Hypothyroidism: Mimicker of Common Complaints Matthew C
Emerg Med Clin N Am 23 (2005) 649–667 Hypothyroidism: Mimicker of Common Complaints Matthew C. Tews, DOa, Sid M. Shah, MD, FACEPb,*, Ved V. Gossain, MD, FACP, FACEPc aCollege of Osteopathic Medicine, Emergency Medicine Residency Program, Michigan State University–Lansing, P.O. Box 30480, Lansing, MI 48909, USA bMichigan State University, Attending Physician Emergency Medicine, Ingham Regional Medical, Center 401 W. Greenlawn Avenue, Lansing, MI 48910, USA cDivision of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, Michigan State University, Lansing, MI 48909, USA Patients with hypothyroidism may present with vague symptoms such as fatigue, arthralgias, myalgias, muscle cramps, headaches, and ‘‘not feeling well.’’ These are also among the more common complaints encountered by the emergency physicians. The disease spectrum of hypothyroidism ranges from an asymptomatic, subclinical condition to the rare, life-threatening myxedema coma, and thus can be a challenging diagnosis to make. A progressive and chronic disease, hypothyroidism results from diminished thyroid hormone production. It slows metabolic functions in every organ system in the body. Commonly, clinical presentation of hypothyroidism can be confused with effects of aging in the elderly, musculoskeletal or a psychiatric illness such as depression in the younger patients. Spontaneously occurring hypothyroidism is relatively common, with prevalence between 1% to 2%, and is 10 times more common in women than in men [1]. The probability of developing spontaneous hypothyroidism increases with age, with women having a mean age at diagnosis of around 60 years [2]. A recent survey showed that 9.5% out of nearly 26,000 visitors to a statewide health fair in Colorado had elevated circulating thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels, indicating underlying hypothyroidism [3].
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