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Assessment of thyroid function during the long course of Hashimoto's thyroiditis in children and adolescents
Author(s) -
Demirbilek H.,
Kandemir N.,
Gonc E. N.,
Ozon A.,
Alikasifoglu A.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
clinical endocrinology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1365-2265
pISSN - 0300-0664
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2265.2008.03501.x
Subject(s) - euthyroid , medicine , subclinical infection , thyroiditis , thyroid , thyroid function , endocrinology , context (archaeology) , hashimoto disease , hormone , thyroid function tests , pediatrics , paleontology , biology
Summary Context The prognosis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) in children and adolescents is not well known and studies reporting long‐term outcome of the disease are scarce. Objective To assess the thyroid hormone status during long‐term follow‐up and to establish the prognosis of children and adolescents with HT. Patients One hundred and twenty‐nine patients with HT were re‐evaluated for thyroid hormone status after a mean follow‐up period of 50 months. Results Seventy‐seven per cent of the euthyroid patients were still euthyroid, while 21·1% of these patients became hypothyroid at the time of re‐evaluation. However, 69·5% of hypothyroid patients remained hypothyroid (overt or subclinical) and 30·5% recovered. Conclusion HT is a dynamic process. Thyroid functions can show variation during follow‐up. Therefore, thyroid function tests should be repeated periodically to detect progression to hypothyroidism in initially euthyroid patients as well as reversibility of hypothyroidism.