Tubercular involvement of the thyroid gland: A report of two cases

Thyroid tuberculosis is rare. in the last decade, however, the incidence of extrapulmonary forms of tuberculosis has increased. We report on 2 cases o f thyroid tuberculosis. In case 1, a tubercular abscess mimicking acute thy roiditis was found which was correctly diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAb), No evidence of active disease was noticed. Pleural thickenin g on chest X-ray was the only sign compatible with a previous infection. In case 2, tubercular thyroiditis with lymph node enlargement was also diagno sed by FNAb in a reevaluation setting, In both cases treatment with antitub ercular drugs resulted in complete recovery. Thyroid tuberculosis should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules, notably in patients with a history of tuberculous disease. FNAb represents the main ap proach to making the diagnosis. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.