of Danish) [12, 13, 20]. Moreover, our survey, as the majority of THESIS surveys, identified similar trends and deviations in the treatment with TH, as the treatment of euthyroid TPO+ infertile women and the preference for combined LT4 + LT3 treatment in hypothyroid patients with persistent symptoms. In this respect, data generated by our survey could be relevant to many other countries with similar populations and health care systems.
Our survey has also limitations. It can be argued that physician surveys record opinions rather than real practice. While this is true, physician surveys are not worthless. Indeed in the field of hypothyroidism physician surveys have been published and cited widely, and have helped expand our knowledge about management of hypothyroidism [11, 43,44,45,46]. The survey targeted members of the BES, mostly endocrinologists, although several medical specialties are involved in TH treatment in Belgium. According to the National Institute of Diseases (INAMI-RIZIV, https://www.inami.fgov.be), 88% of thyroid hormones prescriptions made in Belgium in 2019 were made by general practitioners (GPs). However, this is not an isolated situation. For example, most Swedish patients with hypothyroidism are treated by GPs [20] and hypothyroidism is managed both in primary and secondary care in Denmark [12]. Although GPs were under-represented in THESIS surveys, it is likely that they follow recommendations issued by specialists via national guidelines or Continuing Medical Education sessions. As in Sweden, Belgian specialists and GPs are working in close relationship for the treatment of patients with thyroid hormones. Therefore, the indications for the prescription of TH by specialists probably impact and influence those of GPs and are worth studying.
As the proportion of specialists working in a university center was over-represented, we cannot exclude, as another limitation to our study, that the respondents represented physicians treating a high proportion of dissatisfied patients in search of alternatives to standard TH treatment.
Although our survey reflects mainly the experience with levothyroxine tablet monotherapy, that is the treatment that the vast majority of hypothyroid patients receive, and the evidence base for clinical outcomes is far more robust than other thyroid hormones.
In conclusion, in Belgium TH are generally used according to current guidelines, but we did note, as most of THESIS surveys, deviations from evidence-based recommendations. Thyroid autoimmunity in euthyroid infertile women and euthyroid benign goiter were common indications for LT4 treatment, constituting practices in need of further scrutiny as unjustified thyroid hormones treatment can lead to iatrogenic hyperthyroidism and be dangerous. In Belgium, choice of TH is relatively uninfluenced by demographic respondent variables such as clinical specialty, type of practice or years of medical practice, and reflects the availability of drug formulations and type.
