Nonsurgical management of thyroid abscess with sonographically guided fine needle aspiration

Treatment of thyroid abscess commonly includes the surgical drainage along with systemic antibiotic therapy. Alternatives for open surgical intervention may be the conservative management with use needle aspiration or catheter drainage. We report here two cases of thyroid abscess treatment with 21-gauge needle aspiration under ultrasound guidance. In each case needle drainage was performed twice, at the 1st and 5th day of admission. Antibiotics were administered in pills and injected into the abscess cavity followed the pus aspiration and lavage. Both patients were cured. Follow-up has not revealed recurrence during 6 month and 5 years. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound, 2007