Riedel's Thyroiditis

Riedel's thyroiditis is a rare form of chronic thyroiditis, the incidence is estimated at 0.04-0.3%, it affects women more often. It is often associated with other disorders of the immune system in terms of autoimmune diseases. This is probably a manifestation of IgG4-associated disease.

The clinical manifestation is non-specific, the usual manifestation is solid goiter with manifestations of rather mechanical oppression. Thyroid hypofunction may be present in some patients, in another part it may develop during the course of the disease, but it is not a characteristic manifestation. A relatively common feature is local invasion. Histopathology is diagnostically important, Riedel's thyroiditis may be less distinguishable from the fibrous form of Hashimoto's thyroiditis and from tumor changes. Only one case report with a fatal course has been published, otherwise the disease does not seem to shorten life.

Related Articles

 * IgG4-associated disease
 * Chronic autoimmune thyroiditis
 * Thyroid tumors