A Case of Massive Levothyroxine Intoxication in a Patient with Total Thyroidectomy

• Published in: The Korean journal of medicine Vol. 88; no. 3; pp. 313 - 317
• Main Authors: Jung, Yun, Ahn, Hee Jung, Hyun, Jin Soo, Jang, Hoe Soo, Kim, Jin Hwa, Kim, Sang Yong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 대한내과학회 01.03.2015
• Subjects: 내과학
• ISSN: 1738-9364; 2289-0769
• DOI: 10.3904/kjm.2015.88.3.313

The use of levothyroxine is increasingly widespread. There are relatively few reports of acute massive levothyroxine intoxicationleading to emergencies in adults, and such intoxication has a wide range of presentations. Although thyroid gland activity is suppressedby thyroid stimulating hormone as a result of overdose exposure to exogenous thyroid hormone, it is unclear what symptomsare to be expected in acute levothyroxine intoxication in the absence of the thyroid gland. We report a case of massive acutelevothyroxine intoxication in a patient with total thyroidectomy, along with observed changes over time in thyroid hormone levelsand symptoms. To the best of our knowledge, this report presents the first description of acute massive levothyroxine intoxication inthe absence of a thyroid gland. KCI Citation Count: 0