ACQUIRED VON WILLEBRANDS DISEASE - A RARE MANIFESTATION OF POSTPARTUMTHYROIDITIS

This report describes the diagnosis of acquired type I von Willebrand disease in a 30-year-old woman (G(5)P(5)) who presented with complaint s of excessive bleeding in the postpartum period. The patient's additi onal complaints of fatigue, depression, and inability to lose weight r esulted in laboratory testing that indicated hypothyroidism due to thy roiditis. Clinical symptoms and laboratory tests for von Willebrand di sease and hypothyroidism normalized with L-thyroxine replacement, Thyr oiditis resulting in symptomatic hypothyroidism occurs in 2-4 per cent of postpartum women. The possibility of underlying hypothyroidism sho uld be considered for those patients, especially if they are parous wo men, who appear to have an acquired bleeding disorder suggestive of vo n Willebrand disease. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.