Thyroid disease treatment

Diagnosis of thyroid diseases

Clinical Practice

Often, thyroid disease can be suspected by more or less characteristic symptoms.

Ultrasound

Ultrasound clearly shows the structure of the thyroid gland, its size, the presence of additional lobes, nodes, formations and blood flow in all areas. This diagnostic method is not final, but with a fairly high accuracy allows you to assume a particular disease.

Laboratory diagnostics

Most often, it is reduced to assessing the functional ability of the thyroid gland with the help of hormones T3 and T4 and TSH(thyroid — stimulating hormone), as well as other hormones that could be affected by thyroid dysfunction-cortisol, prolactin, estrogen, testosterone, insulin, and so on.

Immunological tests

Determination of antibodies to RTG-TSH receptors.
Thyroid scintigraphy
It is used for more accurate assessment of suspicious nodes and areas with increased blood flow.

Biopsy

It is usually taken when thyroid cancer is suspected or in cases where confirmation or clarification of the diagnosis is necessary. It is carried out under the control of ultrasound with a special manipulator, does not require training and hospitalization.
If a malignancy is suspected, CT and/or MRI with intravenous contrast is used

Treatment of thyroid diseases

Treatment depends on what thyroid disease is present in the patient.

Autoimmune thyroiditis (Hashimoto’s thyroiditis)

This is a condition in which your own immune system destroys your thyroid cells. Because of this, there is a deficiency of the hormones T3 and T4. The main method of treatment is hormone replacement therapy, for which it is extremely important to choose the right dosage. Treatment of complications of autoimmune thyroiditis occurs with the help of glucocorticoids (dexamethasone, methylprednisolone). Sometimes, as part of a complex treatment, immunotherapy is used. This disease requires lifelong treatment, as it is chronic.

Diffuse toxic goiter (Graves-Bazedov’s disease)

This is a disease that is accompanied by the production of antibodies to TSH receptors, which increases the level of the hormone itself and causes the phenomenon of thyrotoxicosis. At the same time, patients have increased emotional lability, subfebrile temperature, weight loss with increased appetite, hot skin, an increase in the size of the eyeball (exophthalmos). The specific marker is rTth antibodies. Treatment consists in taking antithroid drugs (tyrazole, mercazolil) or radiocative iodine therapy, in rare cases, surgical intervention is required.

Toxic thyroid adenoma

This is a benign thyroid tumor that itself produces thyroid hormones and causes hyperthyroidism, and also leads to a decrease in the function of the opposite lobe of the thyroid gland. It is well visualized on ultrasound. The methods of treatment of toxic adenoma include radioactive iodine and surgery with the preservation of the opposite lobe. In such cases, a complete cure is possible.

Thyroid cancer

It is about 1% of all oncological diseases.Sometimes

• Medullary;
• Follicular;
• Papillary;
• Anaplastic.

The first 2 types of cancer have a relatively favorable prognosis. Leading foreign doctors treat thyroid cancer with radiation therapy or radioactive iodine therapy and surgery to remove the entire thyroid gland or (in rare cases, in the early stages of half of the thyroid gland) with or without removal of the neck lymph nodes. After removal of the thyroid gland, patients receive hormone replacement therapy for life. Chemotherapy is rarely used. Targeted therapy is used, the main drugs are Cabozantinib, Sorafenib, Vandetanib.