LOCALIZED PAINFUL GIANT-CELL THYROIDITIS WITHOUT INFLAMMATORY SIGNS IN A EUTHYROID PATIENT FOLLOWED BY SERIAL SONOGRAPHY

We describe a patient with localized painful giant-cell thyroiditis. A 45-year-old woman noticed a tender lump in the left side of the neck. Sonography of the thyroid revealed diffuse swelling of the left robe with irregular hypoechoic areas. Three months later, the tender swelli ng subsided, and the hypoechoic areas disappeared without any treatmen t. There were never any systemic signs of inflammation or thyroid dysf unction. Atypical localized subacute thyroiditis was considered to be the most probable diagnosis based on fine-needle aspiration cytology a nd serial sonography. Serial sonographic evaluations are useful to avo id unnecessary surgery. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.