Myxedema Coma: a Review

Abstract

Myxedema coma, represents the extreme degree of severity of hypothyroidism, whose mortality can reach very high percentages, therefore, it is a true medical emergency. In general, its development is associated with the presence of a triggering factor in a controlled hypothyroid patient and manifests with multisystem alteration. Currently, tools have been developed for clinical diagnosis that use the profile and clinical models, and have good sensitivity-specificity. They allow an early diagnosis which favored the early start of treatment and therefore improves the prognosis. The patient with myxedema coma needs an integral approach, with intensive treatment and close monitoring of hemodynamic parameters. However, the basis of treatment remains hormone replacement, which should be initiated with a combination of levothyroxine and triiodothyronine.