Diagnosis of posterior mediastinal goiter by computed tomography

Although radionuclide examinations are usually diagnostic for evaluating mediastinal goiters, false negative examinations do occur, and the diagnosis may not be suspected based on clinical or radiographic features. In such a setting, computed tomography (CT) may demonstrate both anatomic and physiologic evidence of thyroid mass, providing useful diagnostic information. We report a case in which CT derived data aided in an early diagnosis of mediastinal gioter.