title: An additional ultrasonographic sign of Hashimoto's lymphocytic thyroiditis in children.
abstract: We present an additional sonographic sign of Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HLT), increasing the specificity of this method in pediatric populations.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 98 children (mean age 12.7 years, range 7-17 years) were selected from the registry of the endocrinology outpatient department. All subjects met the diagnostic criteria for HLT. All children underwent a prospective thyroid ultrasound examination with special attention paid to the presence of lymph nodes adjacent to the thyroid gland. In order to form a control group, we analyzed 102 healthy volunteers and 94 children with cervical lymphadenopathy, age- and sex-matched with the main study group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The ultrasound of the thyroid revealed typical sonographic signs of autoimmune thyroid disease in all children with HLT and in none of the individuals in the control groups. In 96 children (98%) from the HLT group, at least 2 lymph nodes adjacent to the lower part of the thyroid gland lobes localized on one or both sides of the thyroid were detected. No lymph nodes adjacent to the lower part of the thyroid lobes were found in healthy children or children with cervical lymphadenopathy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Lymph nodes adjacent to the lower part of the thyroid lobes are an additional ultrasound sign of pediatric Hashimoto's lymphocytic thyroiditis, with 98% sensitivity and 100% specificity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kosiak
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piskunowicz
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Dominik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Świętoń
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Batko
authors.affiliation: Department of Economic Sciences, Faculty of Management and Economics, Gdańsk University of Technology, Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Mariusz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaszubowski
keywords: Hashimoto disease; autoimmune diseases; children; endocrinology; ultrasonography