Objective: To evaluate the correlation between mean superior thyroid artery peak systolic velocity (STA-PSV) and radioactive iodine uptake (RAIU) in Chinese patients with untreated thyrotoxicosis, using retrospectively and prospectively collected data.
Methods: Patients with untreated thyrotoxicosis (n = 220) and euthyroid control subjects (n = 30) underwent thyroid function, thyroid autoantibody and thyroid ultrasonography tests. Mean STA-PSV was measured by ultrasonography. RAIU tests identified 168 patients with Graves' disease and 52 with destructive thyroiditis. Linear correlation of mean STA-PSV with 3-h and 24-h RAIU, and sensitivity, specificity and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for mean STA-PSV in the differential diagnosis of Graves' disease and destructive thyroiditis were calculated.
Results: Mean STA-PSV was significantly higher in Graves' disease than in destructive thyroiditis. Mean STA-PSV correlated positively and significantly with 3-h and 24-h RAIU. Area under the ROC curve of mean STA-PSV for the differential diagnosis of Graves' disease and destructive thyroiditis was 0.825 (optimum cut-off value of mean STA-PSV, 45.25 cm/s; sensitivity, 80.4%; specificity, 81.4%).
Conclusions: Detection of mean STA-PSV by ultrasonography agrees with RAIU and is useful for the differential diagnosis of thyrotoxicosis in Chinese patients.