Brömel Catharina, Pollard Rachel E, Kass Philip H, Samii Valerie F, Davidson Autumn P, Nelson Richard W
Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA. 95616, USA.
J Vet Intern Med. 2005 Jul-Aug;19(4):499-506. doi: 10.1892/0891-6640(2005)19[499:ueottg]2.0.co;2.
Ultrasound evaluation of the thyroid gland was performed in healthy, hypothyroid, and euthyroid Golden Retriever dogs with nonthyroidal illness (NTI) to determine the diagnostic usefulness of ultrasound for differentiating between euthyroid and hypothyroid dogs. Thirty-six healthy, 11 hypothyroid, and 35 euthyroid dogs with NTI were evaluated. Each thyroid lobe was examined ultrasonographically for size, shape, echogenicity, and homogeneity. Thyroid lobe volume was estimated by using the equation for an ellipsoid: pi/6(length X height x width). No differences were found between healthy dogs and euthyroid dogs with NTI. In the majority of euthyroid dogs, the thyroid lobes were fusiform and triangular in shape in longitudinal and transverse planes, respectively. The thyroid capsule appeared smooth. The thyroid parenchyma had a homogeneous echogenic pattern and usually was hyperechoic or isoechoic compared with the surrounding musculature. Ultrasound findings in hypothyroid dogs were more variable, including a greater frequency of round to oval-shaped thyroid lobes in the transverse imaging plane (P < .05), hypoechogenicity of the thyroid parenchyma compared with surrounding musculature (P < .001), and a decrease in the size and volume of the thyroid lobes and total volume of the thyroid gland (P < .05) compared with euthyroid dogs. Other findings in hypothyroid dogs included an irregular surface to the thyroid capsule, a heterogeneous pattern to the thyroid parenchyma, and differences in the echogenic pattern between the left and right thyroid lobes. Results suggest that determination of thyroid size and volume by ultrasound may be a useful adjunctive test for differentiating between hypothyroid and euthyroid dogs with NTI.
对患有非甲状腺疾病（NTI）的健康、甲状腺功能减退和甲状腺功能正常的金毛猎犬进行甲状腺超声评估，以确定超声对区分甲状腺功能正常和甲状腺功能减退犬的诊断价值。评估了36只健康犬、11只甲状腺功能减退犬和35只患有NTI的甲状腺功能正常犬。对每个甲状腺叶进行超声检查，观察其大小、形状、回声性和均匀性。通过使用椭球体公式（π/6×长×高×宽）估计甲状腺叶体积。在健康犬和患有NTI的甲状腺功能正常犬之间未发现差异。在大多数甲状腺功能正常的犬中，甲状腺叶在纵切面和横切面分别呈梭形和三角形。甲状腺包膜表面光滑。甲状腺实质具有均匀的回声模式，与周围肌肉组织相比通常为高回声或等回声。甲状腺功能减退犬的超声表现更具变异性，包括在横切面成像中圆形至椭圆形甲状腺叶的频率更高（P<.05），与周围肌肉组织相比甲状腺实质回声减低（P<.001），以及与甲状腺功能正常犬相比甲状腺叶大小和体积以及甲状腺总体积减小（P<.05）。甲状腺功能减退犬的其他表现包括甲状腺包膜表面不规则、甲状腺实质不均匀模式以及左右甲状腺叶之间回声模式的差异。结果表明，通过超声测定甲状腺大小和体积可能是区分患有NTI的甲状腺功能减退和甲状腺功能正常犬的有用辅助检查。
