Utility of Shear Wave Elastography for Diagnosing Chronic Autoimmune Thyroiditis

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Medical Imaging
• Thyroidology

Background:

• Chronic autoimmune thyroiditis (CAT) is a common endocrine disorder.
• Accurate diagnosis of CAT is crucial for effective management.
• Assessing thyroid tissue fibrosis is important for understanding disease progression.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic utility of shear wave elastography (SWE) using acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) for diagnosing CAT.
• To determine the relationship between fibrotic thyroid tissue and shear wave velocity (SWV) in CAT patients.

Main Methods:

• Quantitative shear wave elastography (SWE) was performed on 150 CAT lobes and 253 normal thyroid lobes (controls).
• Shear wave velocity (SWV) was measured and compared between groups.
• Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine diagnostic performance.

Main Results:

• SWV was significantly higher in CAT lobes (2.47 ± 0.57 m/s) compared to controls (1.59 ± 0.41 m/s) (P < 0.001).
• The SWV cut-off value of 1.96 m/s yielded a sensitivity of 87.4%, specificity of 78.7%, and diagnostic accuracy of 85.1%.
• Anti-thyroperoxidase antibody levels and thyroid isthmus thickness correlated with tissue stiffness in CAT.

Conclusions:

• Quantitative SWE is a valuable tool for diagnosing CAT.
• SWE can potentially assess the degree of fibrosis in thyroid tissue affected by CAT.