Title: A Rare Case of Sudden Onset of Respiratory Distress Due to a Retrosternal Goiter Presenting to the Emergency Department
Authors: Jitesh Dhingra, Harmeet Rai Singh, Avi Kumar, Mona Sharma
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v5i6.133
Abstract
Huge cervical and retrosternal goiters can cause acute respiratory compromise by leading to tracheal compression and airway compromise.
Substernal goiters may be asymptomatic or may present with symptoms caused by compression of adjacent organs. Acute respiratory failure is rare in cases of substernal goiter.
In cases of symptomatic substernal goiter the treatment is surgical by thyroidectomy. We present a rare case of a giant substernal nontoxic goiter which presented to the emergency department with acute respiratory insufficiency. The patient decided not to get the definitive treatment of thyroidectomy never the less it becomes an extremely important case to discuss to consider this as a probable differential diagnosis in the emergency department, a place where time is the essence of life.
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