The significance of thyroid blood flow at the inferior thyroid artery as a predictor for early Graves' disease relapse

• Published in: Clinical endocrinology (Oxford) Vol. 63; no. 6; pp. 657 - 662
• Main Authors: Ueda, Misako, Inaba, Masaaki, Kumeda, Yasuro, Nagasaki, Toshiki, Hiura, Yoshikazu, Tahara, Hideki, Onoda, Naoyoshi, Ishikawa, Tetsuro, Nishizawa, Yoshiki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Ltd 01.12.2005; Blackwell; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Arteries - diagnostic imaging; Autoantibodies - blood; Biological and medical sciences; Case-Control Studies; Endocrinopathies; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Graves Disease - blood; Graves Disease - diagnosis; Graves Disease - physiopathology; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Non tumoral diseases. Target tissue resistance. Benign neoplasms; Organ Size; Predictive Value of Tests; Receptors, Thyrotropin - immunology; Recurrence; Regional Blood Flow; ROC Curve; Thyroid Gland - blood supply; Thyroid Gland - pathology; Thyroid. Thyroid axis (diseases); Triiodothyronine - blood; Ultrasonography, Doppler, Pulsed; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A - blood; Vertebrates: endocrinology; Endocrinopathy; Relapse; Endocrine gland; Hyperthyroidism; Thyroid diseases; Autoimmune disease; Artery; Blood flow; Blood vessel; Graves disease; Early; Circulatory system; Hemodynamics; Predictive factor; Endocrinology
• ISSN: 0300-0664; 1365-2265
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2265.2005.02397.x

Summary Objective  We investigated the clinical usefulness of thyroid blood‐flow measurement in predicting relapse of Graves’ disease (GD) in comparison with known risk factors for GD relapse. Measurement  Thyroid blood flow was measured in pulsed Doppler mode at the inferior thyroid artery (ITA), and the peak systolic velocity (PSV) calculated. Patients  ITA‐PSV was measured in euthyroid GD patients (n = 79) immediately before withdrawal of anti‐thyroid drug (ATD) and in healthy subjects (n = 17). Results  In the 79 euthyroid GD patients, the values of free triiodothyronine (FT3), TSH receptor autoantibody (TRAb), ITA‐PSV and thyroid volume were significantly higher in the relapse group (n = 40) than in the nonrelapse group (n = 39) and the Youden index of ITA‐PSV was significantly higher than that of FT3, TSH, TRAb and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Conclusion  ITA‐PSV may assist in the prediction of early GD relapse after ATD withdrawal.