COVID-related thyroiditis still detectable 1 year later in some patientsWhile COVID-19–related thyroid inflammation usually resolves shortly after the acute illness, about half of participants in a study presented today at the 24th European Congress of Endocrinology still had thyroid abnormalities a year later.
The congress is being held May 21 to 24 in Milan, Italy.University of Milan researchers monitored levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone and examined the gland with ultrasound for 1 year in more than 100 hospitalized patients with thyroiditis and COVID-19, according to a European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) news release,Uptake of the imaging tracers technetium or iodine, which indicates thyroid function, was still lower than normal in about two thirds of patients at 9 months.
After 1 year, the thyroid was still visible on ultrasound—even if reduced in size—in half the patients.Thyroid function is important to metabolism, growth, and development and helps regulate numerous bodily functions by steadily releasing hormones into the bloodstream, the authors said.
And when the body needs more energy during growth, cold temperatures, or pregnancy, the thyroid releases extra hormone.Thyroiditis is common in patients who have moderate to severe COVID-19, the researchers noted, and has an important role in dysfunction of the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis.