You are here

Article Text

Article menu
Download PDFPDF
Case report
Laryngeal myxoedema: a literature review of an uncommon complication of hypothyroidism
  1. Mian Harris Iftikhar1,
  2. Fazal I Raziq2,
  3. Patrick Coll3 and
  4. Aneeqa Yousaf Dar4
  1. 1 Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
  2. 2 Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
  3. 3 University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA
  4. 4 St Francis Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Fazal I Raziq; Iraziq.fazal462{at}gmail.com

Abstract

A 59-year-old woman presented to the emergency department with shortness of breath. She had significant oropharyngeal swelling obstructing her upper respiratory tract. A diagnosis of laryngeal myxoedema was made, which was attributed to severe hypothyroidism. She required invasive ventilation and subsequently a tracheostomy. She was treated with levothyroxine and hydrocortisone. She completely recovered with this therapy. In this review, we will discuss similar cases and different therapeutic options. This case also highlights the fact that establishing a diagnosis of laryngeal myxoedema, a condition that can potentially have lethal outcomes and can be challenging.

  • drugs and medicines
  • endocrine system
  • ear
  • nose and throat/otolaryngology
  • thyroid disease
  • general practice / family medicine

https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2020-241313

Statistics from Altmetric.com

    Request Permissions

    If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

    View Full Text

    Footnotes

    • Contributors The case report was written by both Dr FIR and Dr MHI. Editions were made by Dr FIR, Dr MHI, Dr PC and Dr AYD.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer-reviewed.