Concomitant tuberculous and cryptococcal thyroid abscess in a human immunodeficiency virus-infected patient

Abstract

Suppurative thyroiditis is a rare condition caused mostly by Staphylococcus aureus and streptococci. Both tuberculous and cryptococcal thyroid abscess are even rarer. The incidence of extrapulmonary forms of tuberculosis and cryptococcosis has increased in areas with a high prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. A case is reported of dual infection by M. tuberculosis and Cryptococcus neoformans presenting as a thyroid abscess in a 32-y-old woman with symptomatic HIV infection. Atypical presentations of both tuberculosis and cryptococcosis should be considered in areas with a high incidence of these diseases.