The changing pattern of surgical pathology of the thyroid gland in Zambia

Review of reports of thyroid tissue sent for histopathology to the Department of Pathology at the University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka (UTH) by one of the five general surgical units at the institution during the period January 1981-December 1990 shows a 20pc decrease in the incidence of colloid goitre and doubling of the incidence of the adenoma and carcinoma when compared to the study done at the Central Hospital, Kitwe in the late sixties. In our study for the general pathology of the thyroid gland female to male ratio is 7.4:1; 1.25:1 when only thyroid cancers are considered. The incidence of papillary carcinoma is substantially lower than in the west. Recently, there has been an increased incidence of thyroid abscesses associated with HIV infection. Knowledge of the local pattern of surgical pathology of an organ is important for planning the operative management more effectively but in many developing countries, such as ours, this information is not readily available. Goitre is common in Zambia and to our knowledge to date there is only one comprehensive report done during the period January 1966, to March 1971. This deals with the Northern and Western regions of the country. This study was undertaken to look into the surgical pathology of the thyroid gland seen at the University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, which is in the central part of the country.