A Case of Painless Subacute Thyroiditis Presenting as Fever of Unknown Origin

Authors

Binita Neupane, Rochester Regional HealthFollow
Sunita Karki, Internal Medicine, BronxCare Health System, New York City, USA
Ekta Tirthani, Rochester Regional HealthFollow
Nagesh Jadhav, Rochester Regional HealthFollow
Nisha Gupta, Rochester Regional HealthFollow

Department

Internal Medicine

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Cureus

Abstract

Subacute thyroiditis (SAT) is characterized by severe pain in the anterior aspect of the neck and tenderness is present during the thyroid gland's palpation. It is commonly caused by viruses including mumps, measles, rubella, coxsackievirus, influenza, and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Painless subacute thyroiditis is rare and can present as a fever of unknown origin (FUO). Our case reports an unusual case of SAT as our patient did not have any neck pain. Laboratory investigations show low thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), poor or no uptake of radioactive iodine by the thyroid, and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Clinicians should be aware that painless SAT can present as a fever of unknown origin.

First Page

e24949

DOI

10.7759/cureus.24949

Volume

14

Issue

5

Publication Date

5-12-2022

PubMed ID

35706731

Recommended Citation

Neupane, B., Karki, S., Tirthani, E., Jadhav, N., & Gupta, N. (2022). A Case of Painless Subacute Thyroiditis Presenting as Fever of Unknown Origin. Cureus, 14 (5), e24949. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.24949