Clinical profile and Thyroid function of Patients Attending New Mulago Hospital Thyroid Clinic.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Thyroid diseases are common endocrine diseases in the whole world. These diseases are also common in Uganda since its in an iodine deficiency region but the prevalence of different disorders and their related function are not known. OBJECTIVES: To describe the clinical pattern of common thyroid disorders and related thyroid function among patients presenting in New Mulago hospital thyroid clinic. DESIGN: This was a cross sectional study of patients with thyroid disease in New mulago hospital over a period of 3 months. METHODOLOGY: Patients with signs and symptoms suggestive of thyroid disorders were recruited from the medical outpatient clinic and elsewhere within the hospital. These were evaluated for the clinical features, thyroid function status and the type of thyroid disease were determined. The patient’s clinical profile and examination findings were documented using a questionnaire. The thyroid function status was determined using immunometric assays (IMA) and other relevant investigations which included thyroid ultrasound. Thoracic inlet x-ray, radioisotope uptake and fine needle aspirations for cytology were done where indicated in a small number of study patients. RESULTS: A total of 62 patients were seen and evaluated. Twenty seven (44.7%) of the patient were hyperthyroid while 4 were hypothyroid. Twenty eight of sixty two were new patients and eight of them (28.6%) of them were hyperthyroid. Graves’s diseases contributed 66.7% of the hyperthyroid patient and were the commonest cause of hyperthyroidism. The third common group was of sub clinical hyperthyroism (14.5%). A total of 56 goiters were seen of which 27 were diffuse, 27 multinodular and 2 were solitary. Nineteen of the 56 patients with goiters were simple colloid goiters and 26 were hyperthyroid. CONCLUSIONS: • The commonest cause of hyperthyroidism among hyperthyroid patients is grave disease with a prevalence of 66.6%. • Sensitive serum TSH assays can detect as many as 97% of all the patients with thyroid function disorders.