Saturday, February, 11, 2012

Chronic thyroiditis (Hashimoto’s disease)

Table of Contents

Alternative Names

Hashimoto's thyroiditis; Chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis; Autoimmune thyroiditis


Symptoms
  • Constipation
  • Difficulty concentrating or thinking
  • Dry skin
  • Enlarged neck or presence of goiter
  • Fatigue
  • Hair loss
  • Heavy and irregular periods
  • Intolerance to cold
  • Mild weight gain
  • Small or shrunken thyroid gland (late in the disease)

Other symptoms that can occur with this disease:

  • Joint stiffness
  • Weight gain (unintentional)
  • Swelling of the face

Note: There may be no symptoms.


Signs and tests

Laboratory tests to determine thyroid function include:

  • Free T4 test (low)
  • Serum TSH (high)
  • T3 (low or normal)
  • Thyroid autoantibodies:
    • Antithyroid peroxidase antibody
    • Antithyroglobulin antibody

Imaging studies are generally not needed to diagnose Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

This disease may also change the results of the following tests:

  • Complete blood count
  • Radioactive iodine uptake
  • Serum prolactin
  • Serum sodium
  • Total cholesterol

Review Date: 04/19/2010
Reviewed By: Ari S. Eckman, MD, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)