Challenging Thyroid Storm in Pregnancy, Case Report

Background: Thyroid storm is a rare complication of hyperthyroidism(.) It can lead to life-threatening complications such as Arrhythmias, multiorgan failure and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) ((1)). In pregnant patients can cause spontaneous abortions, fetal demise ((2)). Aggressive treatment under critical care settings is needed. Clinical Case: We report a case of 24-year-old Indian female twelve weeks pregnant; background of Graves’ disease for five years, was on carbimazole but she discontinued since she became pregnant. Presented to Hamad general hospital with nausea, vomiting and altered mental status for one day. She was afebrile, normotensive, tachypneic, tachycardiac with heart rate of 150bpm, and confused. Investigations showed supraventricular tachycardia aborted by adenosine and amiodarone, TSH was < 0.01mIU/l(0.3-4.2) and FT4> 100 pmol/L(11.6-21.9),normal baseline liver function and complete blood counts. In the emergency department, she was managed for thyroid storm with hydrocortisone, propranolol, propylthiouracil (PTU), iodine solution and cholestyramine. Then suddenly she deteriorated requiring intubation and vasopressor support under care of Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) progressed to multiorgan failure; acute liver injury, acute kidney injury and DIC. So, PTU was stopped and started on plasma exchange followed by total thyroidectomy and tracheostomy. US pelvis showed nonviable fetus, so dilation and curettage were done by obstetric team. Afterwards, she markedly improved except her conscious level and kidney function which required Hemodialysis. MRI brain showed small subdural hematoma treated conservatively and Wernicke encephalopathy treated with thiamine with substantial response and spontaneously breathing. Post thyroidectomy she required calcium supplementation and levothyroxine, liver function and coagulation parameters back to baseline. Conclusion: Thyroid storm in pregnancy is a medical emergency with high mortality rate, it needs high index of suspicion and early aggressive management by a multidisciplinary team. Plasmapheresis may be considered for challenging cases as a bridge for definitive therapy. Thyroidectomy may be the only option in selected cases like our case. References: 1. Karger S, Führer D. Thyreotoxische Krise--ein Update [Thyroid storm--thyrotoxic crisis: an update]. Dtsch Med Wochenschr. 2008 Mar;133(10):479-84. German. doi: 10.1055/s-2008-1046737. PMID: 18302101. 2. Ma Y, Li H, Liu J, Lin X, Liu H. Impending thyroid storm in a pregnant woman with undiagnosed hyperthyroidism: A case report and literature review. Medicine (Baltimore). 2018;97(3):e9606. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000009606