Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32234851›Full record

ArticleBMJ case reports2020

When thyroid labs do not add up, physicians should ask patients about biotin supplements.

Michael S Lundin, Ahmad Alratroot, Fawzi Abu Rous, Saleh Aldasouqi

Open access · greenAbstract readCase Reports
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ case reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 46% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Approaches to management of endocrine therapy-induced alopecia in breast cancer patients.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025
    Review
  2. Review
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Michael S LundinInternal Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA makala.lundin@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8078-8795
Ahmad AlratrootInternal Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Fawzi Abu RousInternal Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Saleh AldasouqiSparrow Hospital, Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Sparrow Hospital · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

A 69-year-old woman with a remote history of Graves' disease treated with radioactive iodine ablation, who was maintained on a stable dose of levothyroxine for 15 years, presented with abnormal and fluctuating thyroid function tests which were confusing. After extensive evaluation, no diagnosis could be made, and it became difficult to optimise the levothyroxine dose, until we became aware of the recently recognised biotin-induced lab interference. It was then noticed that her medication list included biotin 10 mg two times per day. After holding the biotin and repeating the thyroid function tests, the labs made more sense, and the patient was easily made euthyroid with appropriate dose adjustment. We also investigated our own laboratory, and identified the thyroid labs that are performed with biotin-containing assays and developed strategies to increase the awareness about this lab artefact in our clinics.

Indexed as

AgedBiotinDietary SupplementsDose-Response Relationship, DrugFemaleHumansThyroid Function TestsThyrotropinThyroxineBiotinThyrotropinThyroxineendocrine systemgeneral practice / family medicineskinthyroid diseasevitamins and supplements

Identifiers

PMID32234851
PMCPMC7167425
OpenAlexW3014276731

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.