The Prevalence of Elevated Serum C-Reactive Protein Levels in Inflammatory and Noninflammatory Thyroid Disease

Results

Of 93 euthyroid, nongoitrous control patients, 4.3% had serum CRP levels greater than 10 mg/L ( Table 2 ). This is consistent with previously published reports of the prevalence of CRP levels greater than 10 mg/L in randomly selected healthy blood donors.^[28] None of the patients with nontoxic multinodular goiter (n = 34), or with toxic nodular goiter (n = 23) had CRP levels greater than 10 mg/L. Similarly, none of the patients with toxic diffuse goiter, either untreated (n = 49) or euthyroid on MMI (n = 33), had CRP greater than 10 mg/L.

Of 35 patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, all of whom were euthyroid (either spontaneously or during treatment with levothyroxine), 8.6% had CRP levels greater than 10 mg/L. This did not differ significantly from the control group. One of 38 thyroid cancer patients with short-term hypothyroidism after levothyroxine withdrawal after thyroidectomy (2.6%) had serum CRP greater than 10 mg/L, also not significantly different from the controls. Six of 7 patients (86%) with untreated subacute thyroiditis did have CRP levels greater than 10 mg/L (p < 0.00001).

In the patients with postpartum lymphocytic thyroiditis, 1 of 27 hypothyroid patients (4%) had CRP levels greater than 10 mg/L; 3 of 34 euthyroid patients (9%) had CRP levels greater than 10 mg/L; and 2 of 9 hyperthyroid patients (22%) had CRP levels greater than 10 mg/L. The occurrence of CRP levels greater than 10 mg/L in these three individual groups of women with postpartum thyroidtitis did not differ significantly from each other or from the control population.

Finally, 1 of 7 euthyroid patients treated with amiodarone (14%) had CRP levels greater than 10 mg/L, which did not differ significantly from the control group. Six of 31 patients with type I AIT (19%) and 4 of 33 patients with type II AIT (12%) had CRP levels greater than 10 mg/L. The occurrence of positive CRP values did not differ significantly between the 3 groups of amiodarone-treated patients. The occurrence of positive CRP values in type I AIT patients differed significantly from that observed in the controls (p = 0.02), but type II AIT patients did not.

© 2003 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

Cite this: The Prevalence of Elevated Serum C-Reactive Protein Levels in Inflammatory and Noninflammatory Thyroid Disease - Medscape - Jul 01, 2003.