Atypical presentations of primary acquired hypothyroidism - a case series

• Main Authors: Pravin, R. R., Kan, Sheau Yun, Soh, Ser Yee, Chan, Daniel, Vasanwala, Rashida Farhad
• Other Authors: Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2024
• Subjects: Medicine, Health and Life Sciences; Hypothyroidism; Thyroid
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/173871
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Primary acquired hypothyroidism in children manifests with a myriad of clinical presentations. Clinical features can be insidious in nature, often under the guise of non-specific presentations to other subspecialties prior to referral to the endocrinologist. Growth failure is a hallmark feature in these children alongside their presenting clinical symptomology which needs to be identified through detailed history, physical examination and analysis of the growth charts. In this case series, we discuss 5 atypical presentations of acquired primary hypothyroidism with multisystemic involvement, including musculoskeletal, hepatobiliary, gynaecological and haematological manifestations. This is of importance as untreated hypothyroidism leads to fatigue, decreased physical activity, suboptimal height gain, disordered puberty and poor neurocognitive development in children with long term detrimental outcomes.