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Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Murine Fetal Echocardiography
Published on: February 15, 2013
Evaluation of thyrotoxicosis during pregnancy with color flow Doppler sonography
K V S Hari Kumar1, P Vamsikrishna, A Verma
1Department of Endocrinology, Medwin Hospitals, Nampally, Hyderabad, India. hariendo@rediffmail.com
Objective:
To determine whether color flow Doppler sonography (CFDS) is useful in differentiating Graves vs non-Graves thyrotoxicosis during pregnancy, when nuclear imaging is contraindicated.
Methods:
Ten pregnant women with thyrotoxicosis were divided into Graves, and non-Graves, disease groups and were evaluated by CFDS for thyroid volume, vascularity, and inferior thyroid artery (ITA) flow velocity. Each patient was matched with a euthyroid woman of the same pregnancy duration.
Results:
Of the 10 patients, 3 were diagnosed with Graves disease, 4 with gestational toxicosis, and 3 with destructive thyroiditis. Those in the Graves disease group had a greater thyroid gland volume (18.9+/-1.5 cm3 vs 12.1+/-2.4 cm3; P<0.05), greater thyroid vascularity, and greater ITA flow velocity than those in the non-Graves disease group (92+/-13 cm/s vs 20.4+/-2.4 cm/s; P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the corresponding values between the patients with gestational toxicosis and those with destructive thyroiditis or between them and their healthy controls.
Conclusion:
Thyroid evaluation by CFDS is useful for the differential diagnosis of thyrotoxicosis in pregnant women.
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