Association between thymoma and persistent hypothermia: a case report

Thymomas are rare, slow-growing tumours that present in a variety of ways such as incidental findings on chest radiographs following symptoms of cough and dyspnoea. Thymomas may also present with symptoms due to intrathoracic spread such as superior vena cava obstruction, or with symptoms of an associated paraneoplastic disorder. Such paraneoplastic disorders are typified by the generation of autoantibodies directed against a variety of self antigens including myasthenia gravis, neuromyotonia, and hypogammaglobulinaemia. Significant hypothermia in association with thymoma has been described previously in one published case report. The basis for hypothermia in that case was not clear, but was postulated to relate to abnormal central thermal regulation and was resolved completely following treatment with intravenous gammablobulin, thus suggesting an autoimmune aetiology.

We present the case of an 88-year-old man with Type A thymoma and persistent hypothermia. An extensive investigation of the hypothermia revealed no aetiology other than the thymoma itself. Symptoms of hypothermia were treated effectively with passive and active external rewarming. The patient's dyspnoea was much improved by intercostal drainage of a left-sided pleural effusion and talc pleurodesis. He was not offered definitive treatment for the thymoma in view of its relatively favourable prognosis, and because his symptoms were well controlled at the time of discharge.

We suggest that the possibility of thymoma be investigated once the more common causes of hypothermia have been excluded in an appropriate clinical context. To the best of our knowledge, this is only the second published case report describing such an association.