eMedicine Specialties > Endocrinology > Thyroid

Thyroiditis, Subacute: Follow-up

Author: Mark R Allee, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Coauthor(s): Mary Zoe Baker, MD, Professor, Department of Medicine, Section of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Hypertension, University of Oklahoma; Medical Director, University of Oklahoma Physicians, Medicine Specialty Clinic, General Medicine Clinic and Medicine Residents' Clinic
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Feb 7, 2007

Follow-up

Further Outpatient Care

  • Periodic thyroid function testing is needed to establish the phase of illness and to evaluate the restoration of the euthyroid state.
  • Patients who develop permanent hypothyroidism require periodic thyroid function testing with TSH to monitor the supplementation of thyroid hormone.
  • No consensus exists regarding the need for periodic testing in patients whose thyroid function has recovered.

Complications

Extensive fibrosis of the gland will result in permanent hypothyroidism in 1-5% of patients with subacute thyroiditis.

Patient Education

For patient education resources, visit eMedicine's Endocrine System Center. Also, see eMedicine's patient education article Thyroid Problems.

Miscellaneous

Medicolegal Pitfalls

  • Patients presenting with a solitary nodule should undergo workup for the possibility of thyroid malignancy.
  • Another rare cause of low radioactive iodine uptake is struma ovarii. Some malignant ovarian neoplasms present with thyrotoxicosis.
 


More on Thyroiditis, Subacute

Overview: Thyroiditis, Subacute
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Thyroiditis, Subacute
Treatment & Medication: Thyroiditis, Subacute
Follow-up: Thyroiditis, Subacute
References
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References

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Further Reading

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Keywords

subacute thyroiditis, SAT, subacute granulomatous thyroiditis, de Quervain thyroiditis, de Quervain's thyroiditis, giant cell thyroiditis, pseudogranulomatous thyroiditis, pseudo-granulomatous thyroiditis, painless thyroiditis, lymphocytic thyroiditis, inflamed thyroid, inflammation of the thyroid gland, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, euthyroidism, thyrotoxicosis, thyroid disease

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Mark R Allee, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Mark R Allee, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Physicians
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Mary Zoe Baker, MD, Professor, Department of Medicine, Section of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Hypertension, University of Oklahoma; Medical Director, University of Oklahoma Physicians, Medicine Specialty Clinic, General Medicine Clinic and Medicine Residents' Clinic
Mary Zoe Baker, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, American Chemical Society, and American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Steven R Gambert, MD, Program Director, Physician-in-Chief, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Sinai Hospital, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Steven R Gambert, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Physicians
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Managing Editor

Kent Wehmeier, MD, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, St Louis University School of Medicine
Kent Wehmeier, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Society of Hypertension, Endocrine Society, and International Society for Clinical Densitometry
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

CME Editor

Mark Cooper, MBBS, PhD, FRACP, Head, Diabetes & Metabolism Division, Baker Heart Research Institute, Professor of Medicine, Monash University
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

George T Griffing, MD, Professor of Medicine, St Louis University School of Medicine
George T Griffing, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Association for the Advancement of Science, American College of Medical Practice Executives, American College of Physician Executives, American College of Physicians, American Diabetes Association, American Federation for Medical Research, American Heart Association, Central Society for Clinical Research, Endocrine Society, International Society for Clinical Densitometry, and Southern Society for Clinical Investigation
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

 
 
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