title: A case of acute suppurative thyroiditis with thyrotoxicosis in an elderly patient.
abstract: Acute suppurative thyroiditis (AST) is a rare condition, as the thyroid gland is relatively resistant to infection. Thyroid function tests are usually normal in AST. A few cases of AST associated with thyrotoxicosis have been reported in adults. We report a case of AST that was associated with thyrotoxicosis in a 70-year-old woman. We diagnosed AST with thyroid ultrasonography and fine needle aspiration of pus. The patient improved after surgical intervention and had no anatomical abnormality. Fine needle aspiration is the best method for the difficult task of differentiating malignancy and subacute thyroiditis from AST with thyrotoxicosis. Earlier diagnosis and proper treatment for AST might improve the outcome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Bo Sang
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kil Woo
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jeong Eun
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Ji Hoon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jun Sik
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jung Hwan
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sang Mo
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Chang Bum
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Yong Soo
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Woong Hwan
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: You Hern
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Sun
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Kim
keywords: Biopsy, fine-needle; Thyroiditis, suppurative; Thyrotoxicosis