Ultrasound Evaluation of Thyroid Abnormalities at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital

Authors

  • Chinwe Regina Onwuchekwa Department of Radiology, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, college of Health sciences. University of Port Harcourt

Keywords:

Thyroid gland, multinodular goitre, Graves’ disease, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, ultrasonography.

Abstract

Background: Diseases of thyroid gland are diverse and present with varied patterns in ultrasound scan. In some cases the patterns are overlapping, making it difficult to distinguish the lesions and reach a definitive diagnosis.

Objectives: The study analysed the sonographic features of common thyroid lesions in our environment with the aim of providing a guide to sonographic diagnosis.

Patients and Methods: This was a prospective analytical study of all consecutive cases with symptomatic thyroid gland lesions referred to the radiology department for ultrasound scan. The study lasted for 18 months from January 2016 to June 2017. The study was approved by the ethics committee of our institution. The data were analysed using SPSS for windows version 20.

Results: There were 132 patients scanned for thyroid gland assessment during the period. Of these, 105(79.5%) were females and 27(20.5%) were males. The mean age was 34.73± 1.36years. The most common diagnosis was multinodular goitre which constituted 32 (24.24%) cases. Graves’ disease was also prevalent with a frequency of 21(15.91%) cases.  Sixty patients had thyroid nodules which were of mixed echogenicity in 15 (25%) cases; hypoechogenicity in 28(46.67%) cases, hyperechogenicity in 11 (18.33%) and isoechogenicity in 6 (10%) cases. Conclusion: Thyroid abnormalities were common in our environment and were more prevalent in females. The most common lesions were multinodular goitre, Graves’ disease and Hashimoto thyroiditis. Gray scale and Doppler evaluation are of higher sensitivity in distinguishing benign from malignant nodules.

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Published

2018-03-21

How to Cite

Onwuchekwa, C. R. (2018). Ultrasound Evaluation of Thyroid Abnormalities at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. The Nigerian Health Journal, 17(4), 174–183. Retrieved from https://tnhjph.com/index.php/tnhj/article/view/352

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