Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the incidence, seasonal distribution, and characteristics of subacute thyroiditis.
Endocrine
; 79(2): 323-330, 2023 02.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36129593
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
An increasing number of cases of subacute thyroiditis (SAT) related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its vaccines continue to be published. The aim of this study was to investigate any change in the incidence and characteristics of SAT by comparing the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods.METHODS:
This retrospective, single-center study included 432 newly-diagnosed SAT patients between January 2018 and December 2021. The annual frequency of SAT was calculated as the number of newly-diagnosed SAT cases divided by the total number of outpatients that year.RESULTS:
The frequencies of newly-diagnosed SAT were 0.136% in 2018, 0.127% in 2019, 0.157% in 2020, and 0.114% in 2021 (p = 0.19). While SAT patients were clustered in the autumn (35.1%) in 2018 and 2019, it was found that this cluster shifted to the winter (33.0%) in 2020 and 2021, in parallel with COVID-19 case peaks (p = 0.017). The patients were separated into two groups as pre-COVID-19 pandemic SAT (n = 272) and COVID-19 pandemic SAT (n = 160). The mean ages of the groups were similar. There were more male patients in the COVID-19 pandemic SAT group than in the pre-pandemic group (30.6% vs. 18.7%, p = 0.005). Frequencies of overt hyperthyroidism and median free-thyroxine levels were significantly higher in the COVID-19 pandemic SAT group (p = 0.029, p = 0.001). Treatment modalities, recurrence rates, and permanent hypothyroidism were similar in both groups.CONCLUSION:
With the COVID-19 pandemic, although there was a change in seasonal variation of SAT and an increase in the number of male patients, there was no change in the incidence and clinical course of SAT.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Tireoidite Subaguda
/
COVID-19
Tipo de estudo:
Incidence_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Humans
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article