THE EFFECT OF THYROID-STIMULATING HORMONE IN ACUTE THYROIDITIS*†

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Abstract
ACUTE thyroiditis, also referred to as acute diffuse thyroiditis, acute nonsuppurative thyroiditis, and subacute thyroiditis, is an inflammatory disease characterized by fever, malaise, and a firm and very tender enlargement of the thyroid gland. The etiology is unknown. Recent studies (1, 2, 3) have disclosed that acute thyroiditis is accompanied by a striking decrease in the ability of the thyroid to concentrate radioiodine after a tracer dose, and by a high normal or slightly elevated serum proteinbound iodine (PBI). Although the diagnosis of this disease is usually clearcut on clinical grounds alone, the uptake of radioiodine by the thyroid and the serum PBI may be of value in differentiating acute thyroiditis from hemorrhage into an adenoma of the thyroid or from a neoplasm of the thyroid. Other situations in which a greatly depressed uptake of radioiodine and a normal or elevated serum PBI may coexist are those following the administration of iodine or iodine-containing substances, such as desiccated thyroid and organic iodine-containing dyes used in radiography.