2021/01/31 by Stephanie T. Lumpkin, Stephanie Lumpkin, Julia Button +3
Medicine · #Stoma care and complications #Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment #Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery
paper · doi:10.1177/0003134821989054
crossref issued 2021/01/31 · crossref published 2021/01/31 · crossref published-online 2021/01/31 · openalex publication_date 2021/01/31 · crossref created 2021/01/31 · crossref published-print 2022/02/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref deposited 2026/04/28 · crossref indexed 2026/08/01 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Background Fatigue after thyroidectomy is common, but there is a paucity of data regarding its prevalence and duration. We hypothesized that total thyroidectomy (TT) patients would have more long-term fatigue than thyroid lobectomy (TL) patients. Methods Statewide survey of thyroidectomy patients (2004-2017) was carried out. Results 281 patients completed the survey. 216 respondents (77%) had TT and 65 (23%) had TL. Within one year of surgery, 172 (61%) respondents recalled being troubled by new fatigue all, most, or some of the time. Total thyroidectomy patients were more likely to report new fatigue (69% vs. 44%, aOR 2.72, 95% CI 1.44 to 5.18). Of patients ( n = 172) reporting new fatigue, 67 (39%) reported at least moderate improvement. Nineteen (28%) saw improvement within 1 year, 35 (52%) saw improvement in 1-2 years, and 11 (16%) saw improvement after 2 years. Conclusion Long-term fatigue after TT can be debilitating, long-lasting, and less prevalent after TL.