Thyroid Disorders in Accra, Ghana: A Retrospective Histopathologi- cal Study at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital

Abstract

There is a scarcity of data on thyroid disorders in Ghana. This retrospective study examined the spectrum and incidence of thyroid disorders by reviewing all thyroid disorders reported in the De- partment of Pathology, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) between 2004 and 2010. Data was collected on the clinical and histological characteristics of all thyroid disorders reported during the study. 1300 (3.7%) cases were reported, representing an annual incidence of 185.7 cases. The ages ranged from 1-86 years with a mean of 41.5 (SD=13.9). Most [353 (27.4%)] of the cases were be- tween 30-39 years group. Majority, 1141(87.8%) were females. The top eight common thyroid dis- eases were; non-toxic multinodular goitre 1002(77.5%), follicular adenoma 86(6.6%), diffuse toxic goitre 42 (3.2%), papillary thyroid carcinoma 40(3.1%), thyroglossal duct cyst 35(2.7%), Hashimo- to’s thyroiditis 28(2.2%), lymphocytic thyroiditis 22(1.7%) and follicular carcinoma 17(1.3%). Sixty- six (43.4%) of the neoplastic thyroid disorders were malignant with a prevalence of 0.18 among thy- roid samples and annual incidence of 9.40 cases. The commonest thyroid cancer was papillary car- cinoma 40(60.6 %), with a mean age of 38.3 SD=16.1 years, majority, 34 (82.9%), were women. A wide spectrum of thyroid disorders exists in Ghana, with an annual incidence of 185.7 cases. The commonest malignant thyroid disorder was papillary carcinoma, though iodine deficiency is en- demic in Ghana and on this basis; one would have expected follicular carcinoma to be the com- monest thyroid cancer in Ghana.