Acute suppurative thyroiditis progressing to a thyroid abscess; a case report with review of literature

IntroductionAcute suppurative thyroiditis is a rare and potentially life-threatening disease. The aim of the current study is to report a rare case of acute suppurative thyroiditis progressing to a thyroid abscess.Case reportA 67-year-old female presented with a painful neck swelling for one week. On Ultrasound examination, right thyroid lobe was enlarged due to a complex thick-walled mass with echogenic shadow.

It pushed the right common carotid artery laterally. Computed tomography showed a well-defined collection in the right thyroid lobe with an enhancing margin. The center of the lesion was necrotic and contained gas, diffuse edema around the right thyroid lobe was also evident.

The patient underwent right thyroid lobectomy and the result of histopathology examination was thyroid abscess without malignancy.DiscussionThe clinical spectrum of acute suppurative thyroiditis is broad, since asymptomatic cases …