A 44-year-old woman is brought to the clinic by her husband who says his wife has had some mental status changes over the past few days

A 44-year-old woman is brought to the clinic by her husband who says his wife has had some mental status changes over the past few days

A 44-year-old woman is brought to the clinic by her husband who says his wife has had some mental status changes over the past few days. The patient had been previously diagnosed with hypothyroidism and had been placed on thyroid replacement therapy but had been lost to follow-up due to moving to another city for the husband’s work approximately 4 months ago. The patient states she lost the prescription bottle during the move and didn’t bother to have the prescription filled since she was feeling better. Physical exam revealed non-pitting, boggy edema around her eyes, hands and feet as well as the supraclavicular area. The APRN recognizes this patient had severe myxedema and referred the patient to the hospital for medical management.

Question:

What causes myxedema coma?