Serial occurrence of two types of postpartum thyroid disorders. Usefulness of Tc-99m pertechnetate uptake.
A 32-year-old woman with a history of Graves' disease had an episode of thyrotoxicosis 2.5 months after her first childbirth. Because of low thyroidal uptake of Tc-99m pertechnetate, a diagnosis of postpartum painless thyroiditis was made and the patient was observed without medication. After the normalization of serum levels of thyroid hormones, a second wave of thyrotoxic symptoms emerged. This time, the Tc-99m uptake was slightly elevated and the patient was diagnosed to have a relapse of Graves' disease. This case underscores the previously reported notion that thyroidal uptake was indispensable to distinguish these two causes of postpartum thyrotoxicosis.
Misaki
T
T
Departments of Nuclear Medicine, Kyoto University School of Medicine, Japan.
Miyamoto
S
S
Kasagi
K
K
Mori
T
T
Konishi
J
J
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006111:Graves Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D011644:Puerperal Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012008:Recurrence; D013670:Sodium Pertechnetate Tc 99m; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D013966:Thyroiditis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D013971:Thyrotoxicosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging
D013670:Sodium Pertechnetate Tc 99m