Vol. 6, Issue 2, Part A (2024)

Background: Thyroid swelling, or goiter, can present various conditions, from benign issues like multinodular goiter and thyroiditis to malignancies such as thyroid carcinoma. Clinicopathological profiling involves analyzing symptoms, physical exam findings, and pathological characteristics from diagnostic procedures like fine needle aspiration cytology and histopathology. This study aimed to delineate the demographic trends and clinicopathological features of patients with thyroid gland swelling. 
Methods: This cross-sectional study took place in the Department of Otolaryngology and Head Neck Surgery at Sir Salimullah Medical College Mitford Hospital, Dhaka, from June 2020 to June 2021. A total of 100 patients with thyroid swelling, who required FNAC and subsequent thyroid surgery, were purposively enrolled. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. 
Results: The male-to-female ratio was 1:5.25, with a mean age of 31.5±16.22 years. All participants had neck swelling; 72% reported discomfort and 64% had occasional pain. A single thyroid nodule was present in 62% of cases, with 80% being firm. Diagnoses included 58 cases of simple solitary nodular goiter, 32 of multinodular goiter, and 10 of thyroid carcinoma. Ultrasound mostly showed benign features. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) identified nodular goiter in 64% of cases. Histopathology revealed 76 non-neoplastic and 4 neoplastic cases among 80 disease-negative cases. 
Conclusion: Younger females often experience thyroid gland swelling, with common symptoms including front-neck swelling, discomfort, and single thyroid nodules. While one-third may have multinodular goiter, most cases are benign. Both FNAC and histopathology are essential for accurate diagnosis.