Ultrasound in early thyroid orbitopathy
H. J. Shammas, D. S. Minckler and C. Ogden
Fourteen patients with unilateral exophthalmos were found on A-scan
ultrasound examination to have enlarged extraocular muscles. Thyroid
dysfunction later was documented in 12 patients (86%) by laboratory tests
and subsequent clinical examination. The suspicion of endocrine orbitopathy
was based on the presence of enlarged extraocular muscles in both orbits
and on the difference in thickness between corresponding muscles. A-scan
orbital examination including specific muscle measurements is a simple and
apparently reliable method of diagnosing early thyroid orbitopathy.
