Acute emphysematous thyroiditis (AET) is a rare, potentially lethal thyroid infection characterized by necrosis and gas formation, essentially representing "gangrene" of the gland. It presents with severe neck pain, swelling, fever, and sometimes dysphagia. Treatment requires urgent intravenous antibiotics, imaging (CT/MRI), and usually surgical drainage or excision.
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Key Aspects of Thyroid Gland Gangrene/Severe Infection:
- Pathogenesis: AET is a, often caused by anaerobic bacteria or mixed flora in patients with underlying goiter, often originating from piriform sinus fistulae.
- Symptoms: Intense thyroid pain, neck swelling, dysphagia, hoarseness, and symptoms of systemic infection like high fever, chills, and tachycardia.
- Diagnosis: Imaging, particularly CT scans, is critical to detect air within the thyroid gland, which confirms the diagnosis.
- Treatment: Immediate management includes intravenous broad-spectrum antibiotics, abscess drainage, or total/subtotal thyroidectomy to remove necrotic (gangrenous) tissue.
Risks: Without prompt intervention, this severe infection can lead to septic shock.
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While true gangrene (tissue death due to lack of blood supply) is rare in the thyroid gland, infection-related necrosis (emphysematous thyroiditis) represents this process. A different, unrelated, rare condition called Fournier's Gangrene is a necrotizing fasciitis of the perineal region, which can occur as a rare complication of cancer therapies, note National Institutes of Health (.gov) and The Cureus Journal of Medical Science