A Case of 36-Year-Old Man with Normokalemic Thyrotoxic Periodic Paralysis / 대한갑상선학회지

ABSTRACT

Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis is not a rare complication of hyperthyroidism in Asian people, but the cases of paralysis with normal serum potassium levels are very rare. A 36-year-old Korean man who had been diagnosed with Graves' disease had experienced recurrent paralysis for 9 months in spite of normokalemia. We measured the patient's serum potassium levels nine times at the time of paralysis. All measurements fell in the range 3.3~4.7 mmol/L. We treated the patient with methimazole, Lugol's solution, beta-blockers, and radioactive iodine. Thyroid function was normalized after anti-thyroid treatment and then no further paralytic attacks have occurred.