The TSH stimulation test involves the administration of pharmacological doses of TSH (10 u/d intramuscularly, for three days) followed by a radioiodine uptake test. This test is rarely necessary since it has been superseded by more-sensitive direct measures of thyroid failure such as TSH estimation. It may, however, occasionally be useful for demonstrating the presence of suppressed thyroid tissue, and may be of more interest when recombinant human TSH becomes available.
