myxedema crisis

This review presents current knowledge about the thyroid emergencies known as myxedema coma and thyrotoxic storm. Understanding the pathogenesis of these conditions, appropriate recognition of the clinical signs and symptoms, and their prompt and accurate diagnosis and treatment are crucial in optimizing survival.

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Myxedema crisis is a severe life threatening form of decompensated hypothyroidism which is associated with a high mortality rate. Infections and discontinuation of thyroid supplements are the major precipitating factors while hypothermia may not play a major role in tropical countries. Low intracellular T3 leads to cardiogenic shock, respiratory depression, hypothermia and coma. Patients are identified on the basis of a low index of suspicion with a careful history and examination focused on features of hypothyroidism and precipitating factors...

Preoperative evaluation of patients with thyroid land disease, in any kind of surgery, should include the possibility of difficult intubation caused by thyromegaly, the hormonal status (its disbalance), as well as the screening, and therapy of consequences of thyroid imbalance on specific organ systems, especially cardiovascular. It is necessary to select the adequate anesthetics and other pharmacological agents, according to current hormonal status. It is also necessary to select the adequate medications and other therapeutic measures for prevention and treatment of possible complications in perioperative period, some of which are life-threatening (thyroid storm and mixedema coma)...

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This case report describes a sulfonamide-induced hypothyroid crisis in a 4-year-old Labrador Retriever bitch. Empirical therapy with high-dose trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole for 10 days produced signs of weakness, ataxia and mental depression and the clinicopathological results supported hypothyroid-induced central nervous system depression. Short-term levothyroxine sodium therapy led to complete resolution of all clinical signs and follow-up thyroid hormone assays ruled out underlying thyroid pathology. This case report is the first to highlight this potentially life-threatening manifestation of sulfonamide-induced hypothyroidism...

Thyroid hormones are of primary importance for the perinatal development of the central nervous system, and for normal function of the adult brain. These hormones primarily regulate the transcription of specific target genes. They increase the cortical serotonergic neurotransmission, and play an important role in regulating central noradrenergic and GABA function. Thyroid deficiency during the perinatal period results in mental retardation. Hypothyroidism of the adults causes most frequently dementia and depression...

Endocrine emergencies constitute only a small percentage of the emergency workload of general doctors, comprising about 1.5% of all hospital admission in England in 2004-5. Most of these are diabetes related with the remaining conditions totalling a few hundred cases at most. Hence any individual doctor might not have sufficient exposure to be confident in their management. This review discusses the management of diabetic ketoacidosis, hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state, hypoglycaemia, hypercalcaemia, thyroid storm, myxoedema coma, acute adrenal insufficiency, phaeochromocytoma hypertensive crisis and pituitary apoplexy in the adult population...

Diagnosis and management of endocrine crises in adulthood. The homeostasis of the body is regulated by concerted action of the endocrine, nervous and immune systems. An imbalance in this equilibrium, as a consequence of disease or endocrine failure, may lead to crisis, characterized by sudden onset and severe symptoms. The classical endocrine emergencies are rare but life-threatening conditions. Prompt and aggressive treatment significantly reduces mortality. Immediate therapy might be necessitated in cases of suspected endocrine emergencies, even prior to laboratory confirmation...

Pituitary apoplexy, diabetes insipidus, thyroid storm, myxedema coma, parathyrotoxic crisis, hypocalcemia tetany, pheochromocytoma and Addison crisis, diabetic ketoacidosis, diabetic hyperosmolar nonketotic coma, hypoglycemia and carcinoid crisis are the most important endocrine crises. Some of them are common, others very rare. All physicians nevertheless need to have at least a basic knowledge of all of them, since symptoms and signs of endocrine crises overlap with those of other severe disease states, and the failure to recognise endocrine crises as such and to begin rapidly the specific therapy can have fatal consequences...

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No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Thyroid diseases are common. This article will discuss the types, signs and symptoms, medical management, and nursing care of thyroid disease.

This article reviews thyroid anatomy and physiology, then presents a variety of common thyroid disorders, including hyper- and hypothyroidism, goiters, cretinism, thyroiditis and several types of thyroid cancer. Prevention of thyroid disease is discussed, along with medical imaging techniques for evaluating the thyroid gland.

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Thyrotoxic or hyperthyroid storm is a grave, life-threatening, but relatively infrequent medical emergency. Immediate causes of death in this emergency are severe hyperpyrexia and pulmonary edema associated with arrhythmias, shock, and coma. This emergency is found in Graves' patients most frequently. Myxedema coma is an emergency clinical state caused by severe deficiency of thyroid hormones. This crisis represents the extreme expression of hypothyroidism. While it is quite useful to elicit a history of previous hypothyroidism, thyroid surgery, or radioactive iodine treatment, it is not obtainable...

Two clinical cases of endocrinologic emergency are presented: myxedema coma and thyrotoxic crisis. These are very severe situations with a high mortality rate. In myxedema coma it reaches 50% and in thyrotoxic crisis the range is between 25 and 30%. These entities are not the always present in mind because of their rarity. Consequently, they may well be undiagnosed. In our cases, the myxedema coma was initially diagnosed as brainstem stroke, and the hyperthyroidism was taken for concealed malignant tumor. The management of both situations is briefly commented...