Subacute thyroiditis associated with COVID-19

• Published in: BMJ case reports Vol. 13; no. 8; p. e237336
• Main Authors: Mattar, Shaikh Abdul Matin, Koh, Samuel Ji Quan, Rama Chandran, Suresh, Cherng, Benjamin Pei Zhi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group LTD 25-08-2020; BMJ Publishing Group
• Series: Case report
• Subjects: Adenoviruses; Adult; Antibodies; Auscultation; Betacoronavirus; Cardiac arrhythmia; Case reports; Coronavirus Infections - complications; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Creatinine; Dehydrogenases; Diagnosis, Differential; Glucocorticoids - therapeutic use; Hemoglobin; Hepatitis B; Humans; Hyperthyroidism; Illnesses; Influenza; Lymphatic system; Male; Measles; Mumps; Neck pain; New Disease; Pandemics; Phosphatase; Pneumonia, Viral - complications; Prednisolone - therapeutic use; Proteins; Rubella; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Thyroid diseases; Thyroiditis, Subacute - diagnosis; Thyroiditis, Subacute - diagnostic imaging; Thyroiditis, Subacute - drug therapy; Thyroiditis, Subacute - virology; Treatment Outcome; Ultrasonic imaging; Ultrasonography; Singapore; Myanmar (Burma); thyroid disease; hyperthyroidism; endocrinology
• ISSN: 1757-790X; 1757-790X
• DOI: 10.1136/bcr-2020-237336

We report a case of a hospitalised patient with COVID-19 who developed subacute thyroiditis in association with SARS-COV-2 infection. The patient presented with tachycardia, anterior neck pain and thyroid function tests revealing hyperthyroidism together with consistent ultrasonographic evidence suggesting subacute thyroiditis. Treatment with corticosteroids resulted in rapid clinical resolution. This case illustrates that subacute thyroiditis associated with viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 should be recognised as a complication of COVID-19 and considered as a differential diagnosis when infected patients present with tachycardia without evidence of progression of COVID-19 illness.