A Case of Pericardial Effusion in Pregnant Woman with Hypothyroidism.

Nam, Hyun Woo; Song, Eun Seok; Kim, Yoon Sook; Kim, Jong Soo; Choi, Seung Do; Sunwoo, Jae Gun; Bae, Dong Han

Case Report

Korean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2004;47(12):2472-2475.
Published online December 1, 2004.

A Case of Pericardial Effusion in Pregnant Woman with Hypothyroidism.

Hyun Woo Nam, Eun Seok Song, Yoon Sook Kim, Jong Soo Kim, Seung Do Choi, Jae Gun Sunwoo, Dong Han Bae

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University, Soonchunhyang Chunan Hospital, Chunan, Korea.

Abstract

Because thyroid disorders have a predilection for young women, it is not surprising that they are encountered with some frequency during pregnancy. Additionally, there is evidence that changes induced by pregnancy may actually stimulate remission and exacerbation of preexisting thyroid disease. Hypothyroidism is diagnosed if the expected rise of circulating thyroxine level does not occur during pregnancy, and the level of thyrotropin is elevated. Some authors indicate that hypothyroid women who do become pregnant have a high incidence of preeclampsia and placental abruption with a correspondingly inordinate number of low birth- weight, stillborn infants, heart diseases of pericardial effusion, pleural effusion and so on. We report here a case of patient, 35-year-old pregnant woman who experienced pericardial and pleural effusions with hypothyroidism induced after total thyroidectomy. The patient was recovered with thyroxine replacement and conservative treatments.

Key Words: Hypothyroidism, Pregnancy, Pericardial effusion, Thyroxine replacement