Investigation on low-iodine diet implementation by medical staff before radioactive iodine treatment for differentiated thyroid carcinoma

Objective

To explore the implementation of low-iodine diets by medical staff caring for patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma prior to ¹³¹I therapy across 58 hospitals, and offer valuable insights for the development of guidelines on low-iodine diets.

Methods

Convenience sampling was utilized to conduct a survey among 163 medical staff members working in nuclear medicine departments across 58 tertiary hospitals using a self-designed questionnaire.

Results

Concerning the duration of the low-iodine diet prior to treatment, the medical staff’s recommendations were as follows: 58.28% suggested 2–4 weeks, 31.29% recommended more than 4 weeks, 9.2% opted for 7–13 days, and 1.23% favored less than 1 week. Regarding the timing of resuming a normal diet, the respondents’ recommendations ranged from immediately after treatment (1.84%) to 3 months post-treatment (8.58%), with intermediate recommendations of 2 h (8.58%), 24–48 h (14.11%), post-discharge (12.26%), and 1 month (42.94%). Furthermore, the surveyed medical staff unanimously recommended abstaining from seafood, with 90.8% also advising against the consumption of iodized salt, 91.41% recommending avoidance of iodine-containing medications, and 71.17% advising caution with moderately high-iodine foods. Notably, 75.46% of the medical staff evaluated patient compliance with the low-iodine diet. When patients failed to adhere to the diet preparation, 33.74% of healthcare workers chose to proceed with treatment. In terms of guidance sources, 96.93% of respondents relied on relevant guidelines, 66.26% referred to the literature, and 49.69% drew upon their clinical experience. During hospitalization, 58.28% of the medical staff continued to guide patients on the low-iodine diet, while only 8.59% provided such guidance after discharge. Notably, only 20.25% of the staff considered consulting the nutrition department.

Conclusion

This study underscored substantial variations in the duration and selection criteria for low-iodine diets, which were linked to a scarcity of standardized evaluations. Consequently, there is an urgent need for further research to establish detailed, practical, accessible, comprehensive, and dependable implementation programs for low-iodine diets.