ABSTRACT
Background: Disorders of the thyroid are the second most occurring conditions after Diabetes mellitus seen in Nigerian Endocrine clinics. The thyroid is known to influence the metabolic activities of most organs and tissues in the body. Hence, its’ disorders has a great impact on most organs and the patients’ quality of life.This study focuses on investigating the Prevalence, Pattern, Drug use and Quality of Life of patients with thyroid disorders receiving treatment in University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) and Central Hospital, Benin City.
Method: A retrospective and Prospective Cross-sectional study was used to determine the prevalence and Thyroid patients' quality of life in the two institutions between June and November 2021. The prevalence study involved assessing case notes and on-line Med Chart information of thyroid patients between 2014 and 2020 (UBTH Only).A ThyPRO-39 questionnaire was used in the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) investigation. The UBTH Research and Ethics Committee and the Hospital Management Board (for Central Hospital studies) were consulted for ethical permission. Informed consent was also sort from the patients before participation. Data obtained was analysed using SPSS version 23 and a prepared ThyPRO-39 score sheet developed by the author (T. Watt)
Results: A total of 283 thyroid cases were seen out of 182,337 cases within the study period giving a prevalence rate of 0.16% . A total of 119 (UBTH-85, C.H, B/City-34) respondents took part in the HRQoL study giving a 29.5 % response rate. The most common type and pattern of thyroid disorder were Hyperthyroidism with Multi-nodular and simple nodular goitres. Carbimazole and propranolol combination were the drugs mostly used in the control of thyroid disorders in UBTH. The most affected domain in the Patients’ HRQoL study was the Cosmetic complaint scale with Eye Symptoms scale being the least affected domain scale for both centres.
Conclusion:The Prevalence of thyroid disorders was 0.16% with a strong female predisposition. Hyperthyroidism with multi-nodular and simple nodular goitre was the most prevalent type/pattern of thyroid disorder. Carbimazole /Propranolol combination were the drugs mostly used in managing the thyroid disorders. The most affected domain in Patients’ HRQoL was the Cosmetic complaint scale while Eye Symptoms scale was the least affected domain scale for both centres.
