Diagnostic imaging in mediastinal thyroid tumor.

Various diagnostic imagings in nine patients with mediastinal goiters were presented. The clinical manifestations of these patients were various, from totally asymptomatic to severe dyspnea. Six of the nine patients underwent surgical intervention, three were follicular adenomas and three were nodular goiters. A chest radiograph (positive in seven out of nine patients) provided the most valuable initial localization of a goiter mass to the anterior, middle, or posterior compartment. Esophagograms (performed in four patients) showed compression of esophagus by the mediastinal mass. I-131 scintigraphy (performed in seven patients) was capable of detection of functional (in three patients) vs nonfunctional status of thyroid status (in four patients). Angiography (performed in five patients), characterized by anatomic continuity with cervical thyroid gland, calcifications, well-defined border of masses and/or contrast enhancement, offered important roles to direct a diagnosis of intrathoracic goiter. The computed tomography becomes increasingly important because all mediastinal goiters are not radioiodine avid.