The spectrum of thyroid disorders at the Endocrine Clinic of Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, South-west, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Thyroid disorders constitute the second most common endocrine disorders worldwide, but they are less commonly researched in this environment due to low cost-effectiveness. Objective: To study the spectrum of thyroid disorders at the Endocrinology Clinic of a tertiary health facility in Sagamu, South-west, Nigeria, over two years. Method: This retrospective study was conducted on all new clinic attendees with thyroid disorders between January 2016 and December 2017. The data retrieved included clinical data, results of thyroid function tests and thyroid ultrasonographic scan. The patients were grouped clinically into euthyroid, hypothyroid and thyrotoxic states. Results: A total of 93 thyroid cases were seen, and this constituted 13.64% of all new endocrine consultations (682 patients). The mean age (±SD; range) of the patients was 37.6 (13.6; 15-78) years. Majority of the patients were females with a female-to-male ratio of 4.5:1. Out of these, 77.4% had Goitrous enlargement. Thyrotoxicosis was the most common form of thyroid dysfunction, (72; 77.40%), mainly due to hyperthyroidism from Graves’ disease (50; 69.44%), followed by toxic multinodular goitre (12; 16.67%), toxic solitary nodular goiter (5; 6.94%) and others (5; 6.95 %). Hypothyroidism constituted 10.75% while euthyroid goitre constituted 11.85% of all thyroid cases. Conclusion: Auto-immune thyroid disease remains the most common thyroid disorder among endocrine clinic attendees. There is a need for further studies to elucidate the likely aetiologies.