Acute Suppurative Thyroiditis Misdiagnosed As Subacute Thyroiditis: A Case Report And Literature Review

Acute suppurative thyroiditis (AST) is an infrequently encountered condition with a rarity that is attributable to anatomic and physiologic characteristics of the gland that impart a unique quality of infection resistance. AST could always be asymptomatic and the diagnosis is often delayed in lieu of investigating other more common etiologies of thyroiditis, such as subacute thyroiditis. We report the case of a 18-year-old man with cervical pain and no fever misdiagnosed as subacute thyroidits, in which glucocorticoid was continuously applicated until the abcess formatted. We also review the literature for discussion of AST etiologies, presentations, differential diagnosis, management strategies and prognosis.