Clinical and polysomnographic findings of patients with large goiters

Goiters cause a series of compressive symptoms, including dyspnea and dysphagia. There have been reports of the coexistence of this syndrome with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of OSA in a group of patients with goiters. Twenty-four patients with a mean age of 52.7 +/- 12.7 years, including five males (20.8 %) and 19 (79.2 %) females, who were diagnosed with euthyroid goiters with volumes exceeding 100 ml were consecutively selected. The protocol consisted of sleep questionnaires, physical examinations, and baseline polysomnography measurements. Patients were divided into two groups, OSA and NOSA (no OSA), and all findings were compared between the two groups. Of the studied patients, 70.8 % had OSA (p = 0.004). Regarding clinical parameters, age (p = 0.001), Epworth Sleepiness Scale scores (p = 0.039) and complaints of habitual snoring (p < 0.001) had higher values in the OSA group. Regarding physical examination parameters, body mass index (p = 0.012), neck circumference (p = 0.009) and the presence of tracheal compression (p = 0.021) had higher values in the OSA group. The polysomnographic parameters that were significantly different between the two groups were the greater apnea and hypopnea index per hour of sleep (p < 0.001) and the lower minimum oxyhemoglobin saturation in the OSA group (p = 0.011). There is a high prevalence of OSA in patients with goiters. The main findings that were associated with the presence of OSA are known clinical predictors of OSA and the presence of tracheal compression.