CLINICAL PRESENTATION OF HYPOTHYROIDISM

OBJECTIVE: This study was to review the common and unusual symptoms of hypothyroidism. METHOD: A retrospective study was done of forty thousand patients attending Sultan Qaboos University Health Center (SQU), within a period of three years. Sixty-three patients proved to have either clinical or subclinical hypothyroidism and were screened for the different symptoms & signs of hypothyroidism. RESULTS: The well-known symptoms and signs of hypothyroidism reported in the medical textbooks were uncommon in this study. Symptoms such as dysarthria and dysphagia not usually mentioned in the medical textbooks were reported. CONCLUSION: Early diagnosis by screening both middle-aged as well as older patients is advantageous.