Progression of Subclinical Thyroiditis in Dogs

06/25/2024

CHF Grant 02659: Breed-Specific Reference Ranges for Canine Thyroid Testing

Publication:
Egbert RJ, Basu P, Refsal KR, Petroff MG, Petroff BK. Changes in thyroid hormone concentrations over time in dogs with autoimmune thyroiditis. Am J Vet Res. 2024 May 4;85(6):ajvr.23.08.0190.
doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.23.08.0190

What can we learn?
The risk for dogs with subclinical thyroiditis to progress to clinical hypothyroidism is unknown. Therefore, investigators identified dogs with subclinical thyroiditis (elevated thyroglobulin autoantibodies (TgAA) but otherwise normal thyroid hormone results) in the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) thyroid database and invited their owners to submit follow-up blood samples and clinical histories.

125 dogs with subclinical thyroiditis were tested 2-9 years after their initial thyroid panel. Approximately one-third of these dogs progressed to clinical hypothyroidism and/or were treated with thyroxine. Only 14% of these dogs converted to normal TgAA levels. The remainder of dogs had persistent subclinical thyroiditis or equivocal TgAA results.

Conclusion:
The majority of dogs with subclinical thyroiditis will continue to have abnormal thyroid hormone levels and/or progress to clinical hypothyroidism. Therefore, in these dogs, clinicians should monitor thyroid hormone and TgAA levels annually or as clinical signs warrant.

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