title: Clinico-pathological correlates of incidentally revealed thyroid swelling in Bihar, India.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Global prevalence of thyroid cancer has been on the rise in recent decades.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To study the clinical presentations to reach an agreement for diagnosis and optimal management of incidentally revealed thyroid swellings for early diagnosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective study was carried out on 178 cases of incidentally detected thyroid swelling attending a tertiary care teaching institute of Kishanganj Bihar. All the cases were subjected to a thorough clinical examination followed by evidence-based interventions. Fine needle aspiration cytology was done in all the cases preoperatively as out-patients basis and histopathologically confirmed postoperatively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The highest incidence of thyroid swelling (75.84%) was found in the age group of 20-40 years; a female preponderance was noted in the ratio 4:1. The duration of swelling ranged from six months to three years. Difficulty in swallowing and breathing was complained by 23 (12.9%) and 18 (10.1%) of the patients respectively. Typically the swellings were located in the right lobe. Commonly the subjects in our study were in euthyroid state (90%) and were with firm swellings (66.7%). Follicular and anaplastic carcinoma was important postoperative cytological findings. Majority of surgical intervention was hemithyroidectomy (55.06%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Incidentally revealed thyroid swelling was quite high in eastern India for which we need a consensus line of intervention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, M.G.M. Medical College, Kisanganj, Bihar, India.
authors.forename: Arup
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sengupta
authors.forename: Ranabir
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pal
authors.forename: Sumit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kar
authors.forename: Forhad Akhtar
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Zaman
authors.forename: Mausumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Basu
authors.forename: Shrayan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pal