Acute thyroiditis is a relatively rare disease. It is usually bacterial, although it can also develop as a result of damage to the thyroid gland. What are the symptoms of acute thyroiditis and how is it treated?

Acute thyroiditismay be caused byinfectious- bacterial in which an abscess may develop, ornon-infectious . The most common causes of bacterial (infectious, purulent) thyroiditis areStreptococcus pyogenes ,Streptococcus pneumoniae ,Escherichia coli,Pseudomonas aeruginosa ,Salmonella typhiand oral anaerobes. Acute non-infectious thyroiditis most often causes:

  • thyroid gland injuries
  • thyroid damage, e.g. during radiotherapy, radioiodine treatment
  • haemorrhage to a thyroid tumor
  • allergic reaction to absorbable threads left after thyroid surgery
  • drug reaction (e.g. after administration of amiodarone, lithium, bromine compounds).

Acute Infectious Thyroiditis: Symptoms

Acute thyroiditis has quite distinctive symptoms. When the thyroid gland is swollen, it is accompanied by neck pain, and the lymph nodes in the neck are enlarged. Blood tests clearly show an increase in the number of white blood cells and the rate of sinking of red blood cells. They are accompanied by hoarseness and difficulty swallowing. The skin on the neck may be red.

Symptoms of acute infectious thyroiditis appear suddenly and suddenly, with neither hypothyroidism nor hyperthyroidism. First, the sick person feels:

  • weakness
  • heart rate acceleration
  • articular pain

Other symptoms appear fairly quickly:

  • gland enlargement
  • severe pain, worsening when you move your neck, touch and swallow, radiating to the ears and / or the angle of the jaw
  • redness and warmer skin over the thyroid gland
  • enlargement of nearby lymph nodes
  • fever with chills
  • difficulty swallowing

Tests to detect inflammation of the thyroid gland

  • sonographic examination shows symptoms of an abscess (bacterial inflammation) or a hematoma
  • by scintigraphythere are areas with no iodine scavenging ability
  • bioptic examination shows granulocytic infiltrates if the inflammation is caused by a bacterial infection

Treatment of acute thyroiditis

Acute infectious thyroiditis is treated with antibiotics, usually administered intravenously in a hospital setting, or more drastically - through an abscess incision.

Acute non-infectious thyroiditis usually resolves on its own without the need for treatment. Often, to alleviate symptoms, the physician decides to administer non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or glucocorticosteroids to the patient. If the cause of the disease is a reaction to the drugs used, they should be discontinued.

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