Thyroid storm

Welcome back to Audioboards.

Today we're talking about thyroid storm.

It is one of those diagnoses that you cannot afford to miss.

It is a rare but life-threatening complication of severe thyrotoxicosis where the patient develops systemic decompensation and potentially multi-organ failure.

The key point is that thyroid storms are not simply very high thyroid hormone levels.

In fact, the thyroid hormone levels may look very similar to those seen in uncomplicated thyrotoxicosis.

What makes it a storm is the severity of the clinical presentation and the evidence of organ dysfunction.

Mortality remains significant, generally reported around 5-25%, so when you suspect it, treatment should begin immediately rather than waiting for every laboratory result to come back.