Post-miscarriage thyroid dysfunction.

BACKGROUND

Thyroid dysfunction is a common postpartum event affecting as many as 16.7% of women. The purpose of this paper was to report the first known case of post-miscarriage thyroid dysfunction.

CASE

A 32-year-old woman with a 9-year history of infertility underwent in vitro fertilization. After two spontaneous miscarriages, she delivered a full-term healthy child. Spontaneous menses did not return following delivery, and hormonal evaluation revealed severe postpartum thyroid disease associated with hyperprolactinemia. Retrospective analysis of frozen sera revealed thyroid dysfunction and hyperprolactinemia after the first miscarriage, even though the gestation lasted only 47 days.

CONCLUSION

The present case of thyroid dysfunction following a first-trimester miscarriage raises issues concerning the immunology of pregnancy and thyroid dysfunction after pregnancy. The incidence of post-miscarriage thyroid dysfunction and severe postpartum thyroid disease resulting in amenorrhea requires further study.