Thyroid abscess?an acute emergency

Abstract

An abscess in a long-standing goitre is usually life threatening. A patient with a large goitre was lost to follow-up for about 10 years and presented with a large thyroid abscess causing acute respiratory obstruction. The abscess caused erosion of the tracheal wall and perforation of the esophagus. Clostridium septicum was the causative organism, which is almost always associated with cancer of the colon. This led to the detection of colonic malignancy in this patient on further investigations. We describe the complications of a thyroid abscess and discuss the pathophysiology and treatment.

Klebsiella Pneumoniae pulmonary infection with thyroid abscess: Report of a case

“…20 Occasionally, thyroid abscess manifests as a medical emergency, with laryngeal edema or tracheal compression, necessitating early intubation. 4 Thus, a patient with stridor should undergo immediate endoscopic evaluation with a fl exible endoscopy, to exclude laryngeal or tracheal compression. 4 Investigations are hematological as well as radiological.…”

“…4 Thus, a patient with stridor should undergo immediate endoscopic evaluation with a fl exible endoscopy, to exclude laryngeal or tracheal compression. 4 Investigations are hematological as well as radiological. 5,22 According to one report, leukocytosis was found in 73% of patients with acute suppurative thyroiditis.…”

“…1 Its rarity is attributed to the remarkable resistance of the thyroid gland to infections because of its protective mechanisms, which include a rich blood supply, good lymphatic drainage, a high iodine content, and the protective capsule surrounding the gland. 2 The most common mechanism of thyroid infection is transmission of an infection via a pyriform sinus fi stula [3][4][5][6] : an underlying congenital anomaly extending from the apex of the hypopharynx to the thyroid gland. 7,8 Less frequent causes of thyroid abscess include the direct spread of an infective micro-organism and hematogenous or lymphatic spread from a distant infected organ.…”

Purulent Thyroiditis-a Clinical Study of 5 Cases

“…Buła et al ing purulent thyroiditis (7,8,11,12). Approximately 0.1% of patients operated on due to all thyroid gland pathological lesions presented such particular clinical settings (4,9,13,14). Resulting from the patients' analysis, purulent thyroiditis can occur at all ages.…”

“…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).…”