Patients who are suspected of having AIT often undergo tests to detect for elevated levels of white blood cells as well as an ultrasound to reveal unilobular swelling. Depending on the age and immune status of the patient more invasive procedures may be performed such as fine needle aspiration of the neck mass to facilitate a diagnosis. In cases where the infection is thought to be associated with a sinus fistula it is often necessary to confirm the presence of the fistula through surgery or laryngoscopic examination. While invasive procedures can often tell definitively whether or not a fistula is present, new studies are working on the use of computed tomography as a useful method to visualize and detect the presence of a sinus fistula. Diagnostic tests * Fever, redness, swelling * Pain * Blood tests of thyroid functions including TSH, T4 and T3 are usually normal * Ultrasonographic examination often shows the abscess or swelling in thyroid * Gallium scan will be positive * Barium swallow will show fistula connection to the piriform sinus and left lobe * Elevated white blood cell count * Elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate * Fine-needle aspiration Subtypes of thyroiditis Subtypes Causes Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis, Chronic autoimmune thyroiditis, Lymphadenoid goiter Autoimmune Subacute lymphocytic thyroiditis, Postpartum thyroiditis, Sporadic painless thyroiditis, Silent sporadic thyroiditis Autoimmune<unk> , Microbial inflammatory thyroiditis, Suppurative thyroiditis, Pyrogenic thyroiditis, Bacterial thyroiditis Cause: Bacterial, Parasitic, Fungal de Quervain's thyroiditis, Subacute granulomatous thyroiditis, Giant-cell thyroiditis, Pseudogranulomatous thyroiditis, Painful subacute thyroiditis, Viral Riedel's thyroiditis, Riedel's struma, Invasive fibrous thyroiditis Unknown
Acute infectious thyroiditis
Subacute thyroiditis
Radiation-induced thyroiditis
Subacute lymphocytic thyroiditis
Hashimoto's thyroiditis
Ord's thyroiditis
Postpartum thyroiditis
Thyroid lymphoma