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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Avicenna J Med 2020; 10(03): 125-127
DOI: 10.4103/ajm.ajm_216_19
Case Report

Esophageal 99mTc-pertechnetate uptake mimicking an autonomous thyroid adenoma in a patient with subacute thyroiditis: a case report

Ahmad M Naser
Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, The University of Jordan/Jordan University Hospital
,
Ayman A Zayed
Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, The University of Jordan/Jordan University Hospital
,
Abdullah N Alhouri
Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, The University of Jordan/Jordan University Hospital
,
Malik E Juweid
Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, School of Medicine, The University of Jordan/Jordan University Hospital, Amman, Jordan
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Subject Editor: Financial support and sponsorship Nil.
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Abstract

Subacute thyroiditis (SAT) is one of the most common causes of thyrotoxicosis. Thyroid scans with radioiodine or technetium-99m pertechnetate (99mTc) are often performed in the workup of patients with thyrotoxicosis, particularly to differentiate between SAT and Graves’s disease. Although very helpful, thyroid scans are prone to pitfalls that may occasionally lead to misdiagnosis. These pitfalls are largely related to physiologic uptake of radioiodine or 99mTc in non-thyroidal tissue, such as salivary gland and stomach that may result in false-positive findings. We present herein a very rare case of SAT misdiagnosed as an autonomous thyroid adenoma most likely due to focal 99mTc uptake in the esophagus. This case may have implications for the management of patients with suspected SAT, who undergo a radioiodine or 99mTc thyroid scan.

Keywords

Autonomous thyroid adenoma - esophageal 99 mTc uptake - hyperthyroidism - subacute thyroiditis - technetium-99m pertechnetate thyroid scan - thyrotoxicosis


Publication History

Article published online:
04 August 2021

© 2020. Syrian American Medical Society. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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