J Korean Endocr Soc.  2006 Oct;21(5):428-432. 10.3803/jkes.2006.21.5.428.

A Case of Primary Hypothyroidism with Anti-Triiodothyronine Autoantibody

• Park JH
• Ahn JH
• Kang MH
• Won JC
• Lee KW
• Kim YJ
• Mok JO
• Park HK
• Kim CH
• Kim SJ
• Byun DW
• Suh KI
• Yoo MH

• KMID: 1511995
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3803/jkes.2006.21.5.428

Abstract

Antithyroid hormone autoantibodies can be present in the sera of patients with thyroid and non-thyroid disorders. Antithyroid hormone autoantibodies in a patient's serum interfere with radioimmunoassay of thyroid hormones. Clinically, this interference can result in discordance between the serum thyroid hormone levels and the clinical features of the patient, which can lead to misdiagnosis or inappropriate treatment. We experienced a woman who had primary hypothyroidism with unexpectedly high concentrations of serum total triiodothyronine (T(3)) and free T(3), and she had been treated for Graves' disease in the past. Through the use of a polyethylene glycol precipitation method, we detected the anti-triiodothyronine autoantibodies in her serum. We report on this case along with a review of the related literature.

Keyword

Anti-triiodothyronine autoantibody; Hypothyroidism

MeSH Terms

Autoantibodies
Diagnostic Errors
Female
Graves Disease
Humans
Hypothyroidism*
Polyethylene Glycols
Radioimmunoassay
Thyroid Gland
Thyroid Hormones
Triiodothyronine
Autoantibodies
Polyethylene Glycols
Thyroid Hormones
Triiodothyronine

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 99mTcO4- thyroid scan shows increased uptake of 6.9%.

• 

  Fig. 2 Percent radioactivity of precipitate in serum by polyethylene glycol.

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