• Media type: E-Article
  • Title: Thyroid storm presenting with coma
  • Contributor: McLean, J. R. L.; Allan, K.
  • Published: Wiley, 2021
  • Published in: Anaesthesia Reports, 9 (2021) 2
  • Language: English
  • DOI: 10.1002/anr3.12134
  • ISSN: 2637-3726
  • Keywords: Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine
  • Origination:
  • Footnote:
  • Description: SummaryThyroid storm is a rare manifestation of severe thyrotoxicosis, and presentation with coma is highly atypical. A 32‐year‐old woman, previously euthyroid, presented in a comatose state with tachycardia, hypertension and pyrexia. The patient’s trachea was intubated in the community and she was subsequently admitted to the intensive care unit with a working diagnosis of meningoencephalitis. Although hypertension was present initially, subsequent hypotension necessitated a noradrenaline infusion. The patient remained persistently tachycardic and pyrexial. Initial laboratory investigations, including examination of cerebrospinal fluid, did not identify a specific diagnosis. Subsequently, raised thyroxine and triiodothyronine levels alongside undetectable thyroid‐stimulating hormone confirmed the diagnosis of thyroid storm. Following treatment for thyrotoxicosis, the patient made a full recovery and was discharged from the intensive care unit after three days. This case highlights the importance of considering thyroid disease in critically ill patients presenting with non‐specific symptoms.
  • Access State: Open Access