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Postpartum Thyroiditis

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The Thyroid and Its Diseases

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Abstract

Postpartum thyroiditis (PPT) is an autoimmune destructive thyroiditis that occurs in some women during the postpartum period. Its immune perturbations have been partially worked out, but at the present time only TPOAb positivity is a reliable marker of this process. Groups at increased risk of developing PPT are well known. Nevertheless there is no consensus about screening for this disorder, which unfortunately causes considerable morbidity, at a physiologically, emotionally and socially vulnerable time. Nor are there effective strategies to prevent PPT in individuals at high risk. Treatment is empirical and largely symptomatic except in the hypothyroid phase when thyroxine may be required.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain

    Juan C. Galofré

  2. IdiSNA (Instituto de Investigación en la Salud de Navarra), Pamplona, Spain

    Juan C. Galofré

  3. Section of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, YYF Hospital, Ystrad Fawr Way, Caerphilly, UK

    L. D. Premawardhana

  4. Centre for Endocrine and Diabetes Sciences, C2 Link Corridor, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK

    L. D. Premawardhana

Authors
  1. Juan C. Galofré
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  2. L. D. Premawardhana
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Correspondence to Juan C. Galofré .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany

    Markus Luster

  2. Unit of Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism, Evgenidion Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Leonidas H. Duntas

  3. Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA

    Leonard Wartofsky

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Galofré, J.C., Premawardhana, L.D. (2019). Postpartum Thyroiditis. In: Luster, M., Duntas, L., Wartofsky, L. (eds) The Thyroid and Its Diseases. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72102-6_29

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72102-6_29

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-72100-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-72102-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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