Chronic autoimmune thyroiditis and Graves’ disease are two forms of autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD). It has been said that Hashimoto thyroiditis and Graves’ disease are the same autoimmune thyroid disease but at different ends of the spectrum. Transition between the two autoimmune thyroid diseases may occur, which adds to the difficulty in differentiating between the two (1). The ultrasonographic appearance of both Graves’ disease and Hashimoto thyroiditis are similar as well, with both having a hypoechoic and heterogeneous echotexture. While Graves’ disease typically shows marked hypervascularity with power Doppler analysis, the vascularity of Hashimoto thyroiditis is variable, ranging from avascular to hypervascular.
Chronic autoimmune thyroiditis has two clinical forms: a goitrous form referred to as Hashimoto disease and an atrophic form called atrophic thyroiditis, which may represent the end stage of the former. The presence of serum thyroid autoantibodies, varying degrees of thyroid dysfunction and lymphocytic infiltration characterize both forms of chronic autoimmune thyroiditis (2). Both silent (or painless) thyroiditis and post-partum thyroiditis are transient disorders thought to be manifestations of chronic autoimmune thyroiditis (2).
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Schiefer, R., Dean, D.S. (2008). Thyroiditis. In: Baskin, H.J., Duick, D.S., Levine, R.A. (eds) Thyroid Ultrasound and Ultrasound-Guided FNA. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-77634-7_5
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