Recently, major websites, including People’s Network, have reported that [Youjiale] (levothyroxine sodium tablets, a first-line drug used to treat thyroid diseases) has been out of stock in pharmacies in major cities across the country.
Youjiale (levothyroxine sodium tablets) is a conventional drug for the treatment of thyroid diseases, and is also the first choice for lifelong replacement therapy for hypothyroidism patients.
Youjiale is out of stock. For a while, the patients are very anxious. The most anxious thing is what to do when Youjiale is out of stock.
What should I do if Youjiale is out of stock?
At present, pharmacies are the main ones that are out of stock of Youjiale. The author has extensively collected the situation of hospitals across the country and found that the vast majority of hospitals are not out of stock at present.
For patients in urgent need of Youjiale, they can go to the hospital and purchase drugs in major hospitals by prescription.
In fact, although Youjiale occupies a large part of the market and there are not many manufacturers of levothyroxine sodium tablets at present, there are still some alternatives to choose from.
1. Is Youjiale what? For what?
The effective component of Youjiale is levothyroxine sodium, which contains the same synthetic levothyroxine as thyroxine in human body. It is converted into T3 in vivo and plays a role by binding to T3 receptor.
At present, it is mainly used for the treatment of thyroid diseases, and is mainly used for lifelong replacement therapy of hypothyroidism.
2. Alternatives after Out of Stock
According to the drug preparation, the author consulted with the key word [thyroxine preparation] and found that the drugs that can be replaced at present are as follows:
(1) Levothyroxine Sodium Tablets-Retix
It is also an imported drug and is produced by Berlin-Chemie AG in Germany. The usage, dosage and indications are as follows:
(2) Levothyroxine Sodium Tablets-Jiaheng
Domestic medicine, produced by Shenzhen Zhonglian Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Usage, dosage and indications are as follows:
(3) Thyroid tablets
Although thyroid tablets are not the same as endogenous hormones as Youjiale, thyroid tablets are generally made by extracting thyroid gland from pigs, cattle, sheep and other animals. The components include thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). The proportion of components is not stable enough and the bioavailability is low compared with Youjiale.
However, for the vast majority of places lacking euthyroxine, if other levothyroxine sodium tablets mentioned above cannot be obtained, thyroid tablets may be used instead.
The replacement dose is 40 milligrams of thyroid tablets instead of 60 micrograms of Youjiale.
What are the manufacturers of Youjiale?
At present, there are a total of 11 manufacturers of thyroid tablets in China:
- Shandong Lvyin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Jilin Jichun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Yanzhou Shengbao Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Heilongjiang Duoduo Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Shandong Laiyang Biochemical Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Shanghai Industrial Union Group Great Wall Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Nanning Kangnuo Biochemical Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Tianjin Junan Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Zhejiang Jian Feng Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Shandong Zhongtai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Yantai Zhongzhou Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.