Clinical, Epidemiological and Surgical Characteristics of Patients with Thyroid Nodular Conditions

Abstract

Introduction: In recent decades, the incidence rates of thyroid cancer in the course of nodular disease has increased due to novel diagnostic techniques; however, the mortality rate has remained very low.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical, epidemiological and surgical characteristics of patients with nodular thyroid disease.

Methods: A descriptive, observational, of prospective cohort, longitudinal and observational study was conducted with patients operated on for thyroid disorders during the period from January 2008 to December 2018. The study universe and sample consisted of 467 patients who met the inclusion criteria.

Results: The female sex (89.5%) and the age group 45-60 years (29.5%) predominated. Comorbidities were present in 338 patients, as well as some risk factor for malignancy in 6.2 %. A total of 174 patients manifested symptoms and 264 showed some sign. There was a predominance of echography (TI-RADS) and cytology (Bethesda) type II reports, accounting for 54.3% and 55.5%, respectively. Hemithyroidectomy was the most performed procedure (59.9%), while dysphonia was the most encountered complication (1.9%).

Conclusions: Timely diagnosis of thyroid cancer in the course of nodular disease contributes to individualizing all therapeutic decisions considering the characteristics of each patient and their circumstances.