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T4 test

• Overview
• Risks
• Results

Alternative Names:

Thyroxine test

What the risks are:

Risks associated with having blood drawn are slight:

• excessive bleeding
• fainting or feeling lightheaded
• hematoma (blood accumulating under the skin)
• infection (a slight risk any time the skin is broken)
• multiple punctures to locate veins

Special considerations:

Drugs that can increase T4 measurements include clofibrate, estrogens, methadone, amiodarone, and birth control pills.

Drugs that can decrease T4 measurements include anabolic steroids, androgens, antithyroid drugs (for example, propylthiouracil and methimazole), lithium, phenytoin, propranolol, amiodarone, interferon alpha, and interleukin-2.

Veins and arteries vary in size from one patient to another and from one side of the body to the other. Obtaining a blood sample from some people may be more difficult than from others.

• Review Date: 1/18/2006
• Reviewed By: Nikheel S. Kolatkar, MD, Clinical and Research Fellow, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Hypertension, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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