Shear wave elastography in chronic autoimmune thyroiditis: the study of thyroid gland stiffness in children
Abstract212 children were included in the study. Among them there were 175 children aged 3 to 17 years without any clinical, laboratory and ultrasound indications of thyroid disease (control group) and 37 patients aged 7 to 17 years with chronic autoimmune thyroiditis (experimental group).
All patients underwent standard ultrasound examination of the thyroid gland and two-dimensional shear wave elastography [Aixplorer device (Supersonic Imagine, France); linear sensor operating in the frequency range of 5–18 MHz], thyroid function testing (i. e. analysis of thyroid-stimulating hormone, free thyroxine, thyroid peroxidase antibodies).
In patients with chronic autoimmune thyroiditis, the values of Young’s modulus were significantly higher than in patients of the control group (median Emean – 14.5 and 7.0 kPa, interquartile range – 11.5–16.3 and 5.9–8.8 kPa, respectively) (p=0.000). Shear wave elastography may be a promising new approach to early diagnosis of pathological alterations in the thyroid gland in children.
Keywords: shear wave elastography; thyroid gland; stiffness; Young’s modulus; Hashimoto’s thyroiditis; chronic autoimmune thyroiditis; children
Funding. The study had no sponsor support.
Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.
For citation: Pykov M.I., Kuzmina N.E., Rostovtsev N.M., Gunbina I.V. Shear wave elastography in chronic autoimmune thyroiditis: the study of thyroid gland stiffness in children. Endokrinologiya: novosti, mneniya, obuchenie [Endocrinology: News, Opinions, Training]. 2024; 13 (2): 6–13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33029/2304-9529-2024-13-2-6-13 (in Russian)
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