Humans ; Child ; Methimazole/adverse effects* ; Graves Disease/drug therapy*

Thyroid storm and thionamide-induced agranulocytosis are both rare and serious medical emergencies. We report a case of a patient in which these two rare events simultaneously occurred. A 33-year-old male, maintained on Methimazole for Graves’ Disease, presented with fever, throat pain, and uncontrolled thyrotoxic symptoms. Methimazole was promptly discontinued. Thyroid storm was alternatively treated with lithium, hydrocortisone, and propranolol. Agranulocytosis was managed supportively with GCSF and empiric antibiotics. Lithium was maintained until after radioablation. When thionamides are contraindicated, lithium is a viable option for the acute management of thyroid storm and a bridge to definitive therapy.
Methimazole ; Lithium

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the incidence rate of adverse reactions of methimazole in children with hyperthyroidism. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data of 304 children with hyperthyroidism who were hospitalized in Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University from January 2015 to May 2021. The incidence rate of methimazole-related adverse reactions was analyzed. The risk factors for common adverse reactions were evaluated. RESULTS: Among the 304 children, 87 (28.6%) experienced adverse reactions, among whom there were 20 boys (23%) and 67 girls (77%). Common adverse reactions included neutropenia (12.8%), rash (11.8%), elevated alanine aminotransferase (9.5%), and joint pain (3.0%), and some children experienced multiple adverse reactions simultaneously or intermittently. Neutropenia often occurred within 3 months after administration (25/39, 64%), elevated alanine aminotransferase often occurred within 1 month after administration (17/29, 59%), and rash often occurred within 3 months after administration (30/36, 83%). Most of the above adverse reactions returned to normal after symptomatic treatment. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that younger age and lower absolute neutrophil count before treatment were risk factors for neutropenia after methimazole treatment (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The adverse reactions of methimazole are common in children with hyperthyroidism, and most adverse reactions occur within 3 months after administration and can be relieved after symptomatic treatment. Children with a younger age or a lower baseline absolute neutrophil count may have a higher risk of neutropenia.
Male ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Methimazole/adverse effects* ; Antithyroid Agents/adverse effects* ; Retrospective Studies ; Alanine Transaminase ; Hyperthyroidism/chemically induced* ; Neutropenia/chemically induced* ; Exanthema

PURPOSE: We evaluated the severity of olfactory disturbance (OD) in the murine model of allergic rhinitis (AR) and local allergic rhinitis (LAR) in mice. We also investigated the therapeutic effect of an intranasal steroid on OD. METHODS: Forty BALB/c mice were divided into 5 groups (n = 8 for each). The control group was sensitized intraperitoneally (i.p.) and challenged intranasally (i.n.) with saline. Mice in the AR group got i.p. and i.n. ovalbumin (OVA) administration for AR induction. The LAR group was challenged i.n. with 1% OVA for inducing local nasal allergic inflammation, without inducing the systemic allergy. The OD group got an i.p. methimazole administration (75 mg/kg) to induce total destruction of olfactory mucosa. Mice in the intranasal budesonide group received i.n. budesonide (12.8 μg per time, 30 minutes after the i.n. OVA challenge) while using OVA to cause systemic allergies. We conducted a buried-food pellet test to functionally assess the degree of OD in each group by measuring the time taken until finding hidden food. We evaluated the damage to olfactory epithelium using histopathologic evaluation and compared the degree of olfactory marker protein (OMP) expression in olfactory epithelium using immunofluorescent staining. RESULTS: Mice of the AR (81.3 ± 19.8 seconds) and LAR groups (66.2 ± 12.7 seconds) spent significantly more time to detect the pellets than the control group (35.6 ± 12.2 seconds, P < 0.01). After treatment, the intranasal budesonide group exhibited significantly better results (35.8 ± 11.9 seconds) compared with the AR and LAR groups (P < 0.01). The AR and LAR groups showed considerable olfactory epithelial damage and suppression of OMP expression compared with the control group. In the intranasal budesonide group, the olfactory lesions and OMP expression had improved substantially. CONCLUSIONS: OD may be caused by olfactory epithelial damage and suppression of OMP expression in nasal allergic inflammation and could be reversed using an intranasal steroid.
Animals ; Budesonide ; Hypersensitivity ; Inflammation ; Methimazole ; Mice ; Olfaction Disorders ; Olfactory Marker Protein ; Olfactory Mucosa ; Ovalbumin ; Ovum ; Quality of Life ; Rhinitis, Allergic ; Steroids

A 34-year-old Filipino with Graves' disease on methimazole came in due to fever, sore throat and jaundice. Patient was initially diagnosed with methimazole induced agranulocytosis and drug induced liver injury. She was treated with intravenous broad spectrum antibiotic and granulocyte colony stimulating factor. On day 4 of admission, patient had pancytopenia and was managed as methimazole induced aplastic anemia and was started on steroid therapy and 1 unit of packed red blood cell was transfused. The jaundice also increased hence she was given ursodeoxycholic acid. On day 9 of admission, with the consideration of "lineage steal phenomenon," biopsy was done and eltrompobag was started. Patient was discharged stable at 12th day of hospital admission. This case presents the 3 rarest, life threatening complication of methimazole: agranulocytosis, aplastic anemia and hepatitis. 

Concurrent presentation of acute hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection and Graves' disease has not been reported in literature worldwide. Although there is no well-established mechanism that explains the induction of Graves' disease by HAV to date, our case suggests that HAV infection may be responsible for inducing Graves' disease. A healthy 27-year-old female presented fever, palpitation, and diarrhea, and she was subsequently diagnosed as acute HAV infection. Concurrently, she showed hyperthyroidism, and the diagnosis was made as Graves' disease. She had never had symptoms that suggested hyperthyroidism, and previous thyroid function test was normal. Acute HAV infection was recovered by conservative management, however, thyroid dysfunction was maintained even after normalization of liver enzymes. Methimazole was used to treat Graves' disease. We report a case of concurrent acute HAV infection and Graves' disease in a patient without preexisting thyroid disease. This suggests that HAV infection may be a trigger for an autoimmune thyroid disease in susceptible individuals.
Adult ; Diagnosis ; Diarrhea ; Female ; Fever ; Graves Disease* ; Hepatitis A virus* ; Hepatitis A* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Hyperthyroidism ; Liver ; Methimazole ; Thyroid Diseases ; Thyroid Function Tests ; Thyroid Gland

BACKGROUND: The incidence of thyroid nodules has increased worldwide in recent years. Thyroid dysfunction is a potential risk factor for hypercholesterolemia, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, arrhythmia, and neuropsychiatric disease. This study investigated the prevalence and annual incidence of thyroid nodules, hypothyroidism, and hyperthyroidism in Koreans. METHODS: In this nationwide population-based cohort study, 51,834,660 subjects were included using the National Health Information database from 2006 to 2015, after the exclusion of subjects with thyroid cancer. RESULTS: The prevalence in Korea in 2015 of thyroid nodules, hypothyroidism in patients taking thyroid hormone, and hyperthyroidism in patients undergoing treatment was 15.82/1,000 population, 15.94/1,000 population, and 2.76/1,000 population, respectively. All these diseases were more prevalent among women than among men. The number of incident cases of these three thyroid diseases steadily increased from 2006 to 2012, and then decreased through 2015. The incidence of thyroid nodules, hypothyroidism treated with thyroid hormone, and treated hyperthyroidism was 6.79/1,000 population, 1.76/1,000 population, and 0.55/1,000 population, respectively, in Korea in 2015. The use of methimazole continuously increased, from 33% of total antithyroid drug prescriptions in 2006 to 74.4% in 2015, and it became the most frequently prescribed antithyroid drug in Korea. In contrast, the use of propylthiouracil continuously decreased. CONCLUSION: This was the first nationwide study of the prevalence and annual incidence of thyroid nodules, hypothyroidism, and hyperthyroidism to take into account recent changes and to include the current status of patients receiving treatment.
Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cohort Studies* ; Drug Prescriptions ; Female ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia ; Hyperthyroidism ; Hypothyroidism ; Incidence* ; Korea* ; Male ; Methimazole ; Osteoporosis ; Prevalence* ; Propylthiouracil ; Risk Factors ; Thyroid Diseases* ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroid Nodule

Raynaud syndrome is a medical condition that causes pain, numbness, and changes in skin color at the distal extremities. Raynaud syndrome can be subdivided into primary Raynaud's and secondary Raynaud's. The former is diagnosed when the cause is unknown and the latter is caused by an underlying condition, such as connective tissue diseases, injury, smoking, or certain medications. Both cancer chemotherapy and β-blockers are relatively common causes of Raynaud syndrome but there are no reports of its association with methimazole administration. The authors encountered a 43-year old woman with hyperthyroidism who developed digital ulcers associated with Raynaud syndrome after a methimazole treatment. Her digital ulcers and Raynaud syndrome were improved after methimazole was replaced with propylthiouracil and conventional therapy. This paper reports this case along with a review of the relevant literature.
Connective Tissue Diseases ; Drug Therapy ; Extremities ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperthyroidism ; Hypesthesia ; Methimazole* ; Propylthiouracil ; Skin Pigmentation ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Ulcer

Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis has been reported in Graves' disease patients treated with antithyroid drugs (ATDs), especially propylthiouracil. ATD-induced ANCA-associated vasculitis usually involved the kidneys followed by the respiratory organs and skin. The treatment of ANCA-associated vasculitis induced by ATDs is to stop ATD therapy immediately, which often leads to an overall good prognosis. We report a case of ANCA-associated vasculitis in the peripheral nerves of the lower extremities in a 66-year-old woman who was treated with methimazole (MMI) for Graves' disease. To our knowledge, this is the third case of peripheral nervous system (PNS) involvement of ATD-induced vasculitis and the first case of PNS vasculitis associated with MMI.
Aged ; Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Vasculitis ; Antibodies, Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic ; Antithyroid Agents ; Female ; Graves Disease ; Humans ; Kidney ; Lower Extremity ; Methimazole ; Peripheral Nerves ; Peripheral Nervous System ; Prognosis ; Propylthiouracil ; Skin ; Vasculitis

Thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy can result in serious complications for both the mother and infant. However, these complications can be prevented by the optimal treatment of overt maternal thyroid dysfunction. The serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) concentration is the most reliable measure of thyroid function during pregnancy. Due to the physiologic changes in TSH levels during pregnancy, the correct interpretation of thyroid function requires knowledge of the gestational week and the appropriate population-based reference interval. In addition to a TSH test, the measurement of thyroid peroxidase antibody helps determine whether to treat subclinical hypothyroidism during pregnancy. Since the use of antithyroid drugs during pregnancy is associated with birth defects, it is recommended to discontinue the medication and to perform repeated thyroid function testing during the first trimester. If therapy is needed during the first trimester, propylthiouracil is preferred over methimazole.
Antithyroid Agents ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperthyroidism ; Hypothyroidism ; Infant ; Iodide Peroxidase ; Methimazole ; Mothers ; Pregnancy Trimester, First ; Pregnancy ; Propylthiouracil ; Thyroid Function Tests ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyrotropin