'Apathetic' thyrotoxicosis presenting with hypercalcaemia and spurious normalization of serum thyroid hormone levels

A patient with thyrotoxicosis presented with weight loss and hypercalcaemia, leading to an erroneous diagnosis of occult malignant disease. Intercurrent illness and drug treatment of hypercalcaemia in this patient caused a depression of circulating thyroid hormone levels, leading to a delay in diagnosis. Radionuclide studies of thyroid function, in contrast, consistently suggested a thyrotoxic state. It is suggested that in this situation, radionuclide studies may give a more accurate assessment of thyroid status than biochemical tests, which may be difficult to interpret in the presence of non-thyroidal illness.