Thirty-two children with histologically proven chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis were assessed for clinical, laboratory and histological correlations. An inverse relationship between radioimmunoassayable thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and serum thyroxine by column (T4), and TSH and free thyroxine (FT4) was demonstrated. Significant correlations were noted between TSH levels and thyroid tanned red cell hemagglutination antibodies (χ2=4.78, p <0.05), and unfixed Coons antibody titers (χ2=13.26, p <0.005). Abnormal radioactive iodine uptakes were found in 11 of 22 patients examined. A statistically significant linear correlation between the 4-hr uptake and log serum TSH was shown (γ=0.683, p <0.01), while the 24-hr uptake had no correlation. Utilizing the relation between TSH and T4, and TSH and thyroid antibody titers, 18 of 19 patients with elevated TSH levels could be predicted by the selected criteria of a T4 <4.0 μg/100 ml or an agglutinating titer⋝1: 256 or a Coons fluorescent antibody titer⋝1:128. Histological characteristics were independently quantitated by 2 observers. A pattern of increasing severity was noted in follicular epithelial atrophy, which correlated to both T4 (χ2=12.12, p <0.025) and TSH (χ2=10.88, p <0.005). Hurthle cell formation was found to be prominent even in the most mildly affected patients. However, this finding, as well as fibrosis, mononuclear and plasma cell infiltrate, and lymphoid follicle formation did not correlate with any clinical or laboratory parameter examined.
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Greenberg et al. (1970) studied this question.