Evaluation of patients with thyrotoxic autoimmune thyroiditis by color flow doppler ultrasonography

Objective: In this study, we aimed to examine the availabilityand the effects of differential diagnosis of thyroidgland morphological changes and blood flow patterns inpatients with thyrotoxic phase Graves’ disease (BGD)and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) by color flow doppler ultrasonography(CDUS).Methods: This cross-sectional study was included 24consecutive patients with thyrotoxicosis and 18 healthycontrols. There were Basedow-Graves’ disease in 17 andHashimoto thyroiditis in 7 of previously untreated 24 patients.Morphological information of thyroid gland was obtainedby B-mode ultrasonography in all cases. Blood flowpattern of the thyroid gland was determined by CDUS.Results: The thyroid volumes and FT3, TRAb, 4-h and24-h RAIU levels of the patients with Graves’s diseasewere significantly higher than the patients with HT.Whereas thyroid gland echogenicity was decreased in 14of BGH cases, it was diminished in 2 patients with HT.Significant difference was found between BGD and HTgroups in terms of thyroid gland echogenicity. In all patientswith BGD and HT, echopattern was heterogenous.In all patients, blood flow patterns of thyroid gland wereobtained by CDUS. Color flow doppler ultrasonographyand pattern 3 blood flows were only observed in BGD.Significant difference was found between HT and BGDgroups in blood flow pattern.Conclusion: Heterojen echopattern, decreased echogenicity,volume changes and type 3 blood flow patternof thyroid gland obtained using B-mode Ultrasound andCDUS may be useful in the determination and differentiationof thyrotoxic BGD and HT diseases. J Clin Exp Invest2013; 4 (1): 73-79Key words: Doppler ultrasonography, autoimmune thyroiditis,thyrotoxicosis