Acute purulent thyroiditis with retropharyngeal and retrotracheal abscesses

Abstract

An unusual case of acute purulent thyroiditis in a 45-year-old man forming a large abscess in the left lobe of the thyroid gland is described. It perforated the capsule at the posterior wall of the thyroid, causing extensive retropharyngeal and retrotracheal abscesses. The patient was treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics and surgical excision of the infected tissues. He has remained well one year after the operation.

Thyroid abscess at an adolescent age

“…The etiological agents may be a rare Eikenella corrodens [15]. Thyroid abscess was reported to be a complication of a retropharyngeal abscess [16]. There were no signs of any pharyngeal disease in the case we report.…”

Purulent Thyroiditis-a Clinical Study of 5 Cases

“…As seen in 2 of our patients, thyroid abscesses can create local compression leading to acute respiratory distress (14). Fistulisation of such abscesses can occur through the cervical skin or the oesophagus (28,32,33). Subtotal thyroidectomy, removing the abscess, associated with drainage and an empiric, rather than a focused, antibiotherapy seems to be, in our experience, the optimal procedure in such cases.…”

“…In the case of de Quervain's thyroiditis, we can first observe the symptoms of hyperthyroidism, which subsequently evolve into hypothyroidism (21,31). Likewise, in chronic and subacute lymphocytic thyroiditis, thyroid dysfunction occurs leading to hypothyroidism (2,33).…”

Acute suppurative thyroiditis with thyroid abscess in adults: clinical presentation, treatment and outcomes

“…Drainage is urgent in unstable patients with comprised airways. Open surgery, with total, near total or hemithyroidectomy can in severe cases be deployed to relieve pressure symptoms, and later in patients that do not respond to adequate antibiotic treatment and drainage [11, 41, 42]. Complications to surgery are damage to tissues in the area as the parathyroid glands and the recurrence nerve.…”