Sonographic Measurement of the Volume of the Normal Thyroid Gland in Adults in Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital, Port Harcourt

Authors

  • Nengi Alazigha Department of Radiology, braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital, Port Harcourt
  • Enighe Ugboma Department of Radiology, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt
  • Christian Nwankwo Department of Radiology, University of PortHarcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt.
  • Chukwuemeka Agi Department of Radiology, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt.

Keywords:

Ultrasound, Thyroid Volume, Adults, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: The incidence of thyroid disease is not uncommon worldwide and the knowledge of thyroid volume is important for diagnosis and radiotherapy. Ultrasonography is an established optimal imaging modality for both screening and evaluation of the thyroid gland and an accurate method of calculating thyroid gland volume. This prospective cross sectional study aimed to establish the normal thyroid gland volume and to correlate the values with sex, age, height and weight of adult patients in Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital in the South- South geopolitical zone of Nigeria.

Methods: Four Hundred normal adult subjects were studied using a 7.5MHz transducer. The length, width and depth of the thyroid gland were obtained and the thyroid gland volume calculated using the ellipsoid formula obtained by multiplication of length, width, depth and a conversion factor (0.479). In addition, the height and weight of each subject was recorded. Correlation between variables was calculated with the Pearson correlation coefficient.

Results: The four hundred adult participants included two hundred and four males (51%) and one hundred and ninety-six females (49%) with an age range of 18-62yrs. The mean total thyroid volume was 6.81+2.18cm3 and the mean for the male and female population were 7.44+ 2.05cm3 and 6.14+2.11cm3 respectively. This study established significant difference between Total Thyroid Volume in males and females (P<0.001), a poor linear correlation between the thyroid volume and height (r =0=28), age (r=30) and a weak correlation with weight (r=0.51).

Conclusion: The normal volume of the thyroid gland in normal adults in Port Harcourt using ultrasound has been determined. It is hoped that, these values will serve as a reference standard in ultrasonographic evaluation of the thyroid gland in Port Harcourt (South - South Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria).

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Published

2016-04-10

How to Cite

Alazigha, N., Ugboma, E., Nwankwo, C., & Agi, C. (2016). Sonographic Measurement of the Volume of the Normal Thyroid Gland in Adults in Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital, Port Harcourt. The Nigerian Health Journal, 15(3), 133. Retrieved from https://tnhjph.com/index.php/tnhj/article/view/226

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