Sonographic Determination of Prevalence of Thyroid Pathology Among Asymptomatic Health Workers of Volta Regional Hospital, Ho

Abstract

Background: Ultrasonography is now the preferred imaging modality in diagnosing thyroid pathology because it is widely available, affordable, and easy to use. Apart from detecting more nodules than palpation, it is able to classify the nodules and also measure thyroid volume. Thyroid pathology detection is up to 8% by palpation, 13 to 65% by ultrasound, and up to 50% by autopsy studies, Aim: The aim of this study was to sonographically determine the prevalence of thyroid pathology among the asyptomatic health workers of the hospital. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 100 asymptomatic health workers at the Volta Regional Hospital, Ho, were enrolled by convenient sampling method in May 2014. Thyroid volumes were measured and nodules detected were characterized and classified into benign, undeterminate and suspicious pathologies using Toshiba Aplio 300 ultrasound scanner with a linear transducer of frequency 7.5 Mhz, 2012 make. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results: The result showed prevalence rate of 41%. Although 41% prevalence is on the high side, it falls within the continental rate of up to 90%. More females than males had pathology. The prevalence rate among males and females were 44.6% and 23.5% respectively. The results also showed that out of the 41% prevalence of thyroid pathology, the majority, 28%, were benign, 4% were suspicious thyroid pathology. The study showed that 23.5% of the males and 44.6% of females presented with pathology and 9% undeterminates. The mean thyroid volume of the study was 12.46 ± 6.47mls, a volume which was lower than WHO/ICCIDD reference level. Conclusion: It can be concluded that a stand-alone application of ultrasonography for diagnosing malignancy is comparable to cytology results as 4% obtained in this study is within the range reported from cytology results. The study further revealed higher prevalence of thyroid pathology in women (44.6%) than in men (23.5%). This finding agreeable with most published literature which indicated female: male prevalence ratio of almost 2:1. This study is thus conclusive that women living in iodine deficient area are about 50% more likely to suffer from thyroid pathology than men living in the same locality. The study is also conclusive that majority, (28%) of thyroid pathologies were benign and hence the affected participants could be counseled.