Intrathyroid Injection of Steroid in Benign Thyroid Swellings.

INTRODUCTION: Benign thyroid swelling disorders are common conditions, frequently encountered in clinical practice. Though medical management has been useful in treating the hormonal variations, it has not been very significant in reducing the size of the swelling.

OBJECTIVE: To study the efficacy of intra thyroid injection of triamcinolone in benign thyroid swelling disorders.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 20 patients were selected for this study. All the patients with thyroid swellings, were evaluated with history and clinical examination followed by routine blood investigations, thyroid function tests (T3,T4,TSH), Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) and Ultrasonography (USG) of the neck. The treatment adopted in this study was intrathyroid injection of triamcinolone acetonide.

RESULTS: In this study there were 20 patients, all were females in the age group of 17- 55 years. Four patients did not come for regular follow up, and hence were excluded. Sixteen patients were followed up regularly. Thirteen (81.25 %) patients showed excellent results with no visible swelling, confirmed sonologically. Two patients (12.5%) showed fair results with residual swellings, and one patient did not show any reduction in size of the swelling.

CONCLUSION: Intrathyroid injection of triamcinolone acetonide is a safe, minimally invasive technique in reducing the size of benign thyroid swellings with minimal or no side effects.