Abstract
The paper summarizes the current knowledge about the influence of SARS-CoV-2 on the thyroid gland and benign thyroid diseases, with emphasis on the situation in Poland. Based on the latest scientific literature published up to May 1, 2021 and the PubMed, Google Scholar, EMBASE and Web of Science database searches, keywords related to SARS-CoV-2 and its impact on the thyroid gland and benign thyroid diseases were searched. COVID-19-related thyroid disorders include non-thyroid syndrome, hypothyroidism and thyrotoxicosis. The authors paid special attention to the treatment of thyroid disease during the pandemic. The emphasis was on radioiodine therapy, which is of high clinical value due to the lower risk of neutropenia or agranulocytosis. It is currently unknown whether COVID-19 may lead to de novo thyroid dysfunction or if it can aggravate an existing thyroid disease. Patients with uncontrolled thyrotoxicosis are in a risk group for complications (e.g., cytokine storm) from any infection (especially from SARS-CoV-2 infection). Moreover, this group of patients should receive more extensive care, bearing in mind the neutropenia from taking antithyroid drugs, which may mask the symptoms of COVID-19.
Highlights
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-2019) is an acute respiratory infectious disease caused by Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2
It is currently unknown whether COVID-19 may lead to de novo thyroid dysfunction or if it can aggravate an existing thyroid disease
This group of patients should receive more extensive care, bearing in mind the neutropenia from taking antithyroid drugs, which may mask the symptoms of COVID-19
Summary
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-2019) is an acute respiratory infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2). Despite the various precautions taken by people (face masks, face shields, self-isolation, zoning), the SARS-CoV-2 virus causing COVID-19 spread at a geometric rate.[5,6,7,8,9,10,11] Because of the global increase in morbidity, coronavirus disease 2019 was recognized as a global pandemic by the WHO on March 11, 2020.12 Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is an infectious condition caused by the SARS-CoV virus, belonging to the Coronaviridae family.[8,13] SARS-CoV-2 has been found in the respiratory system (trachea, lungs), skeletal system (spine), digestive system (pancreas, liver, stomach, small intestine), distal convoluted renal tube, sweat glands, endocrine system (parathyroid, pituitary, adrenal gland), and central nervous system (cerebrum) It has not been detected in the heart, aorta, cerebellum, lymph node, bone marrow, esophagus, muscle, spleen, ovary, uterus, testis, and thyroid gland.[14,15,16]
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