THE PREVALENCE OF COLON POLYPS İN PATIENTS WITH THYROID NODULES

Mine Öztürk^{1, *}, Enver Avcı²

¹Department of Endocrinology and metabolism, KTO Karatay University Medicine Faculty Hospital, Konya, Turkey - ²Department of Gastroenterology, KTO Karatay University Medicine Faculty Hospital, Konya, Turkey

Objective: The aim of the study is to reveal the frequency of coexistence of thyroid nodules and colon polyps.                                                                                                                         

Methods: Records of 123 patients who came to the gastroenterology outpatient clinic between 2017 and 2020 who underwent colonoscopy were reviewed retrospectively. Patients who underwent thyroid ultrasonography were determined. Thyroid-stimulating hormone(TSH) (μIU / mL), Free T3  (pg / ml), Free T4 (ng / dl), anti-thyroglobulin antibody (IU / ml) and anti TPO antibody (IU / ml) values of the cases were recorded. Cases with thyroid nodules and colon polyps were identified.                                                           

Results: We included patients who underwent both colonoscopy and thyroid ultrasonography. 76 (51.7 %) of the 123 cases were women, and 47 were men (38.2 %).7 of the cases with polyps on colonoscopy were female(35 %), and 13 were male (65 %). Of the non-polyp cases, 69 (67 %) were women and 34 were men(33 %). 15 (75%) of 20 patients with colonic polyps also had thyroid nodules. Only 5(25%) of these patients had no thyroid nodules. Of 103 patients without polyp, only 36(35%) had thyroid nodules, 67(65%) had no thyroid nodules.  There was no difference between patients with and without polyps in terms of age, blood glucose, fT3, fT4, TSH, Anti TPO, Anti TG, ALT values (respectively; P:0.16, P:0.43, P:0.13, P:0.79, P:0.59, P:0.20, P:1.0, P:0.21). Thyroid nodules were seen more in cases with colon polyps (P:0.03).                                                                                                               

Conclusions: Colon polyps were more common in patients with thyroid nodules. Colonoscopy for every patient with a thyroid nodule can be a costly and invasive approach. İt will not be wrong to search for thyroid nodules with thyroid ultrasonography in cases with polyps as a result of colonoscopy.