Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Ultrasound changes in hypothyroid dogs before and after treatment
By Taeymans, Olivier et al.·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association·2007·Department of Medical Imaging·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Pre- and post-treatment ultrasonography in hypothyroid dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid) underwent ultrasound examinations to help diagnose their condition. The ultrasound showed promising results, with a high accuracy rate for identifying thyroid issues based on specific features like decreased size and irregular shape. After treatment, the dogs continued to show a decrease in thyroid volume, but other ultrasound characteristics remained unchanged. This suggests that while the thyroid may not return to normal, the ultrasound can effectively help diagnose and monitor hypothyroidism in dogs.
People also search for: dog hypothyroidism symptoms · ultrasound for dog thyroid problems · treatment for dog thyroid disease
Abstract
Primary hypothyroidism is a frequent endocrine disorder in the adult dog. However, false-positive diagnoses are common because of the relatively low accuracy of most commonly used biochemical tests. The purpose of this study was to describe the ultrasonographic features of the thyroid gland in hypothyroid dogs, to calculate the diagnostic sensitivity of gray-scale ultrasound using a combination of clinical symptoms and biochemical thyroid tests as gold standard, and to investigate the evolution of the ultrasonographic features after treatment of hypothyroidism. Eighteen dogs were studied prospectively. All dogs underwent an ultrasound examination at first presentation and 13 underwent one or two additional ultrasound examinations over time. At first presentation, a sensitivity of 76.5% (95% CI [50.0-93.0% 1) for decreased echogenicity, 64.7% (95% CI [38.385.8% 1) for inhomogeneity, 70.6% (95% CI 144.0-89.7%]) for irregular capsule delineation, 64.7% (95% CI [38.3-85.8%]) for abnormal lobe shape and 47.1% (95% CI 123.0-72.2%]) for decreased relative thyroid volume was obtained. Combining these five parameters together resulted in an overall sensitivity of 94.1% (95% CI [71.3-99.9%]) for gray-scale ultrasound in the detection of acquired hypothyroidism at first presentation. A continuous decrease of thyroid volume was seen over time after treatment, while the other investigated parameters did not change significantly during the follow-up period. None of the thyroid glands were considered normal at the last presentation. Grayscale ultrasound is a sensitive and quick test for the diagnosis of primary hypothyroidism in dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17508515/