Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Presenting with Chronic Cough and Hemoptysis in Primary Care: A Case Report

• Published in: American Journal of Case Reports
• Main Author: Abd Hamid M.F.; Abdul-Razak S.; Azraai A.M.; Miptah H.N.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: International Scientific Information, Inc. 2023
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85176422025&doi=10.12659%2fAJCR.941089&partnerID=40&md5=1c35c4a466309ad34e624a12ef604d15

Objective: Background: Case Report: Conclusions: Unusual clinical course The article discusses an unusual case of papillary thyroid carcinoma in which chronic cough and hemoptysis were the predominant symptoms. While the more common causes of hemoptysis are pulmonary in origin, ex-trapulmonary etiologies have been reported, including thyroid carcinoma. The clinical presentation of thyroid malignancy in this case mimics many other common disorders, such as pulmonary tuberculosis, bronchogen-ic carcinoma, bronchiectasis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Hence, making it challenging to sus-pect early when patients present to primary care. A 54-year-old woman presented with a chronic cough and hemoptysis in our Primary Care Medicine Clinic. While initial assessments in the primary care medicine clinic yielded no remarkable findings, a subsequent high-resolution computed tomography scan of the thorax uncovered a thyroid lesion. Subsequent evaluation in the hospital setting included an ultrasound examination, revealing multiple thyroid nodules, and fine nee-dle aspiration that confirmed papillary thyroid carcinoma. She underwent total thyroidectomy with central and left lateral neck dissection, complicated by left vocal cord palsy. She received 2 cycles of periodic radioactive io-dine therapy and injection laryngoplasty postoperatively. There was no evidence of iodin avid disease and recurrence of hemoptysis after surgery. This case report emphasizes the significance of considering papillary thyroid carcinoma when assessing he-moptysis in the primary care setting, as early detection and treatment of it would result in a better outcome. © Am J Case Rep, 2023.