Acute suppurative thyroiditis in an asymptomatic woman: an atypical presentation simulating thyroid carcinoma.

Patients with acute suppurative thyroiditis usually have pain or tenderness in the anterior part of the neck associated with erythema and dysphagia. A 26-year-old Japanese woman with none of these symptoms presented with a left anterior cervical mass. Since physical examination and laboratory studies showed a firm and irregular tumour located in the left lobe of the thyroid without any inflammatory signs, we made a diagnosis of thyroid carcinoma. After surgery, histological examination of the thyroid specimen revealed various changes of severe inflammation, and a barium swallow demonstrated a left pyriform sinus fistula. We describe here a unique case of acute suppurative thyroiditis in an asymptomatic woman.