Acute suppurative thyroiditis due to foreign body-induced retropharyngeal abscess presented as thyrotoxicosis

Acute suppurative thyroiditis is an uncommon condition. Most patients have preexisting oropharyngeal fistulae. Penetrating oropharyngeal injuries resulting from swallowed foreign bodies provide an acquired channel of infection spreading into the relatively resistant thyroid gland. The authors describe a patient with infective thyroiditis complicating retropharyngeal abscess caused by a chicken bone that perforated the upper esophagus. Transient thyrotoxicosis complicating acute suppurative thyroiditis is very rare. Pertechnetate and Ga-67 scans confirmed extensive inflammation of the thyroid gland and the release of hormones as the cause, as distinct from concurrent Graves' disease. Awareness of this unusual complication is important to avoid inappropriate treatment for hyperthyroid disease.