Myxoedema madness

First Episode Psychosis and Pituitary Hyperplasia in a Patient With Untreated Hashimoto's Thyroiditis: A Case Report

This case report describes a woman with no psychiatric history and previously diagnosed Hashimoto's thyroiditis who presented to the psychiatric emergency department with a first episode of psychosis. The initial workup for organic causes of psychosis revealed an astronomically high thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) (> 1,000 μIU/mL) out of proportion to the patient's minimal physical symptoms of hypothyroidism. Additionally the patient's head imaging showed an enlarged pituitary, a rare, but reversible, presentation of chronically untreated primary hypothyroidism. The patient was transferred to a medical unit to receive IV thyroid hormone replacement as well as an adjunctive antipsychotic to assist with remission of her distressing auditory hallucinations and persecutory delusions. This case highlights the importance of a thorough medical workup for causes of new onset psychosis and the need for further consensus in the literature regarding choice of antipsychotic and duration of treatment for psychosis secondary to hypothyroidism.

Myxedema Psychosis after Levothyroxine Withdrawal in Radioactive Iodine Treatment of Differentiated Thyroid Cancer: A Case Report

Neuropsychiatric symptoms, especially acute psychosis (often referred to as myxedema madness or psychosis), are rare but possible clinical presentations of patients with hypothyroidism. A 42-year-old woman with papillary thyroid carcinoma and recent total thyroidectomy had developed flat affect, paranoid delusion, and visual and auditory hallucination during inpatient admission for elective radioactive iodine treatment. On admission, her history and physical exam did not reveal symptoms and signs of significant hypothyroidism. Other medical causes of acute psychosis were excluded, and the patient was immediately treated with thyroid hormone replacement therapy. Subsequently, her thyroid function normalized, and her psychotic symptoms gradually improved. Although there is a lack of classic signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism, myxedema madness should be recognized as one of the potentially treatable causes of acute psychosis.

Myxedema Madness - Systematic literature review of published case reports

Myxedema Madness is a rare but easily treatable cause of psychosis. Since Myxedema Madness was first described the question of a specific psychopathological symptom complex caused by severe hypothyroidism was raised in the literature. The present review of 52 published cases indicates that there are no specific somatic and psychopathological findings to diagnose a myxedema psychosis. It is diagnosed through the measurement of thyroid stimulating hormone and treated by application of L-thyroxine. Due to its excellent prognosis, myxedema madness should always be considered a differential diagnosis in new onset psychosis.

Myxedema Psychosis: Systematic Review and Pooled Analysis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

The term myxedema psychosis (MP) was introduced to describe the occurrence of psychotic symptoms in patients with untreated hypothyroidism, but the optimal assessment and treatment of this condition are unclear. We aimed to synthesize data from the literature to characterize the clinical presentation and management of MP.

METHODS

We performed a systematic review according to the PRISMA (preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses) guidelines in PubMed (Medline), Embase, Google Scholar, and Cochrane databases, including observational studies, case series, and case reports published from 1/1/1980 to 31/12/2019 in the English language. Descriptive statistics along with univariate and multivariate analysis were used for data synthesis.

RESULTS

Out of 1583 articles screened, 71 case reports met our inclusion criteria providing data on 75 MP cases. The median age at diagnosis was 42 years [32-56]. About 53% had no prior hypothyroidism diagnosis. Delusions occurred in 91%, with a predominance of persecutory ideas (84%), while hallucinations occurred in 78%. Physical symptoms and signs of hypothyroidism were absent in 37% and 26%, respectively. If symptoms occurred, nonspecific fatigue was seen most frequently (63%). The median thyroid-stimulating hormone value was 93 mIU/L [60-139]. Thyroid peroxidase antibodies were found positive in 75% (23/33) of reported cases. Creatinine kinase was reported abnormal in seven cases. Cranial imaging (CT or MRI) and electroencephalogram were normal in 89%, 75%, and 73% of the cases reported. The majority of patients were treated orally with thyroxine in combination with short-term antipsychotics. More than 90% of them showed complete recovery. Univariate analysis revealed a trend towards a shorter duration of psychosis with IV thyroid hormone therapy (p= 0.0502), but the effect was not consistent in a multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSION

While we identified a substantial lack of published research on MP, our pooled analysis of case observations suggests that the condition presents a broad spectrum of psychiatric and physical symptoms lending support to the value of screening for thyroid dysfunction in patients with first-ever psychosis.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42020160310.

Severe Hypothyroidism Manifested as Acute Mania With Psychotic Features: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Hypothyroidism is associated with a wide array of medical, neurological, and psychiatric symptoms. Severe hypothyroidism may present as myxedema coma, a medical emergency. In addition, patients may present with myxedema psychosis, a psychiatric emergency manifested as hyperactive encephalopathy, hallucinations, delusions, and suicidal ideation. In rare instances, patients may present with symptoms of mania with psychosis. We present the case of a 26-year-old woman with no known psychiatric history who presented with gradual onset of altered mental status, distractibility, decreased need for sleep, pressured speech, and religious and paranoid delusions. Her medical history was significant for a surgically absent thyroid gland and nonadherence to thyroid hormone. The patient was found to have a severely elevated level of thyroid-stimulating hormone, low level of triiodothyronine, and undetectable thyroxine. Thyroid ultrasound demonstrated a surgically absent thyroid gland. The patient's metabolic panel and random serum cortisol level were normal. Rapid plasma reagin was nonreactive, and toxin screening was negative. It was concluded that severe hypothyroidism was the cause of the patient's mania with psychotic features, given her thyroid hormone levels and lack of history of a psychiatric or substance use disorder. Thyroid hormone monitoring and treatment of hypothyroidism is necessary in all patients who have undergone surgical excision of the thyroid gland. All patients presenting with a first episode mania should be screened for thyroid dysfunction. The preferred treatment includes an atypical antipsychotic and thyroid replacement therapy. Rapid resolution of symptoms can occur with combined levothyroxine and liothyronine. Correction of hypothyroidism improves response to antipsychotics.

Acute psychosis and concurrent rhabdomyolysis unveiling diagnosis of hypothyroidism

Neuropsychiatric and muscular symptoms can develop as part of hypothyroidism. However, frank psychosis or rhabdomyolysis due to hypothyroidism are uncommon and have been reported rarely as the first presenting features of hypothyroidism. We report a case of a 44-year-old man who presented with a 2-week history of delusions, hallucinations and mild bilateral leg pain, without apparent signs of myxedema. Investigations revealed raised thyroid stimulation hormone >100 mIU/L and high creatine kinase >21 000 U/L. Diagnosis of hypothyroidism-induced psychosis and rhabdomyolysis was made. He received thyroxine, olanzapine and a short course of steroids. His symptoms improved after 2 weeks of treatment and he remained free of symptoms at 6 months of follow-up. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of concomitant psychosis and rhabdomyolysis leading to hypothyroidism diagnosis. This case highlights the importance of hypothyroidism screening when faced with unexplained psychosis or rhabdomyolysis, especially if combined.

A Case of Violent Suicide Attempt in a Context of Myxedema Psychosis following Radioiodine Treatment in a Patient with Graves' Disease

Introduction

Hypothyroidism has been associated with mood disorders but some cases of acute psychosis have also been reported. However, less attention has been paid to suicidal behavior in these patients.

Case Report

We report a case of suicide attempt by self-stabbing in a 43-year-old woman without past psychiatric history, four months after radioiodine therapy for Graves' disease. On clinical examination remarkable signs of myxedema were found and blood investigations showed hypothyroidism with an extremely high thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level (152 mUI/L; reference range 0.20-5.10). The patient presented delirium symptoms at the time of self-stabbing, which was associated with persecutory delusions and auditory harm command hallucinations. A rapid physical and psychiatric improvement was observed after the initiation of an oral thyroid replacement therapy without relapse after early discontinuation of the antipsychotic treatment.

Discussion

The most distinctive feature of our case is that the violent suicide attempt could be attributed to the myxedema psychosis. Suicide may result from several factors, including psychosocial stressors, psychiatric symptoms, and hormonal disturbance. This unique presentation should remind clinicians to systematically consider ordering additional tests in patients with atypical psychiatric presentation, even when serious behavioral disorders (such as violent suicide attempts) are present and may result in premature transfer to psychiatric units.

Late onset radioiodine-induced hypothyroidism presenting with psychosis 14 years after treatment: a rare case

Radioiodine treatment-induced hypothyroid psychosis is uncommon. Our literature search shows only three cases of hypothyroid psychosis developed within 3 months after the radioiodine treatment. Our case represents the first case of radioiodine-induced hypothyroidism presenting as psychosis much later (14 years) after the radioiodine treatment. A 60-year-old Chinese lady, with long-standing primary hypothyroidism due to the radioiodine treatment performed 14 years ago, presented with a 1-week history of hallucination, delusion and agitation. She was not on thyroid replacement. Thyroid function test done 14 years ago and again upon her admission to our facility was consistent with primary hypothyroidism. General blood tests and brain imaging were unremarkable. Her psychotic features resolved within 1 week with thyroid replacement and 9 days of antipsychotics. No further relapse of psychosis was noted. This emphasizes that radioiodine-induced hypothyroidism can go unnoticed for many years and present much later solely as psychosis.

Acute psychosis as an initial manifestation of hypothyroidism: a case report

Introduction

Hypothyroidism is one of the most important causes of treatable dementia, and psychosis occasionally associated with it is known as myxedema madness. We report a case of a 90-year-old patient who developed myxedema madness acutely without overt clinical symptoms and signs suggestive of hypothyroidism.

Case presentation

A 90-year-old Japanese man, a general practitioner, was admitted to our emergency room because of acute-onset lethargy, delusions, and hallucinations. He had been actively working until 3 days before the admission. Upon admission, his general physical examination was unremarkable. However, a blood investigation showed the presence of hypothyroidism, and computed tomography revealed pleural effusion and ascites. Electroencephalography revealed diffuse slow waves with a decrease of α-wave activity. A single-photon emission computed tomography scan revealed a decrease of cerebral blood flow in both frontal lobes. The patient was soon treated with thyroid hormone replacement therapy. Following normalization of his thyroid function, both pleural effusion and ascites diminished and his electroencephalographic activity improved simultaneously; however, he did not recover from his psychosis.

Conclusions

Myxedema madness should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of acute psychosis in elderly patients, particularly the oldest patients as in our case, because manifestations of hypothyroidism often may be indistinguishable from the aging process.

Neuropsychiatric manifestations of thyroid disease

The interface between thyroid hormone action and neuropsychiatric function is intricate, and several mechanisms of thyroid hormone uptake into brain tissues, hormone activation, and influences on neurotransmitter generation have been identified. Symptoms of hypothyroidism are nonspecific, whereas those attributed to thyrotoxicosis may be more characteristic. Neuropsychiatric manifestations triggered by thyroid dysfunction likely respond well to reestablishment of the euthyroid state, although some patients have persistent complaints. The addition of LT3 to ongoing LT4 replacement has yet to be definitively shown to be advantageous. Treatment of euthyroid depression with LT3 in addition to antidepressant therapy lacks convincing evidence of superior outcomes.