Table of Contents
- Overview
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Prevention
- Images
Factitious thyrotoxicosis; thyrotoxicosis factitia; thyrotoxicosis medicamentosa
Symptoms
The symptoms of factitious hyperthyroidism are the same as those of hyperthyroidism caused by the thyroid gland, with these exceptions:
- There is no
goiter . The thyroid gland is usually small. - The eyes do not bulge, as they do in
Graves disease (the most common type of hyperthyroidism). - The skin over the shins does not thicken, as it occasionally does with people who have Graves disease.
Signs and tests
The following test results may indicate factitious hyperthyroidism:
- High levels of free T4
- High levels of total
T3 - High levels of total
T4 - Low
radioactive iodine uptake - Low levels of thyroglobulin
- Low levels of
TSH
Images
Review Date: 04/19/2010
Reviewed By: Ari S. Eckman, MD, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Johns
Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. Review provided by
VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA,
Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
