A study on prevalence of pericardial effusion in newly diagnosed adult hypothyroid patients

Introduction: Hypothyroidism is a common endocrine disorder resulting from a deficiency of thyroid hormone. It usually is a primary process in which the thyroid gland produces insufficient amounts of thyroid hormone. It can also be secondary that is lack of thyroid hormone secretion due to the failure of either adequate thyroid - stimulating hormone (TSH) secretion from the pituitary gland or thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) from the hypothalamus (secondary or tertiary hypothyroidism). Pericardial effusion is frequently found in patients with hypothyroidism, but it is rarely associated with cardiac tamponade. Hypothyroidism complicated by cardiac tamponade is rarely referenced in the medical literature. The aim of the study: To find a correlation between severity of disease and presence of pericardial effusion. Materials and methods: The study was conducted in 2017. Patients attending the Outpatient Clinic of the Department of Endocrinology who satisfied the inclusion criteria were registered for the study after obtaining their consent. A detailed questionnaire was used to elicit symptoms of hypothyroidism. The patients were examined for signs of hypothyroidism. Special attention was given to the examination of the cardiovascular system to look for clinical features of pericardial effusion. Results: The prevalence of pericardial effusion in this study was 17%. 2 out of the 70 hypothyroid patients showed evidence of pericardial effusion. Mild pericardial effusion was found in 11 patients (15.71%) and moderate pericardial effusion in 1 patient (0.01%). Conclusion: Clinical features of pericardial effusion show statistically significant association with its presence on echocardiogram. Macroglossia was more commonly found in patients with Pericardial Effusion. ECG and CXR can be used to predict the presence of Pericardial Effusion.