| Abstract: | A clinical and pathological study was made on
53 cases of nonspecific thyroiditis operated on
from 1962 through 1982. These included 36 Hashi.
moto's disease, 7 Riedel's disease and 10 giant cell
thyroiditis. There was no operative mortality or
serious complication. With Hashimoto's disease,
postoperative hypothyroidism occurred in 23 patients
(63.9%) and the degree of lymphocytic infiltration
of the thyroid appeared to be a more important
factor relating to the occurrence of postoperative
hypothyroidism rather than the amount of thyroid
tissue resected. In mild Iymphocytic infiltration
hypothyroidism did not appear when resection was
limited to less than 50%. Therefore, intraoperative
frozen section biopsy is beneficial not only for
diagnosis but also for the choice of a proper opera-
tive procedure. An association of Hashimoto's
disease with hyperthyroidism was found in 10 cases.
There were 3 clinical types of such association:
Symptoms of hyperthyroidism preceded thyroiditis;
thyroiditis occurred first and then the symptoms of
hyperthyroidism; and both disorders occurred simul-
taneously. As thyroiditis is generally considered an
autoimmune disease, whether these three clinical
types are different stages of the autoimmune reaction
needs further investigation. |
