3 SUDDEN DEATHS IN MEN ASSOCIATED WITH UNDIAGNOSED CHRONIC THYROIDITIS

Three cases of sudden death associated with undiagnosed chronic thyroi ditis are described, All were young or middle-aged men who were found dead, and death appeared to have occurred suddenly. Two of them had no t previously experienced any serious medical problems, the third suffe red from well-controlled Addison's disease, None had been investigated or treated for thyroid disease previously, microscopically all showed a severe chronic thyroiditis with parenchymal destruction and reactiv e hyperplasia of the acinar epithelium. In the first case elevated tri iodothyronin (T3), thyroxin (T4) and low thyroid stimulating hormone ( TSH) were present, in the second case low T3 and T4 and normal TSH, an d in the third an isolated elevation of T3 were found. Anti-thyroid an tibodies were found in two cases. The possible causal relationship bet ween silent chronic autoimmune thyroiditis and sudden death is discuss ed.