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Chronic asthenia in patients who have undergone endocrine neck surgery

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Abstract

Introduction

The impact of chronic asthenia after thyroidectomy has been evaluated in two previous studies comparing total thyroidectomy and hemithyroidectomy. We compared its impact on patients undergoing thyroidectomy, parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism, and cholecystectomy.

Methods

Patients recruited for surgery (233 consecutive total thyroidectomies for non-toxic multinodular goiter, Group I, 43 consecutive parathyroidectomies for primary hyperparathyroidism, group II and a sample of 43 laparoscopic cholecystectomies, group III) were compared at three times: pre-operative, 6 months after surgery, 1 year after surgery. A brief fatigue inventory (BFI) was administered to assess asthenia. We excluded intermediate or high-risk thyroid carcinomas, Grave’s disease, obese patients, secondary and tertiary hyperparathyroidism, vitamin D deficiency, and acute cholecystitis. In the postoperative period, patients who had undergone complications of each surgical procedure were also excluded. Demographics, smoking, alcohol abuse, chronic diseases (renal, cardiac, pulmonary, hepatic, and diabetes mellitus), anxiety and depression were noted.

Results

In Group I the significant increase of asthenia during the three periods of detection (p < 0.001) was confirmed. Renal failure further increased the risk of asthenia. In Group II, asthenia after 6 months and 1 year after surgery decreased significantly (p < 0.001). In Group III, the variations in BFI during the three periods were not significant.

Conclusions

Asthenia is a frequent sequela of total thyroidectomy, also in comparison with other types of surgery. Patients undergoing thyroidectomy must be informed of the possible implications of surgery, which should be calibrated on the strict application of guidelines.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgical Oncological and Stomatological Disciplines, Unit of General and Emergency Surgery, University of Palermo, Via L. Giuffré, 5, 90127, Palermo, Italy

    Gregorio Scerrino, Giuseppina Melfa, Daniela Lo Brutto, Alessandro Corigliano, Irene Vitale, Roberta Tutino, Giulia Rotolo, Giuseppina Orlando & Gianfranco Cocorullo

  2. Unit of Clinical Epidemiology and Tumor Registry, Department of Laboratory Diagnostics, Policlinico “P. Giaccone”, University of Palermo, Via L. Giuffré, 5, 90127, Palermo, Italy

    Sergio Mazzola

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  1. Gregorio Scerrino
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  2. Giuseppina Melfa
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  3. Daniela Lo Brutto
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  4. Sergio Mazzola
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  5. Alessandro Corigliano
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  6. Irene Vitale
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  7. Roberta Tutino
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  8. Giulia Rotolo
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  9. Giuseppina Orlando
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  10. Gianfranco Cocorullo
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Contributions

Material preparation was performed by Daniela Lo Brutto, Giulia Rotolo and Irene Vitale; data collection was performed by Giuseppina Melfa, Giuseppina Orlando and Alessandro Corigliano; data analysis was performed by Sergio Mazzola and Roberta Tutino. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Gregorio Scerrino and Gianfranco Cocorullo contributed in study conception and design, final draft revision for final approval. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final paper.

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Correspondence to Giuseppina Melfa.

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Scerrino, G., Melfa, G., Lo Brutto, D. et al. Chronic asthenia in patients who have undergone endocrine neck surgery. Endocrine 75, 159–168 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-021-02838-3

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