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Gray‐scale and color Doppler sonographic findings in a case of subacute granulomatous thyroiditis mimicking thyroid carcinoma
Author(s) -
Zacharia Titty Thomas,
Perumpallichira James Joseph,
Sindhwani Vivek,
Chavhan Govind
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of clinical ultrasound
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.272
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1097-0096
pISSN - 0091-2751
DOI - 10.1002/jcu.10087
Subject(s) - medicine , subacute thyroiditis , thyroiditis , differential diagnosis , thyroid , pathology , radiology , physical examination , disease
Subacute granulomatous thyroiditis is a common disease of unknown cause and is usually self‐limiting, with complete resolution of symptoms occurring spontaneously or after steroidal treatment. We report a case of subacute granulomatous thyroiditis in a 62‐year‐old woman whose clinical presentation was consistent with thyroid carcinoma. Gray‐scale and color Doppler sonography revealed marked enlargement of the left lobe of the thyroid and markedly hypoechoic, ill‐defined focal areas in both lobes. No flow was noted on color Doppler sonographic examination. Fine‐needle aspiration of the thyroid was performed, and histopathologic examination of the specimen confirmed the diagnosis of subacute granulomatous thyroiditis. The patient received prednisolone therapy (20 mg/day) for 2 weeks and recovered well. This case report is the first to describe the gray‐scale and color Doppler sonographic appearances of subacute granulomatous thyroiditis. This disease should be included in the differential diagnosis of patients with clinical signs and symptoms of thyroid carcinoma. Histopathologic examination is necessary to confirm the diagnosis. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 30:442–444, 2002