Study: Covid-19 patients may develop thyroid disease

Study: Covid-19 patients may develop thyroid disease

Patients with COVID-19 may develop an inflammatory thyroid disease called subacute thyroiditis, according to a new case study. Subacute thyroiditis is characterised by neck pain and is usually preceded by an upper respiratory tract infection, the researchers wrote in a paper published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

The disease may be caused by a viral infection or a post-viral inflammatory reaction, and many viruses have been linked to the disease, the researchers said. They noted that COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus has emerged as a pandemic with severe respiratory symptoms, and may involve other organs. "We reported the first case of subacute thyroiditis after SARS-CoV-2 infection," said Francesco Latrofa, from the University Hospital of Pisa in Italy.

"Physicians should be alerted about the possibility of this additional clinical manifestation related to COVID-19," Latrofa said. The clinicians examined an 18-year-old woman who was infected with COVID-19 after being exposed by her father.

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