Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Ultrasound ratio to check thyroid size in dogs
By Sasaki, Noboru et al.·Published in The Journal of veterinary medical science·2020·Department of Clinical Sciences, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: An area ratio of thyroid gland to common carotid artery for evaluating the thyroid gland size.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with thyroid issues were examined using ultrasound to measure the size of their thyroid glands compared to a nearby artery. The study found that healthy dogs had a higher thyroid gland to artery size ratio than those with hypothyroidism (low thyroid function), which could help vets diagnose this condition more accurately. Specifically, a ratio below 1.12 indicated hypothyroidism with high reliability. This method could be a useful tool for veterinarians in assessing thyroid health in dogs.
People also search for: dog hypothyroidism symptoms · dog thyroid test results · ultrasound thyroid size in dogs
Abstract
The feasibility of ultrasonographic measurement of thyroid gland area to common carotid artery (TG:CCA) was investigated. Twenty-one healthy, 12 hypothyroid and 18 non-thyroid illness (NTI) dogs were evaluated. The area of thyroid lobe and common carotid artery in right and left sides were measured using the same ultrasonographic images in transverse plane. The average of the right and left ratio was calculated as TG:CCA. The median TG:CCA of 21 healthy dogs was 1.53, and it did not correlate either body weight or age. The median TG:CCA of 12 hypothyroid dogs was 0.81, which was significantly lower than that of 18 NTI dogs (1.81, P<0.001). If the cut off value <1.12 was used, TG:CCA indicated hypothyroidism with a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 83%, and accuracy of 90%. Our data indicated that TG:CCA was independent of both body weight, which may contribute to consistent measurement of thyroid size. The results of this study suggest that TG:CCA is a promising tool for diagnosing canine hypothyroidism.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32493858/