eMedicine Specialties > Pediatrics: General Medicine > Endocrinology

Thyroid Storm: Follow-up

Author: Madhusmita Misra, MD, Assistant in Pediatrics, Mass General Hospital for Children, Harvard Medical School; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Fellowship Program Director, Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Massachusetts General Hospital
Coauthor(s): Abhay Singhal, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Indiana University School of Medicine; Deborah E Campbell, MD, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Director, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Weiler Hospital Division of Montefiore Medical Center
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Jun 4, 2009

Follow-up

Further Inpatient Care

  • A pediatric ICU is the recommended inpatient care setting.
  • Continue supportive treatment.
  • Appropriately manage the precipitating event.
  • Follow up with laboratory tests to confirm thyrotoxicosis diagnosis, if previously undiagnosed.

Inpatient & Outpatient Medications

  • Patients may require propranolol and iodides administration for 1 week.

Deterrence/Prevention

  • Promptly and appropriately treat thyrotoxicosis after diagnosis.
  • Perform surgery in thyrotoxic patients only after appropriate thyroid and/or beta-adrenergic blockade.
  • Thyroid storm following radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy for hyperthyroidism may be related to (1) withdrawal of antithyroid medications for RAI administration (usually withdrawn 5-7 d before administration of RAI and held until 5-7 d after RAI therapy), (2) release of large amounts of thyroid hormone from damaged follicles, and (3) RAI itself. Because TH levels are often higher immediately before RAI treatment than they are afterward, many endocrinologists believe that withdrawal of antithyroid drugs is the cause of thyroid storm. One option is to stop antithyroid drugs (including methimazole) only 3 days (rather than 5-7 d) before RAI therapy and to restart antithyroid drugs 3 days after RAI administration. Early institution of antithyroid drugs after RAI therapy may decrease the efficacy of treatment, requiring a second dose.
  • Consider testing thyroid function before operative procedures in children at high risk for hyperthyroidism (eg, patients with McCune-Albright syndrome).

Prognosis

  • If untreated, thyroid storm is almost invariably fatal in adults and is likely to cause a similarly severe outcome in children, although the condition is so rare in children that these data are not available.
  • With adequate thyroid-suppressive therapy and sympathetic blockade, clinical improvement should occur within 24 hours.
  • Adequate therapy should resolve the crisis within a week.
  • Treatment for adults has reduced mortality to less than 20%.
  • In adult patients, the precipitating factor is often the cause of death.

Patient Education

Miscellaneous

Medicolegal Pitfalls

  • Diagnosis may be missed because of variable presentation and because thyroid storm is rare in children.
  • In younger children and neonates, thyroid storm is most likely to be confused with sepsis and septic shock in the absence of a previous thyrotoxicosis diagnosis.
 


More on Thyroid Storm

Overview: Thyroid Storm
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Thyroid Storm
Treatment & Medication: Thyroid Storm
Follow-up: Thyroid Storm
References
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References

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Further Reading

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Keywords

thyroid storm, thyrotoxic crisis, thyrotoxicosis, thyroid hormones, TH, hypertension, congestive heart failure, hypotension, shock, heat intolerance, tachycardia, delirium, seizures, diarrhea, jaundice, vomiting, abdominal pain, Graves disease, respiratory distress, fatigue, atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation, goiter, McCune-Albright syndrome, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, Addison disease, type I diabetes, myasthenia gravis, chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis, Hashimoto thyroiditis, systemic lupus erythematosus, chronic active hepatitis, nephrotic syndrome

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Madhusmita Misra, MD, Assistant in Pediatrics, Mass General Hospital for Children, Harvard Medical School; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Fellowship Program Director, Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Massachusetts General Hospital
Madhusmita Misra, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Endocrine Society and Lawson-Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society
Disclosure: Tercica Grant/research funds Principal investigator; Ipsen Consulting fee Review panel membership

Coauthor(s)

Abhay Singhal, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Indiana University School of Medicine
Abhay Singhal, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Deborah E Campbell, MD, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Director, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Weiler Hospital Division of Montefiore Medical Center
Deborah E Campbell, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Medical Association, National Perinatal Association, New York Academy of Medicine, and New York Academy of Sciences
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Phyllis W Speiser, MD, Chief of Pediatric Endocrinology, Schneider Children's Hospital; Professor of Pediatrics, New York University School of Medicine
Phyllis W Speiser, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, Endocrine Society, Lawson-Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society, and Society for Pediatric Research
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Mary L Windle, PharmD, Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy, Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: Pfizer Inc Stock Investment from financial planner; Avanir Pharma Stock Investment from financial planner ; WebMD Salary and stock Employment and investment from financial planner

Managing Editor

Lynne Lipton Levitsky, MD, Chief, Pediatric Endocrine Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital; Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Harvard University Medical School
Lynne Lipton Levitsky, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Diabetes Association, American Pediatric Society, Endocrine Society, Lawson-Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society, and Society for Pediatric Research
Disclosure: Pfizer Grant/research funds P.I.; Tercica Grant/research funds PI, also occasional consultant

CME Editor

Merrily P M Poth, MD, Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Merrily P M Poth, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics, Endocrine Society, and Lawson-Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Stephen Kemp, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Pediatric Endocrinology, University of Arkansas and Arkansas Children's Hospital
Stephen Kemp, MD, PhD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, American Pediatric Society, Endocrine Society, Phi Beta Kappa, Southern Medical Association, and Southern Society for Pediatric Research
Disclosure: Genentech, Inc. Honoraria Speaking and teaching; Pfizer, Inc. Honoraria Consulting

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