A young female with urinary retention - Hashimoto's Encephalopathy.
Hashimoto's Encephalopathy (HE) is a rare form of autoimmune encephalopathy associated with Hashimoto's thyroiditis in which patients experience cognitive impairment and various neurologic symptoms. We present a case of a young female that presented to the emergency department with urinary retention, and was ultimately diagnosed with HE. Examination was significant for direction-changing and vertical nystagmus (direction-changing nystagmus describes a phenomenon where the fast beat changes with the direction of gaze), hyperreflexia, clonus, and Babinski and Hoffman's reflexes (all upper motor neuron (UMN) signs). Her symptoms improved with high dose intravenous steroid administration. To our knowledge, urinary retention in the presence of other UMN signs has not been reported in association with HE; nor has this patient's type of nystagmus. Emergency physicians should be aware of this condition and can play an important role by considering it when neurologic findings are not explained by infectious, toxic, metabolic, or structural etiologies. Although relatively rare, if detected and treated early HE can have a good prognosis.
McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Department of Emergency Medicine, 6431 Fannin Street, JJL 445, Houston, TX 77030, United States. Electronic address: benjamin.l.cooper@uth.tmc.edu.
Benjamin L
BL
Cooper
McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), United States.
Shane E
SE
Appel
McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Department of Internal Medicine, United States.
Hussam M
HM
Ammar
D000328:Adult; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D050031:Hashimoto Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008775:Methylprednisolone / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016055:Urinary Retention / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology*
D008775:Methylprednisolone
Hashimoto's Encephalopathy; Hashimoto's thyroiditis; Nystagmus; Urinary retention