Shahi Navneel, Abdelhamid Mohammed F, Jindall Mudit, Awad Reda W
Warwick Hospital, Lakin house, Lakin Road, CV34 5BW, UK.
J Med Case Rep. 2010 Jan 20;4:15. doi: 10.1186/1752-1947-4-15.
Riedel's thyroiditis is a rare thyroid disease characterized by dense fibrous tissues that replace the thyroid gland and invade the adjacent structures that can mimic thyroid malignancy. We discuss the presentation, investigation and management of this very rare condition.
We present a case of a 59-year-old African-Caribbean man who presented with a rapidly growing hard neck mass, a hoarse voice, dysphagia and breathing difficulty that clinically suggested thyroid malignancy. Biopsy, however, revealed dense fibrous tissues suggestive of Riedel's thyroiditis. This was successfully treated with very high dose steroids, with no relapse in the symptoms.
It is important for clinicians to be aware of this diagnosis when managing patients with thyroid disease, because Riedel's thyroiditis can mimic malignancy. In addition, our case demonstrates that this condition should be treated with very high dose steroids to prevent relapse.
里德尔甲状腺炎是一种罕见的甲状腺疾病，其特征是致密的纤维组织取代甲状腺并侵犯相邻结构，可酷似甲状腺恶性肿瘤。我们讨论这种极为罕见病症的临床表现、检查及治疗。
我们报告一例59岁的非洲加勒比裔男性患者，其颈部出现迅速增大的坚硬肿块，伴有声音嘶哑、吞咽困难和呼吸困难，临床提示甲状腺恶性肿瘤。然而，活检显示为致密纤维组织，提示里德尔甲状腺炎。该患者经大剂量类固醇成功治疗，症状未复发。
临床医生在诊治甲状腺疾病患者时，认识到这一诊断很重要，因为里德尔甲状腺炎可酷似恶性肿瘤。此外，我们的病例表明，该病应用大剂量类固醇治疗以预防复发。
