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Thyroid storm during pregnancy. A medical emergency

Patricia A Waltman1, Joyce M Brewer, Sharon Lobert

  • 1University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Nursing, Jackson, Miss., USA.

Critical Care Nurse
|April 22, 2004
PubMed

Thyroid storm is the major risk to pregnant women with thyrotoxicosis. This life-threatening condition is more likely to occur with another precipitating factor such as labor and delivery, surgical delivery, infection, or trauma. Thyroid storm most often occurs in patients with undertreated or undiagnosed hyperthyroidism. As many as 20% to 30% of cases can end in maternal and fetal mortality. Therefore, critical care nurses must be able to recognize and initiate proper medical and nursing interventions promptly.

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