This study aimed to evaluate the ultrasonographic images of salivary glands using fractal analysis in patients with autoimmune thyroid disease and healthy controls and perform a statistical assessment of the findings. ImageJ software and the box-counting method were utilized for the fractal analysis of the salivary gland ultrasound images of 30 patients with autoimmune thyroid disease and 30 healthy individuals and the results were statistically compared. The mean fractal dimension value of the submandibular salivary gland was 1.68 ± 0.08 in the study group and 1.78 ± 0.05 in the control group (p < 0.001). The mean fractal dimension value of the parotid gland in the longitudinal plane was 1.71 ± 0.06 in the study group and 1.79 ± 0.03 in the control group (p < 0.001). For the parotid gland in the transverse plane, the mean fractal dimension value was 1.72 ± 0.06 in the study group and 1.79 ± 0.03 in the control group (p < 0.001). The significant reduction in fractal dimension values of ultrasound images observed in both parotid and submandibular glands of patients with autoimmune thyroid disease suggests that fractal analysis can be utilized as a potential adjunctive tool for identifying parenchymal changes for evaluating salivary gland involvement in this patient population.
Yakuboğlu et al. (Tue,) studied this question.