Abstract:
There is a scarcity of data on thyroid disorders in Ghana. This retrospective study examined the
spectrum and incidence of thyroid disorders by reviewing all thyroid disorders reported in the De-
partment of Pathology, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) between 2004 and 2010. Data was
collected on the clinical and histological characteristics of all thyroid disorders reported during the
study. 1300 (3.7%) cases were reported, representing an annual incidence of 185.7 cases. The ages
ranged from 1-86 years with a mean of 41.5 (SD=13.9). Most [353 (27.4%)] of the cases were be-
tween 30-39 years group. Majority, 1141(87.8%) were females. The top eight common thyroid dis-
eases were; non-toxic multinodular goitre 1002(77.5%), follicular adenoma 86(6.6%), diffuse toxic
goitre 42 (3.2%), papillary thyroid carcinoma 40(3.1%), thyroglossal duct cyst 35(2.7%), Hashimo-
to’s thyroiditis 28(2.2%), lymphocytic thyroiditis 22(1.7%) and follicular carcinoma 17(1.3%). Sixty-
six (43.4%) of the neoplastic thyroid disorders were malignant with a prevalence of 0.18 among thy-
roid samples and annual incidence of 9.40 cases. The commonest thyroid cancer was papillary car-
cinoma 40(60.6 %), with a mean age of 38.3 SD=16.1 years, majority, 34 (82.9%), were women. A
wide spectrum of thyroid disorders exists in Ghana, with an annual incidence of 185.7 cases. The
commonest malignant thyroid disorder was papillary carcinoma, though iodine deficiency is en-
demic in Ghana and on this basis; one would have expected follicular carcinoma to be the com-
monest thyroid cancer in Ghana.
