Thyroid scintigraphy indications based on clinical experience

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Abstract

Objective: Thyroid scintigraphy (TS) offers valuable information on thyroid anatomy and functional state of the gland. It is currently employed in both diagnosis and management of thyroid disorders. Data of 440 patients with thyroid disorders referred to thyroid scintigraphy at Sohag University Hospital has been analyzed in this study. Diagnostic contribution and indication of TS to thyroid disorders in adult and children have been assessed.  
Methods: It is a hospital-based cross-sectional descriptive study where all cases referred for TS at Sohag Institute Nuclear Medicine Unit from the 1st of November 2015 to the 31th of October 2018 were considered.
Results: Four hundred forty patients were referred to our unit with 84% female. The mean patient’s age was 43.0 years. Sixty percent of the patients were referred for thyroid scan due to primary toxic goiter (Grave’s disease), the second indication was post-thyroidectomy especially in differentiated thyroid cancer to estimate residual cancer thyroid and starting radioactive iodine treatment.  
Conclusion: Thyroid scintigraphy is an integral part of thyroid evaluation. However, it has been shown to be of small practical use in euthyroid patients with diffuse or multinodular goiters, or adult patients with hypothyroidism. It has great diagnostic and prognostic roles in congenital hypothyroidism. This emphasizes the importance of increasing the clinicians’ awareness of TS when indicated and when not necessarily needed.

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Egyptian Journal of Neck Surgery and Otorhinolaryngology
Volume 5, Issue 3
November 2019
Pages 6-13

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