Goiter

This study aims to evaluate the role and effectiveness of total thyroidectomy in relieving compressive and local symptoms (such as dysphagia, dyspnea, and anterior neck pain/discomfort) in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis who fail to improve with conservative medical management.

THORS is a single-center ambidirectional observational cohort study conducted at Moscow Multidisciplinary Clinical Center "Kommunarka". The study combines retrospective analysis of routinely collected clinical data from patients who underwent thyroid surgery beginning in January 2023 with ongoing prospective accrual of new eligible patients and longitudinal updating of follow-up information. No diagnostic or therapeutic intervention is assigned by the research protocol; all treatment decisions are made as part of routine clinical care. The program evaluates the structure and outcomes of thyroid surgery, postoperative complications, histopathology, repeat and completion procedures, long-term oncologic and functional outcomes, health-care resource use, and the quality and reproducibility of real-world data. Applicable outcomes from the international Core Outcome Set for surgical treatment of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (COS-DTC) are incorporated where they can be reliably measured. The first frozen historical analytical baseline includes 968 unique patients and 1,017 thyroid operations performed from 06 January 2023 through 13 February 2026. The cohort remains open to ongoing enrollment and follow-up

The goal of this observational study is to develop a questionnaire for measuring swallowing and throat discomfort symptoms in patients with goiter or thyroidectomy, which complies with the model of Rasch and which satisfies the fundamental measurement axioms (e.g., unidimensionality, linearity, generalizability). Developing a scale with such characteristics would provide clinicians and researchers with a reliable tool for assessing the impact of goiter and for measuring the outcomes after surgery. Also, the study will assess the psychological impact of goiter and thyroidectomy, as well as the characteristics of the surgical scar after thyroidectomy. The questionnaire will be developed in the first phase of the study. Items and response categories will be identified through interviews performed with patients affected by goiter or after thyroidectomy. In the following phases of the study, the questionnaire will be administered to patients before and after thyroidectomy.

Literature regarding effects of goiter on the occurrence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) remains scarce. Reports have described cases of OSA in patients suffering from goiters, resolved after thyroidectomy. It has been recently shown that goiters of a total volume exceeding 25 mL leads to \>30% tracheal compression. The aims of the present study is to assess 1) the prevalence of OSA in patients suffering from goiters and planned for thyroidectomy 2) the role of thyroidectomy in OSA resolution in patients suffering from pre-operative OSA 3) the identification of predictors for persisting OSA.