Abstract
BackgroundThis study sought to determine whether thyroidectomy is associated with self-reported cough through a prospective analysis.MethodsPatients undergoing unilateral thyroidectomy were prospectively enrolled. The control group was selected to avoid the effect of general anaesthesia. The experimental group consisted of 300 patients (202 females and 98 males) who underwent thyroidectomy, with a mean age of 48.6 years, and the control group consisted of 103 patients (53 females and 50 males) who underwent other head and neck operations, with a mean age of 50.3 years. All patients were required to complete the Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ) preoperatively and 2 weeks postoperatively.ResultsThe postoperative mean total LCQ scores in the experimental and control groups were 17.9 ± 5.0 and 19.8 ± 4.2, respectively; the difference was significant (p = 0.014). Adverse event analysis showed that patients in the experimental group scored significantly worse on items for chest or stomach pains, phlegm, feeling in control of coughing, sleep disturbances, coughing bouts, frustration, and feeling fed up with coughing. In the analysis of the three LCQ domains, a significant difference was noted in the physical domain between the two groups (p < 0.001). In the one-way analysis of variance, the factors of sex and anaesthesia time were associated with the postoperative LCQ score; in further multifactor analysis of variance, only the factor of sex was significantly related to the postoperative LCQ score.ConclusionThyroidectomy may be associated with postoperative cough, and a higher number of female patients complained of cough and related symptoms.
Highlights
This study sought to determine whether thyroidectomy is associated with self-reported cough through a prospective analysis
We note that patients who have undergone thyroidectomy often have more severe cough than those who have undergone other operations, and we found this phenomenon to be quite worrisome
Our goal was to analyse whether thyroidectomy induces self-reported cough using a prospective analysis
Summary
This study sought to determine whether thyroidectomy is associated with self-reported cough through a prospective analysis. Clinical manifestations are usually minimal or absent, but sometimes patients might complain of hoarseness, difficulty in swallowing, or difficulty in breathing. When performed by experienced surgeons, thyroidectomy is regarded as a safe and effective surgical option for selected patients with low risks of permanent vocal distortion, swallowing difficulties, and hypocalcaemia [2, 3], The Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ) was developed by Birring et al [5] and is a valid and reliable. Application of the questionnaire has been indicated to be reliable in numerous studies [6,7,8]. Our goal was to analyse whether thyroidectomy induces self-reported cough using a prospective analysis
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