Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ectopic thyroids have lower computed tomography attenuation values than orthotopic thyroids

  • Endocrine Methods and Techniques
  • Published:
Endocrine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

To determine whether ectopic thyroid had the same computed tomography (CT) value as orthotopic thyroid.

Methods

Twenty-one patients with 23 ectopic thyroids and 23 controls with orthotopic thyroids underwent CT scans and were included in this retrospective study. The CT images were reviewed in a blinded fashion by two radiologists. Independent-Samples T-test was used for comparison of CT attenuation values between two groups.

Results

Ectopic thyroids had significantly lower non-enhanced attenuation (91.04 ± 5.97 Hounsfield Units vs. 106.56 ± 4.06 Hounsfield Units, P = 0.038) and contrast-enhanced attenuation (141.32 ± 6.42 Hounsfield Units vs. 169.82 ± 4.30 Hounsfield Units, P = 0.001) values than orthotopic thyroids.

Conclusions

Ectopic thyroids have lower CT attenuation values than orthotopic thyroids probably due to the structural or functional abnormalities. The dysgenesis and pathological changes of the ectopic thyroids may contribute to functional deficiency which finally leads to decrease of the CT attenuation values.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. G. Sturniolo, M.A. Violi, B. Galletti, S. Baldari, A. Campennì, F. Vermiglio, M. Moleti, Differentiated thyroid carcinoma in lingual thyroid. Endocrine 51(1), 189–198 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-015-0593-y

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. G. Guerra, M. Cinelli, M. Mesolella, D. Tafuri, A. Rocca, B. Amato, S. Rengo, D. Testa, Morphological, diagnostic and surgical features of ectopic thyroid gland: a review of literature. Int. J. Surg. 12(Suppl 1), S3–S11 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu.2014.05.076

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. K. Liang, J.F. Liu, Y.H. Wang, G.C. Tang, L.H. Teng, F. Li, Ectopic thyroid presenting as a gallbladder mass. Ann. R. Coll. Surg. Engl. 92(4), W4–W6 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1308/147870810X12659688852473

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. A. Ma, H. Liu, Ectopic thyroid of the pancreas: a case report and literature review. Medicine 96(47), e8707 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000008707

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. F. Landeta, A. Hoffmeier, M. Fuchs, H. Scheld, D. Maintz, J. Stypmann, O. Schober, P. Kirchhof, T. Spieker, J. Waltenberger, Ectopic thyroid mass in the heart. Lancet 379(9827), 1762 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. G.P. Casadei, C. Bertarelli, E. Giorgini, N. Cremonini, D. de Biase, G. Tallini, Ectopic thyroid tissue in the adrenal gland: report of a case. Int. J. Surg. Pathol. 23(2), 170–175 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1177/1066896914541001

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. M.A. Salam, Ectopic thyroid mass adherent to the oesophagus. J. Laryngol. Otol. 106(8), 746–747 (1992)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. T. Takahasi, H. Ishikura, H. Kato, T. Tarabe, T. Yoshiki, Ectopic thyroid follicles in the submucosa of the duodenum. Virchows Arch. A. Pathol. Anat. Histopathol. 418(6), 547–550 (1991)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. F. Yilmaz, A.K. Uzunlar, N. Sogutau, Ectopic thyroid tissue in the uterus. Acta Obstet. Gynaecol. Scand. 84(2), 201–202 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. B. Gunqor, T. Kebat, C. Ozaslan, S. Akilli, Intraabdominal ectopic thyroid presenting with hyperthyroidism: report of a case. Surg. Today 32(2), 148–150 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. B. Ozpolat, O.V. Dogan, G. Gökaslan, S. Erekul, E. Yücel, Ectopic thyroid gland on the ascending aorta with a partial pericardial defect: report of a case. Surg. Today 37(6), 486–488 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. N. Ghanem, Y. Bley, C. Altehoefer, S. Högerle, M. Langer, Ectopic thyroid gland in the Porta Hepatis and Lingua. Thyroid 13(5), 503–507 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. H. Kobayashi, H. Tashita, H. Hara, Y. Hasegawa, Utility of computed tomography in identifying an ectopic thyroid in infants and pre-school children. Endocr. J. 52(2), 189–192 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. K. Machida, K. Yoshikawa, Aberrant thyroid gland demonstrated by computed tomography. J. Comput. Assist. Tomogr. 3(5), 689–690 (1979)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Y. Iida, J. Konishi, T. Harioka, T. Misaki, K. Endo, K. Torizuka, Thyroid CT number and its relationship to iodine concentration. Radiology 147(3), 793–795 (1983)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. T. Kaneko, M. Matsumoto, K. Fukui, T. Hori, K. Katayama, Clinical evaluation of thyroid CT values in various thyroid conditions. J. Comput. Tomogr. 3, 1–4 (1979)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. K. Jhaveri, M.M. Shroff, G.M. Fatterpekar, P.M. Som, CT and MR imaging findings associated with subacute thyroiditis. AJNR Am. J. Neuroradiol. 24(1), 143–146 (2003)

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. M. Bin Saeedan, I.M. Aljohani, A.O. Khushaim, S.Q. Bukhari, S.T. Elnaas, Thyroid computed tomography imaging: pictorial review of variable pathologies. Insights Imaging 7(4), 601–617 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s132-44-016-0506-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Y. Imanishi, N. Ehara, T. Shinagawa, D. Tsujino, I. Endoh, K. Baba, Y. Kanemaki, S. Iida, M. Hayakawa, O. Miyazaki, K. Shirakawa, S. Nosaka, Correlation of CT values, iodine concentration, and histological changes in the thyroid. J. Comput. Assist. Tomogr. 24(2), 322–326 (2000)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. E. Szczepanek-Parulska, A. Hernik, M. Ruchała, Thyroid ectopy-diagnostic and therapeutic challenges before and in the era of TSH neonatal screening. Endokrynol. Pol. 68(6), 708–721 (2017). https://doi.org/10.5603/EP.a-2017.0061

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. E. Szczepanek-Parulska, A. Zybek-Kocik, L. Wartofsky, M. Ruchala, Thyroid hemiagenesis: incidence, clinical significance, and genetic background. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 102(9), 3124–3137 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2017-00784

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. L.A. Loevner, S.L. Kaplan, M.E. Cunnane, G. Moonis, Cross-sectional imaging of the thyroid gland. Neuroimaging Clin. N. Am. 18(3), 445–461 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nic.2008.05.001

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. M. El-Desouki, N. Al-Jurayyan, A. Al-Nuaim, A. Al-Herbish, A. Abo-Bakr, Y. Al-Mazrou, A. Al-Swailem, Thyroid scintigraphy and perchlorate discharge test in the diagnosis of congenital hypothyroidism. Eur. J. Nucl. Med. 22(9), 1005–1008 (1995)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

    Ting Gu, Ying-li Lu, Bing Han, Bo-Ren Jiang & Li-Zhen Yang

  2. Department of Oral Pathology, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

    Li-Zhen Wang

  3. Department of Radiology, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

    Yong-Shun Han

Authors
  1. Ting Gu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ying-li Lu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Bing Han
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Bo-Ren Jiang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Li-Zhen Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Li-Zhen Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Yong-Shun Han
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Li-Zhen Yang or Yong-Shun Han.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in present study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This was a retrospective study and was approved by the Ethics Committee of Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine. The Ethics Committee approved that formal written consents from patients were not required, because it was a retrospective study.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gu, T., Lu, Yl., Han, B. et al. Ectopic thyroids have lower computed tomography attenuation values than orthotopic thyroids. Endocrine 62, 546–551 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-018-1747-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-018-1747-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation