Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the incidence, seasonal distribution, and characteristics of subacute thyroiditis

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Bostan H., Sencar M. E., Calapkulu M., Kayihan S., Hepsen S., Cimsir A., ...More

Endocrine, vol.79, no.2, pp.323-330, 2023 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 79 Issue: 2
  • Publication Date: 2023
  • Doi Number: 10.1007/s12020-022-03197-3
  • Journal Name: Endocrine
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts Core, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Veterinary Science Database
  • Page Numbers: pp.323-330
  • Keywords: Subacute thyroiditis, Thyrotoxicosis, Hyperthyroidism, Recurrence, Persistent hypothyroidism, SARS-CoV-2
  • Open Archive Collection: AVESIS Open Access Collection
  • Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University Affiliated: No

Abstract

© 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.Purpose: An increasing number of cases of subacute thyroiditis (SAT) related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its vaccines continue to be published. The aim of this study was to investigate any change in the incidence and characteristics of SAT by comparing the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. Methods: This retrospective, single-center study included 432 newly-diagnosed SAT patients between January 2018 and December 2021. The annual frequency of SAT was calculated as the number of newly-diagnosed SAT cases divided by the total number of outpatients that year. Results: The frequencies of newly-diagnosed SAT were 0.136% in 2018, 0.127% in 2019, 0.157% in 2020, and 0.114% in 2021 (p = 0.19). While SAT patients were clustered in the autumn (35.1%) in 2018 and 2019, it was found that this cluster shifted to the winter (33.0%) in 2020 and 2021, in parallel with COVID-19 case peaks (p = 0.017). The patients were separated into two groups as pre-COVID-19 pandemic SAT (n = 272) and COVID-19 pandemic SAT (n = 160). The mean ages of the groups were similar. There were more male patients in the COVID-19 pandemic SAT group than in the pre-pandemic group (30.6% vs. 18.7%, p = 0.005). Frequencies of overt hyperthyroidism and median free-thyroxine levels were significantly higher in the COVID-19 pandemic SAT group (p = 0.029, p = 0.001). Treatment modalities, recurrence rates, and permanent hypothyroidism were similar in both groups. Conclusion: With the COVID-19 pandemic, although there was a change in seasonal variation of SAT and an increase in the number of male patients, there was no change in the incidence and clinical course of SAT.