Bashir Ahmed, Tahir Hussain, Abdul Rauf Memon, Ghulam Akber Solangi.
Clinical Presentation of Primary Hypothyroidism.
J Coll Physicians Surg Pak Jan ;11(11):676-8.

Objective: To determine the clinical presentation of primary hypothyroidism at the time of diagnosis. Design: It was an observational and prospective study. Place and Duration of Study: Civil Hospital, Karachi from 1st January 1997 to 31st December 1997. Subjects and Methods: Forty-eight consecutive cases of primary hypothyroidism were included. A detailed history with special emphasis on symptoms and signs was conducted and the findings observed were noted in previously made proforma. Results: Primary hypothyroidism was found to be 5 times more common in female patients, with male to female ratio of 1:5, majority of cases (33.33%) were between 41 to 50 years of age. The common symptoms at the time of presentation were tiredness (95.8%), weakness (91.6%), weight gain (85.4%), hoarseness of voice (83.3%a), cold intolerance (77.0%) and constipation (75.0%) in patients. Physical signs observed were delayed relaxation of ankle jerk (93.7%), periorbital edema (83.3%), thick tongue (62.5%), goiter (50.0%), dry and coarse skin (47.9%) in patients. Serum TSH, T4 and T3 were performed in all cases through immunoradiometric technique. Serum TSH was markedly elevated, with normal to reduced T4 and T3 levels in all cases. Conclusion: Primary hypothyroidism was found more common in female than male of the age group of 41-50 years. Weakness, tiredness, hoarseness of voice and constipation were the common symptoms noted. The diagnosis is almost certain on clinical grounds if the patient happens to have delayed relaxation of ankle jerks and i periorbital puffiness.

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