Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Ultrasound shows thyroid shrinkage in hyperthyroid cats after 131I
By Barberet, Virginie et al.·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association·2010·Department of Medical Imaging·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Pre- and posttreatment ultrasonography of the thyroid gland in hyperthyroid cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 15 hyperthyroid cats underwent treatment with radioactive iodine (131I) to help manage their condition. Before treatment, most of the cats had enlarged thyroid glands, which were assessed using ultrasound. After six months of treatment, the ultrasound showed significant improvements: the size of the thyroid glands decreased, and their shape and blood flow became more normal. This suggests that ultrasound can be a helpful tool for veterinarians to monitor how well the treatment is working in hyperthyroid cats.
People also search for: hyperthyroid cat treatment · cat thyroid ultrasound results · radioactive iodine for cats
Abstract
Ultrasonography is useful for assessing the morphology of the thyroid gland in hyperthyroid cats. Our aim was to describe the ultrasonographic changes of the thyroid gland in hyperthyroid cats after 131I therapy. Ultrasonography was performed in 15 hyperthyroid cats at initial presentation and 6 months after 131I using a multifrequency linear transducer set at 12 MHz. The following criteria were evaluated: length, width, height, volume, shape, homogeneity, and vascularity, using Power Doppler. Pretreatment, 10 cats had bilaterally abnormal thyroid lobes, four cats one abnormal lobe with the contralateral lobe being normal or reduced in size, and one cat with one normal lobe and one lobe not visible. Six months after 131I therapy, there was a reduction in median volume from 819 to 210 mm3, reduced rounding, reduced heterogeneity, and decreased vascularity. In conclusion, ultrasonography may be used to monitor thyroid changes in order to assess 131I treatment response. Further studies are necessary to determine whether ultrasonography could contribute to the detection of a relapsing course of hyperthyroidism.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20469556/