Abstract
Background The end-diastolic velocity (EDV) of thyroid arteries reflects peripheral blood flow resistance. Objective The aim was to evaluate EDV correlations with other Doppler sonography parameters and with clinical and biochemical variables in a sample of patients with hypothyroidism caused by chronic autoimmune thyroiditis (CAT). Methods A sample of 48 CAT hypothyroid patients receiving treatment with stable doses of levothyroxine was selected. The participants underwent clinical evaluation and measurement of serum thyrotropin (TSH), total triiodothyronine (T3), total thyroxine (T4), free T4, thyroid peroxidase antibodies (anti-TPO), and antithyroglobulin antibodies (anti-Tg) and Doppler sonography. Results The EDV of the inferior thyroid arteries (ITA-EDV) was strongly and positively correlated with the peak systolic velocity of the inferior thyroid arteries (ITA-PSV, r = 0.919), thyroid volume (r = 0.711), and thyroid visual vascularization pattern (TVP, r = 0.687). There was no correlation between ITA-EDV and the clinical variables, hormones, anti-TPO, or anti-Tg. Conclusion The strong correlation of ITA-EDV with ITA-PSV, TVP, and volume suggests that increased vascularization in CAT may be associated with a reduction in thyroid blood flow resistance, possibly due to an angiogenesis-induced increase in the total vascular cross-sectional area of the parenchyma.
Highlights
Doppler sonography is a noninvasive, widely available, reproducible diagnostic tool [1, 2] that has high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis and differentiation of autoimmune thyroid diseases [3,4,5].In addition to providing B-mode sonography information, this technique allows glandular blood flow to be studied
Vascularization can be qualitatively investigated by estimating the visual thyroid vascularization pattern (TVP) or quantitatively investigated by measuring thyroid blood flow area
A subsequent study demonstrated that patients with chronic autoimmune thyroiditis (CAT) may exhibit a TVP similar to that found in Graves’ disease (GD) [8], making this parameter limited in its ability to differentiate between the 2 diseases
Summary
Doppler sonography is a noninvasive, widely available, reproducible diagnostic tool [1, 2] that has high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis and differentiation of autoimmune thyroid diseases [3,4,5].In addition to providing B-mode sonography information, this technique allows glandular blood flow to be studied. Doppler sonography enables determination of peak systolic velocity (PSV) and end-diastolic velocity (EDV), as well as the resistive index (RI) and pulsatility indices of the superior, inferior, intrathyroid, and intranodular arteries [5, 6]. A subsequent study demonstrated that patients with chronic autoimmune thyroiditis (CAT) may exhibit a TVP similar to that found in GD [8], making this parameter limited in its ability to differentiate between the 2 diseases. The aim was to evaluate EDV correlations with other Doppler sonography parameters and with clinical and biochemical variables in a sample of patients with hypothyroidism caused by chronic autoimmune thyroiditis (CAT). The strong correlation of ITA-EDV with ITA-PSV, TVP, and volume suggests that increased vascularization in CAT may be associated with a reduction in thyroid blood flow resistance, possibly due to an angiogenesis-induced increase in the total vascular cross-sectional area of the parenchyma
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