Local symptoms of Hashimoto's thyroiditis: A systematic review

Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is the most common type of thyroid disease and can cause many different manifestations. The local symptoms of HT are an under-studied area of research. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the local symptoms of HT and their prevalence.

A systematic review was performed to find articles in PubMed that discuss the local symptoms of HT. Relevant vocabulary terms and key terms included: autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD), hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, neck, throat, pharynx, airway, esophagus, breathe, swallow, globus, sleep apnea, symptoms, and quality of life. Two investigators independently screened the eligible studies.

A total of 54 articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Of these, 25 were clinical studies, 24 were case reports, and five were reviews. These clinical studies and case reports included a total of 2660 HT patients. There were eight local symptoms related to HT: neck pain (0.02%~16%), voice changes (7%~30%), throat discomfort (20%~43.7%), shortness of breath (28%~50%), dysphagia (29%), goiter-related symptoms (69.44%), sleep apnea, and generally defined compressive symptoms. Due to the use of different outcome measures among all the studies, a meta-analysis of the data could not be performed.

Goiter symptoms, which are an item on the ThyPRO scales, are the most frequent local symptoms in HT patients, and include neck pain, voice changes, throat discomfort, and dysphagia. These local symptoms should be identified in the clinic and included in the early diagnosis and management of HT, as well as evaluated further to understand their relevance in the pathogenesis of HT.