Two cases of subacute thyroiditis presenting in pregnancy.

ABSTRACT

Subacute thyroiditis (SAT) is an extremely rare cause of thyrotoxicosis in pregnant women. Untreated, thyrotoxicosis may result in complications, such as prematurity and congenital malformations in the fetus. We report two cases of first trimester subacute thyroiditis, one mild and one severe. The severe case, as demonstrated by laboratory and ultrasound findings, was successfully treated with prednisolone. In this case, it was thought that the benefits of pharmacological therapy outweighed the risk of potential teratogenesis by the medication. In contrast, the milder case was managed conservatively and resolved without treatment. These cases illustrate how laboratory and ultrasound findings can be used to determine whether treatment should be initiated and, once begun, if medication levels need to be adjusted. In both cases, the pregnancies resulted in healthy full-term infants.