Thyrotoxicosis complicating a COVID-19 infection

Abstract

The SARS-COV-2 infection, in the typical case, results in acute forms of pneumonia, the severe forms of which can be life-threatening. However, it can also cause various extrapulmonary attacks (cutaneous, neurological, cardiovascular, ophthalmological, etc.) but also endocrine (pancreatic, pituitary, etc.), and in particular thyroid disorders associated with COVID-19. In this case report, we display the unusual case of a thyrotoxicosis due to the COVID-19 in a woman of 57 years of age with a severe pneumonia, which appeared on the ninth day of her infection. The thyrotoxicosis was suspected in front of a sudden tachycardia with no apparent cause, associated with a swollen neck. The diagnosis is confirmed by an elevation of thyroid enzymes T4 and T3, with a thyroid ultrasound revealing multiple hypoechoic area. The patient was treated with steroids and the symptoms have gradually lessened. In conclusion, subacute thyroiditis secondary to SARS-COV-2 infection is a hitherto poorly described complication that may go unnoticed because of its delayed onset. A clinical examination for signs of thyrotoxicosis and pain in the anterior neck region is usually sufficient to evoke this diagnosis. Thyroid hormone assay may be useful to confirm and treat this entity