Ultrasound Measurement of Thyroid Volume in Healthy Children

Various thyroid diseases can lead to changes in the volume of the gland. Therefore, it is important to know the normal thyroid volume. The primary aim of this investigation was to establish normative values for thyroid gland volume using ultrasonography in children aged 0-18 years in Turkey. A retrospective analysis was conducted on thyroid ultrasound findings from 800 children (400 boys, 400 girls) between 2019 and 2020. Pediatric age groups were classified into 20 categories for children aged 0-18. Among these 20 groups, the initial 3 pertain to the 0-1 age range, encompassing infants aged 0-1 month, 1-6 months, and 6-12 months. Each age group consisted of 20 boys and 20 girls. The volume of each thyroid lobe was computed in milliliters using Brunn's formula, which involves multiplying the maximal anteroposterior diameter, mediolateral diameter, and craniocaudal diameter of the lobe by the correction factor 0.479. Data analysis employed the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, SPSS version 24.0. All analyses were conducted at a 95% confidence interval, and significance was set at P < 0.05. Mean thyroid volumes of 800 children were determined for each age group. Thyroid volume exhibited a strong correlation with age. The Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.987 (P = 0.001). Given the scarcity of comprehensive studies in the literature focusing on thyroid volume in children aged 0-18 across various age groups, we believe that our findings for each age group can provide valuable insights for daily clinical practice.