title: Painful thyroid nodule, a misleading presentation of subacute thyroiditis.
abstract: Typical presentation of subacute thyroiditis (SAT) is an anterior neck pain radiating up to the jaw and ear, often associated with asthenia and fever. Biology shows hyperthyroidism and inflammation. The thyroid uptake is low at scintigraphy. However, the clinical presentation of SAT may be misleading. We report two cases of SAT whose initial manifestation was a painful thyroid nodule suspected of malignancy. In both cases, ultrasound feature was a heterogeneous, hypoechoic, ill-defined area with a low vascularization on colour Doppler. These areas were interpreted by radiologist as nodules. Surgery was then considered. Such a presentation should be known by clinicians to prevent unnecessary surgery.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Endocrinology , CHU Dinant-Godinne , Yvoir , Belgium.
authors.forename: Corinne
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jonas
authors.affiliation: b Department of Surgery , CHU Dinant-Godinne , Yvoir , Belgium.
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bertrand
authors.affiliation: b Department of Surgery , CHU Dinant-Godinne , Yvoir , Belgium.
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.affiliation: a Department of Endocrinology , CHU Dinant-Godinne , Yvoir , Belgium.
authors.forename: Julian E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Donckier
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging / Q000379:methods; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016606:Thyroid Nodule / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D013968:Thyroiditis, Subacute / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler / Q000379:methods
keywords: de Quervain thyroiditis; subacute thyroiditis; thyroid nodule; thyroid ultrasound