[Treatment of hyperthyroidisms in Brazzaville Teaching Hospital, Congo]

Between January 1994 and December 2003, a total of 118 patients (MIF = 1/13) with thyrotoxicosis was studied at the endocrine and metabolic diseases unit of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Brazzaville, in Congo. 72 patients (61%) had Graves' hyperthyroidism, 23 (19.6%) had toxic multinodular goitre while the rest had toxic adenoma (7.6%), and thyroiditis (4.2%). The mean age was 26.6 +/- 7.9 years for Graves' cases and 49.4 +/- 9.3 years for toxic multinodular goitre cases. The clinical presentation was similar to other reported series. Thirty-seven patients (31.3%) did not return after the first admission. All patients responded to carbimazole therapy and no major side-effect was recognized. Ten patients (8.5%/) underwent subtotal thyroidectomy, among them one developed hypothyroidism a year later. The result of this study shows that thyrotoxicosis is not a rare condition in Congo.