Small Group: Thyroid Disorders Flashcards
What are signs and symptoms of hyperthyroidism?
Heat intolerance Weight loss Palpitations Diarrhea Thinning of lateral eyebrow hair Irritability Insomnia Diplopia Diaphoresis Tremor Smooth skin Tachycardia Lid lag (eyelids pulled back slightly due to increased muscle tone)
In most cases, hyperthyroidism can be confirmed with only ____________.
TSH level (suppressed)
Graves disease is treated with ______________.
radioactive iodine
What might you hear in listening to someone with hypothyroidism (in their voice)?
Hoarseness due to thickening of the vocal cords
Why do women with hypothyroidism have heavy menstrual bleeding?
Sex-hormone binding globulin is produced by the liver in response to thyroid hormone, so deficient levels lead to increased free estrogen.
What neurologic sign is suggestive of hypothyroidism?
Slow or absent deep tendon reflexes
Describe silent thyroiditis.
In pregnancy, women undergo a transient immunosuppressive state. After pregnancy, this ends and the immune system can attack the thyroid. This results in temporary hyperthyroidism –due to the release of preformed thyroid hormone –followed by hypothyroidism.
This is distinguished from subacute thyroiditis by being painless.
How can silent thyroiditis be differentiated from Sheehan’s syndrome?
Sheehan’s hypothyroidism presents with low TSH (because the pituitary is damaged), while silent thyroiditis hypothyroidism presents with high TSH.
True or false: treat non-thyroidal sick syndrome with thyroxine.
False. Thyroid hormone supplementation has not been shown to improve outcomes of those with euthyroid sick syndrome.
What non-thyroid lab values can help diagnose subacute thyroiditis?
Elevated ESR