Prevalence of thyroid eye disease in an Argentine tertiary hospital

Abstract

Purpose: Thyroid eye disease is the main extrathyroidal manifestation of Graves’ disease. Regional or environmental factors may influence its manifestation; however, in Argentina its prevalence is unknown. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of thyroid eye disease and to review the clinical characteristics of Graves’ disease patients from a tertiary hospital in Buenos Aires.
Methods: The charts of all patients diagnosed with Graves’ disease between 2014 and 2016 were reviewed. Data of thyroid function tests, thyroid antibodies, clinical activity score, and severity grading were collected, and clinical characteristics of the patients with or without thyroid eye disease were compared.
Results: A total of 145 patients with Graves’ disease were diagnosed. The prevalence of thyroid eye disease over two years was 22%. Only 9.3% of the patients with thyroid eye disease had moderate to severe disease. The average clinical activity score was 1.1 ± 1.3. There were no differences in thyroid-stimulating hormone, triiodothyronine, or anti-thyroid peroxidase levels between the thyroid eye disease and the non-thyroid eye disease group. Total and free thyroxine and the thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor antibody levels were significantly higher in patients with thyroid eye disease.
Conclusion: The prevalence of thyroid eye disease in patients diagnosed with Graves’ disease from a tertiary hospital in Buenos Aires was 22%. The patients included in this study had a considerably milder presentation of thyroid eye disease than what has been reported in other regions.