Thyroid : official journal of the American Thyroid Association
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Some have suggested that thyroid disease is even more prevalent among patients with hyperparathyroidism (HPT) than in the general population. We sought to define the incidence and optimal management strategies of thyroid disease in patients undergoing surgery for HPT. ⋯ The high prevalence of thyroid disease, especially malignancies, among HPT patients mandates vigilant diagnosis and preparation for possible simultaneous parathyroid-thyroid surgery. Without appropriate preoperative screening, focal explorations for HPT may be prone to delayed diagnosis of thyroid tumors. Ultrasound performed by surgeons or endocrinologists preoperatively is an excellent diagnostic tool and minimizes unnecessary thyroidectomy in patients with subclinical thyroid disease.
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The high prevalence of celiac disease in patients with autoimmune hypothyroidism, compared to the general population, has been well documented but screening for celiac disease is not recommended as yet in otherwise asymptomatic hypothyroid patients. In recent years the high prevalence of undiagnosed celiac disease in the general population, largely as a result of the many atypical manifestations of the disease, has become apparent. ⋯ Cases of undiagnosed celiac disease causing levothyroxine malabsorbtion have previously been described, but all previous cases had other obvious manifestations of the disease. We believe that this atypical presentation of celiac disease warrants further attention, and that the diagnosis of celiac disease should always be considered in patients requiring higher than expected doses of thyroid hormone replacement, even in patients with normal bowel habit, and no other apparent manifestations of the disease.
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Acute hepatic failure is a rare and potentially lethal complication of propylthiouracil (PTU) use for hyperthyroidism. We present a 20-year-old woman with Basedow-Graves' disease who developed PTU-induced fulminant hepatitis, which progressed to acute hepatic failure with grade III hepatic encephalopathy. Laboratory evaluation ruled out the most common causes of fulminant hepatitis. ⋯ Amiodarone treatment did not abolish the thyroid radioactive iodine uptake (RAIU), allowing for subsequent treatment with radioactive iodine. The clinical course was favorable and the patient achieved full hepatic recovery 3 months after the hepatic failure was detected. After an extensive review of the literature, we believe that this is the first communication of the successful use of amiodarone to control hyperthyroidism in a patient with PTU-induced fulminant hepatitis.
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Severe hyperthyroidism is not included in the traditional differential diagnosis of ketoacidosis. However, thyroid hormone has well-documented lipolytic effects on adipocytes and may also promote hepatic beta-oxidation. We present a case in which a woman with severe hyperthyroidism developed otherwise unexplained ketoacidosis during the acute phase of her illness. We propose that thyrotoxicosis was a significant contributor to ketoacidosis in this patient and that severe hyperthyroidism should be added to the differential diagnosis of ketoacidosis.
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We reviewed the clinical characteristics, pattern of disease at presentation, histopathologic subtype, treatment, course, and outcome of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTT) in children and adolescents presenting with pulmonary metastasis and tried to assess the effectiveness of routine chest x-ray and high-resolution computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest vis-à-vis 131I whole-body scan (WBS) in revealing pulmonary metastasis. In our series of 1754 patients, 122 (7%) were 20 years of age or younger, of whom 28 (23%) had pulmonary metastasis. Mean age was 13.9 +/- 4.4 years (F:M ratio = 12:16). ⋯ To conclude, a large majority of pediatric patients with DTC have x-ray- and even high-resolution-negative pulmonary metastasis. However, these metastases are 131I avid, and thus are amenable to detection and treatment with radioiodine. Therefore, postsurgical evaluation with 131I is recommended in all children and adolescents.