Age-dependent reference values of the thyroid gland in pediatric population; from routine computed tomography data

To evaluate age-dependent reference values for measurements of the thyroid gland in pediatric patients. In total 425 chest and neck computed tomography images of pediatric patients without pathology of the thyroid gland were retrospectively reviewed. Measurements of the thyroid gland were obtained in three dimensions (width, depth, length). The total volume was the sum of volumes of each lobe. Measurements were compared among the six groups according to age from 0 to 18 years. There were moderate to strong positive linear correlations between age and all values (r = 0.58–0.82, all p 0.7, all p