Thyroid disease is common and can have various systemic manifestations including cardiac diseases. Hypothyroidism is commonly associated with sinus bradycardia, low QRS complexes, prolonged QT interval and conduction blocks but rarely may cause arrhythmias. We present a patient who presented with presyncope and supraventricular tachycardia with severe hypothyroidism. Patient responded well to thyroxine replacement with biochemical improvement, the disappearance of arrhythmia after restoration of euthyroidism suggests that hypothyroidism might be the cause of supraventricular tachycardia. The aim of this report is to underline the possible aetiological link between supraventricular tachycardia and hypothyroidism, although supraventricular arrhythmias are ordinary features of hyperthyroidism.
In patients with thyroid disease, ocular involvement or thyroid ophthalmopathy is common, irrespective of their thyroid status. A common feature of thyroid eye disease is eyelid retraction, which leads to a classical starry gaze (Kocher sign). Treatment with radioactive iodine (RAI) is a known therapy for hyperthyroidism. However, this treatment may lead to or worsen thyroid ophthalmopathy. We report a case series of two patients with thyrotoxicosis, who presented with an atypical and subtle occurrence of thyroid eye disease (TED) soon after RAI therapy. One of the patients was initially diagnosed and treated for dry eyes; however, over a period of time, the patient's vision progressively deteriorated. Clinical and radiological investigations confirmed thyroid ophthalmopathy with low serum thyroid hormone levels. Both patients recovered well after immediate intensive intravenous steroid treatment. These cases highlight the importance of recognizing partial ptosis as one of the presenting signs of active TED among general practitioners and physicians.
Graves' disease is a common cause of hyperthyroidism. Treatment options for Graves' disease include antithyroid medication, surgery or radioactive iodine (I-31) or RAI. This review will focus on the approach to RAI therapy; discussing dose selection, patient preparation, and consideration before and after administering RAI, examining aspects of pre-treatment with antithyroid medication as well as discussing possible adverse events including hypothyroidism and possible worsening of thyroid-associated opthalmopathy. Follow-up is lifelong with the aim of ensuring the patient remains euthyroid or on replacement therapy if there is evidence of hypothyroidism. While there are controversies in treatment of thyrotoxicosis with RAI, with appropriate patient selection and regular follow-up, radioiodine is a safe and effective modality in achieving high cure rates.
Subclinical hypothyroidism (SHT) is a biochemical diagnosis, defined as an elevated Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) with normal free thyroxine (FT4). It affects 4-10% of the adult population and is more prevalent in elderly women. Its commonest cause is autoimmune thyroiditis, detected by anti- thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPO-Ab). About 2-5% of SHT patients progress to overt hypothyroidism annually. The SHT prevalence among depressed patients ranges between 3% and 17%. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of SHT and TPO-Ab positivity among patients diagnosed with depressive disorders. It was a cross-sectional study carried out in the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre over a 12 months period. Serum TSH, FT4 and TPO-Ab were measured. Results showed that 82% of depressed patients were euthyroid, 4% had SHT, 11% had subclinical hyperthyroidism and 2% had discordant thyroid function. TPO-Ab positivity among the subjects was 7%, one of whom had SHT. In conclusion, the prevalence of SHT and TPO-Ab positivity in the study population, at 4% and 7%, respectively, were comparable to previous findings.
Introduction: The association of myasthenia gravis (MG) with other autoimmune diseases including autoimmune thyroid disease (ATD) is well recognised, although rare. The occurrence of both diseases can occur in two ways: either disease preceding the other, or concurrently. The presentation of MG in association with ATD can range from ocular to generalised disease.
Case Summary: A 26-year-old Malay female with persistent hyperthyroidism secondary to Hashimoto's thyroiditis in multinodular goitre was diagnosed with generalised MG after 2 years. She presented with right eye ptosis (ocular) and difficulty in swallowing and chewing (bulbar). The diagnosis of MG was confirmed by fatigability testing, electromyography and the presence of AChR antibodies. Her symptoms showed improvement with pyridostigmine (Mestinon) 60 mg 6-hourly. Her antithyroid drug was tapered down according to her thyroid function test. Throughout a year of follow-ups, her hyperthyroidism and fatigability symptoms improved with treatment. She was later counselled for total thyroidectomy and thymectomy.
Conclusion: Myasthenia gravis and hyperthyroidism may present with similar symptoms such as dysphagia due to neuromuscular weakness or fatigue. When the diseases occur together, one of the diagnoses may be missed. Therefore, the occurrence of new symptoms in a patient with underlying ATD should should trigger the early identification of other autoimmune diseases by primary care doctors.
Carbimazole, in 3 divided daily doses, is commonly prescribed for the treatment of thyrotoxicosis. However, based on its long intra-thyroid half-life, the drug may be effective when used as a single or twice daily dose. This study was undertaken to determine the effect of once, twice or thrice daily doses of carbimazole on thyroid function in patients with thyrotoxicosis. Seventy previously untreated thyrotoxic patients were randomly allocated to receive carbimazole 30 mg once (group 1), 15 mg twice (group 2) and 10 mg thrice (group 3) daily. All patients were also prescribed propranolol 20 mg thrice daily for the first 4 weeks. Blood was taken for total T3, T4, TSH, blood counts and liver enzymes determinations at the beginning and at 6 weeks of treatment. Only 48 (68.6%) patients were included in the analysis, as the rest defaulted follow-up (20.0%) or blood samples were not available at review (11.4%). Of the 48 patients, 17 were in group 1, 16 in group 2 and 15 in group 3. Following 6 weeks of treatment, there was no significant difference in the mean serum levels of total T3 and T4 between the 3 groups. However, there was a significant decrease in the mean serum levels of total T3 and T4 as compared to the start of the treatment. Four patients (23.5%) in group 1, 4 patients (25%) in group 2 and 3 patients (20%) in group 3 were still thyrotoxic at 6 weeks of treatment, whilst 10 patients (58.8%) in group 1, 6 patients (37.5%) in group 2 and 3 (20%) in group 3 were biochemically hypothyroid.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Primary thyroid lymphoma (PTL) is a rare form of thyroid cancer that is known to be associated with Hashimoto thyroiditis. This association is supported by the presence of elevated titres of both antithyroglobulin and antimicrosomal antibodies in up to 95 percent of patients with PTL. Most patients with PTL present with a rapidly enlarging neck mass and compressive symptoms. The majority of thyroid cancer patients have normal levels of thyroid hormones; they are rarely hyperthyroid, with no obvious clinical features of thyrotoxicosis. We describe a patient who presented with minimal clinical features of thyrotoxicosis despite having markedly elevated serum free thyroxine and suppressed serum thyroid-stimulating hormone levels.
The presenting features of 236 thyrotoxic patients seen in the thyroid clinic were reviewed. 18.65% of these patterns had one or more dermatological complaints at presentation. There was no specific difference in this group of patients when compared with the general hyperthyroid population with regard to age, race, sex, duration of hyperthyroidism or biochemical indices of thyrotoxicosis. The two major complaints were itching and alopecia. The prevalence of pruritus at 6.4% in our series was identical to that of other workers, but we had a much lower occurrence of alopecia at 2.6%. The diagnosis of thyrotoxicosis was delayed in two patients in whom the only major complaint was pruritus. These symptoms cleared quickly when these patients became euthyroid. However there were other patients who noted hair loss with anti-thyroid medications. The incidence of vitiligo, eczema, onycholysis in our series was much lower those quoted in the Western literature The occurrence of pretibial myoxoedema in our series is similar to that of other workers from this region. The other miscellaneous manifestations include urticaria, xanthelasma and systemic lupus erythematosis. In conclusion we feel the cutaneous manifestations of hyperthyroidism are common in our patients.
A 32 year old male thyrotoxic presenting with gynaecomastia, galactorrhoea and later complicated with hypokalaemic periodic paralysis is presented. The gynaecomastia and galactorrhoea resolved with treatment. To the best of the author's knowledge this combination of association in one patient has not been reported previously.
INTRODUCTION: Thyroid antibodies are closely related to autoimmune thyroid disorders. To date, there
are no data on the prevalence of these antibodies among the Malaysian population. This study aimed to
determine the prevalence of thyroid antibodies; and the factors associated with thyroid antibodies in the
Malaysian adult population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed in 5 preassigned regions in Peninsular Malaysia. Participants’ sociodemographic profile and medical history were
recorded. Physical examinations were done looking for abnormalities of the thyroid gland and signs of thyroid
dysfunctions. Fifteen mils of blood were withdrawn and analysed for thyroid function, anti-thyroperoxidase
(anti-TPO) and anti-thyroglobulin (anti-TG) antibodies at a central laboratory. RESULTS: Among the total of
2190 respondents, the overall prevalence of positive anti-TPO and anti-TG antibodies were 12.2% and 12.1%,
respectively; mainly found in urban and coastal areas. Only 7% to 9% of those with positive anti-TPO or antiTG antibodies had either hypo- or hyperthyroidism. The predictors for positive anti-TPO antibody were
female [adjusted OR 1.7 (95%CI: 1.2–2.4); p=0.001], Indian [adjusted OR 1.9 (95%CI: 1.1–3.1); p=0.020], and
having a goitre [adjusted OR 1.8 (95%CI: 1.2–2.8), p=0.004]. The predictors of positive anti-TG antibody was
female [adjusted OR 2.3 (95%CI: 1.6–3.3); p
Twenty eight patients with hyperthyroidism complicating their pregnancies were seen at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department, University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in a six-year period. All patients were treated with antithyroid drugs, carbimazole being the mainstay of treatment. The incidence of the disease was 0.9 per 1000 births and was similar with other series. No cases of fetal goitre were noted. The mean birth weight was 2952 g; there was no significant difference in the birth weight of term live births in patients treated with carbimazole alone or carbimazole combined with propranolol.
Background of Study: Patients with thyroid disorders were found to have
continued to experience symptoms of depression despite the great of treatment has
been given to the patient to balance the thyroid hormones. Objective: The aim of
this study is to determine the level of depression symptoms among various types
of thyroid disorders patients.
Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out at
one of the government hospital at central region of Peninsular Malaysia from
August to October 2016. Patients were diagnosed as thyroid disorders, Malaysian
citizen, above 18 years old and did not have any psychiatric disorders were
included in this study.Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-42 (DASS-42) was
selected to determine the severity of depression symptoms and interpreted as
follow: less than 9-no depression, between 10 and 13-mild depression, between
14-20-moderate depression, between 21 and 27- severe depression and more than
28-extreme severe depression. Descriptive statistic was analysed by IBM
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0.
Results: About
15% (23) out of 153 thyroid patients had varies degree of depression symptoms
from mild to severe extremely depression. Patients who had hyperthyroid were
found to have more depressed, followed by hypothyroid and thyroid cancer group.
Conclusion: These findings would suggest that the depression score was higher in
the patients who have hyperthyroid. A more detail and thorough study is
recommended to be done, in order to confirm these findings.
The third and final meeting of a coordinated research programme on the diagnosis and management of thyroid disorders was held in Vienna from 15 to 17 December 1986. The participants were from Czechoslovakia, Egypt, Israel, Malaysia and Thailand. Each participant had studied between 500 and 1000 patients for thyroid function evaluation by performing T3, T4 and TSH radioimmunoassays. Each had also used the newly available supersensitive immunoradiometric (IRMA) assay in a group of patients to compare the efficiency of the new assay with that of the conventional assay. A microcomputer was provided to each participant for data analysis. Internal quality control was studied by establishing precision profiles and external quality control was on the basis of pooled standard sera in different ranges. Recommendation for the strategy suggested T4 RIA as the test of first choice in each category of thyroid function. IRMA TSH was suggested as a second test in borderline cases.
The functional behavior of the thyroid is fundamental in most diseases and represents the basis for diagnosis and therapy. The status can be euthyroidism, hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. The psychiatric manifestation varies in different thyroid status. Those with hypothyroidism were described to have depression, psychosis and cognitive dysfunction. Meanwhile, those with hyperthyroidism were found to have psychosis, aggression, anxiety as well as cognitive impairment.
Frontal mucocele is not commonly masked as upper lid abscess.A 72-year-old Chinese man with underlying hyperthyroidism complained of left upper eyelid swelling of 6 months duration. The swelling had persisted and worsen when intravenous antibiotic was changed oral type. Visual acuity on presentation was hand motion and reverse relative afferent pupillary defect was present. Because the swelling was large and resulted in mechanical ptosis and ophthalmoplegia, a CT imaging was performed, which showed huge left frontal mucocele eroding the supereromedial orbital rim. The left globe was displaced inferolaterally but there was no extension into brain parenchyma. Fundus examination showed pale optic disc with dull macula. Old laser marks were seen at peripheral fundus. Referral to ortholaryngologist was made and endoscopic sinus surgery and evacuation of mucopyocoele was done. Culture and sensitivity of the fluid showed no organism. He recovered well postoperatively with additional two weeks of antibiotics. We highlight the necessity of surgical drainage of mucocele, following a course of antibiotic.