AI Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to evaluate how peak and end-diastolic velocities, along with resistance indices of the inferior thyroid arteries, can help differentiate between gestational transient thyrotoxicosis and Graves' disease in pregnant patients.
- Using color-flow Doppler ultrasonography, researchers assessed 96 patients with thyrotoxicosis and 25 healthy controls, finding that blood flow velocities were significantly lower in gestational transient thyrotoxicosis compared to Graves' disease, while also being higher than in healthy subjects.
- The results indicated a considerable overlap in blood flow velocities between the two conditions, leading to the conclusion that these measurements may not be reliable enough as a primary diagnostic tool for differentiating between the two
Article Abstract
Objective: To determine the role of peak systolic velocity, end-diastolic velocity and resistance indices of both the right and left inferior thyroid arteries measured by color-flow Doppler ultrasonography for a differential diagnosis between gestational transient thyrotoxicosis and Graves' disease during pregnancy.
Methods: The right and left inferior thyroid artery-peak systolic velocity, end-diastolic velocity and resistance indices of 96 patients with thyrotoxicosis (41 with gestational transient thyrotoxicosis, 31 age-matched pregnant patients with Graves' disease and 24 age- and sex-matched non-pregnant patients with Graves' disease) and 25 age and sex-matched healthy euthyroid subjects were assessed with color-flow Doppler ultrasonography.
Results: The right and left inferior thyroid artery-peak systolic and end-diastolic velocities in patients with gestational transient thyrotoxicosis were found to be significantly lower than those of pregnant patients with Graves' disease and higher than those of healthy euthyroid subjects. However, the right and left inferior thyroid artery peak systolic and end-diastolic velocities in pregnant patients with Graves' disease were significantly lower than those of non-pregnant patients with Graves' disease. The right and left inferior thyroid artery peak systolic and end-diastolic velocities were positively correlated with TSH-receptor antibody levels. We found an overlap between the inferior thyroid artery-blood flow velocities in a considerable number of patients with gestational transient thyrotoxicosis and pregnant patients with Graves' disease.
Conclusions: This study suggests that the measurement of inferior thyroid artery-blood flow velocities with color-flow Doppler ultrasonography does not have sufficient sensitivity and specificity to be recommended as an initial diagnostic test for a differential diagnosis between gestational transient thyrotoxicosis and Graves' disease during pregnancy.
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Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3275120 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.6061/clinics/2012(02)06 | DOI Listing |
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