Assessment of Thyroid Function Tests in Patients with Goitre at a Teaching Hospital in Gombe State

Goitre remains an important clinical and public health problem in Gombe State, where iodine deficiency disorders have historically been prevalent, and the biochemical assessment of thyroid function provides essential diagnostic and management information. This study evaluates thyroid function tests in patients with clinically diagnosed goitre attending the Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe. Seventy goitre patients classified by thyroid ultrasound as simple nodular goitre, multinodular goitre, or diffuse goitre, and forty euthyroid controls without thyroid pathology, were enrolled. Fasting blood samples were collected and serum analysed for thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine (fT3), free thyroxine (fT4), and anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies (anti-TPO) by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Urinary iodine concentration was measured from spot urine by the Sandell-Kolthoff colorimetric method. Results show significant heterogeneity in thyroid function among goitre patients: 36 percent were euthyroid, 31 percent hypothyroid, and 18 percent subclinically hypothyroid, while 15 percent were hyperthyroid based on TSH and free thyroid hormone values. Anti-TPO antibodies were elevated in 28 percent of patients, suggesting autoimmune thyroiditis as a co-existing mechanism in a subset. Median urinary iodine concentration was 48 micrograms per litre in goitre patients, well below the WHO adequacy threshold, confirming iodine deficiency as a major aetiological factor. The study supports the continued promotion of universal salt iodization in Gombe State. Keywords: thyroid function, goitre, TSH, iodine deficiency, Gombe State.