Acute infectious thyroiditis

Acute infectious thyroiditis is a bacterial infection of the thyroid, most commonly in immunodeficient persons. The prognosis is very good with treatment. It's very rare.

Clinical features

The clinical features include severely painful goitre, fever, and overlying erythema. The onset is acute. Sometimes an abscess forms.

Diagnosis and evaluation

Diagnosis is based on:

• Typical clinical features
• Ultrasound findings
• Leukocytosis
• Mildly elevated ESR

Treatment

Antibiotics are curative, and local cooling may alleviate symptoms. In case of abscess development, surgery is indicated.