Isolated Tuberculosis of the Thyroid Gland: A Common Disease at an Uncommon Location

Abstract

Abstract Tuberculosis (TB) of the thyroid gland is extremely rare, even in areas where the prevalence of TB is very high. Only a few such cases have been reported in the literature. The clinical course may resemble toxic goiter or acute thyroiditis. We report the case of a 23-year-old male who presented with painless swelling of the thyroid gland associated with mild fever and weight loss. On ultrasound neck, a large echogenic solid lesion was seen. Fine-needle aspiration cytology was suggestive of colloid goiter, but histopathology study suggested TB of the thyroid gland along with colloid goiter. We report this case to emphasize that TB of the thyroid gland, although rare, should be kept in the differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules, especially in countries such as India which are endemic for TB.