engleski

First Referrals for Testing on Thyroid Disorders and the Influence of Age and Gender on Positive Test Results

Background: Thyroid diseases can occur at different ages, and the type of disorder is somewhat age and gender related. The most reliable method of diagnosis is the measurement of free hormones in the blood. The aim of this study was to determine the number of positive findings in relation to the number of referrals and to consider the ways and methods for possible rationalization of referrals. Methods: This study was carried out using a retrospective data analysis of the register of the emergency biochemical laboratory of the General County Hospital Vinkovci, Eastern Croatia. Over a six-month period in 2017, data for patients who were referred for the first time to the laboratory with the suspicion of thyroid disease was analysed. The number of referrals was compared to the number of positive test results. The positive test results were specified by the type of thyroid disorder and classified by age and gender. Results: The study included 1, 128 patients from the area of Eastern Croatia, including 306 (27.13%) males and 822 (72.87%) females. There were 234 (20.74%) positive findings of the total number of requests and most of them, 182 (78%), were for women. With respect to age, the highest number of positive findings (21.30%) was found in the group 41 - 60 years of age. Latent hypothyroidism was the most prevalent disease and patients with this diagnosis were mostly in the age group of over 50 years (59.15%). Conclusions: There was a disproportionately larger number of referrals in comparison to the number of positive findings. Better education of medical experts and monitoring of the findings in the laboratory through the data registers are the strategies to lower the number of referrals and to improve the medical doctors` capabilities to discern between different thyroid disorders.

thyroid function, thyroid hormones, interpretation of laboratory findings, clinical laboratory technique, monitoring

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