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Case Reports
. 2019 Sep 3:34:7.
doi: 10.11604/pamj.2019.34.7.19164. eCollection 2019.

Myxedema coma: four patients diagnosed at the Internal Medicine Department of the Dr. Negrin University Hospital in Spain

Noel Lorenzo Villalba  1 , Abrar-Ahmad Zulfiqar  1 , Vanessa Saint-Mezard  2 , Maria Belen Alonso Ortiz  3 , Melek Kechida  4 , Nuria Fuertes Zamorano  2 , Saturnino Suárez Ortega  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

Myxedema coma: four patients diagnosed at the Internal Medicine Department of the Dr. Negrin University Hospital in Spain

Noel Lorenzo Villalba et al. Pan Afr Med J. .

Abstract

Myxedema coma is a rare complication of hypothyroidism. Clinical examination may reveal hypotension, bradycardia, and hypothermia. Laboratory tests may show hyponatremia, lipid disorders, and elevations of creatine kinase, liver, and cardiac enzymes. We describe four cases diagnosed in our hospital during the period 1999-2017. The patients were related to amiodarone treatment, noncompliance with hormone replacement therapy, or a new diagnosis of hypothyroidism. Intravenous hormone replacement therapy was effective in three of the cases and one died. The outcome of this disease may be fatal as seen in one of our cases.

Keywords: Myxedema coma; hormone replacement therapy; hypothyroidism.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

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