Clinical Charecteristics and Follow- up Findings of the Cases Pediatric Hashimoto’ Thyroiditis- Retrospective a Single Centre Experience

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and laboratory characteristics at presentation and follow-up period of patients with Hashimoto thyroiditis in children and adolescents. Methods: The clinical features, thyroid function tests, thyroid autoantibodies, tyhroid ultrasound data and drug treatments of 83 patients with Hashimoto thyroiditis at diagnosis and follow-up period were retrospectively evaluated. Results: The mean age of the patients at the time of diagnosis was 11.3 ± 3.0 years . The male to female ratio was 3.3 / 1. 51.8% of patients had a family history of thyroid disease. The complaint at the time of presentation was goiter in 27.7 % of the patients and 34.9% of the cases were coincidental determination. At physical examination, 68.7% of goiter of the patients were found. According to the thyroid function tests, 46.8% of the patients had euthyroidism, 33.7% of subclinical hypothyroidism, 17.7% of hypothyroidism, 2.5% of hyperthyroidism and 2.5% of subclinical hyperthyroidism. Anti-TPO and anti-Tg antibody levels of the group in which L-thyroxine treatment was started were found to be higher than those in the untreated patients (p = 0.01 and p = 0.051, respectively). L-thyroxine was initiated in 13 (35.1%) of the 37 patients who were initially euthyroid and did not receiving treatment at presentation because of subclinical or clear hypothyroidism was observed of the follow-up. Conclusion: Thyroid functions of the pediatric patients with Hashimoto thyroiditis should be follow up regular intervals, even if they are initially euthyroid, since hypothyroidism may develop in a significant cases of the follow-up period