Campylobacter jejuni as a cause of acute infectious thyroiditis, on a background of SLE-related end stage renal failure and CMV viraemia: A case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Acute suppurative thyroiditis is a rare cause of thyroid disease; however it is capable of causing widespread systemic illness, with catastrophic complications. A large number of causative pathogens have been identified, the most common being Staphylococcus and Streptococcal species. We report a rare case of acute suppurative thyroiditis, caused by Campylobacter jejuni in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus-related end-stage renal failure and excessive CMV viraemia. She developed severe respiratory compromise and required emergency total thyroidectomy and central neck clearance, which cured the local septic focus. The patient died from refractory sepsis due to E. coli.