A contemporary analysis of goiters undergoing surgery in the United States

Introduction: We identified disparities and at-risk populations among patients with goiters undergoing thyroidectomy. Materials and methods: The National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database was queried for patients with goiter who underwent thyroidectomy between 2009 and 2013. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with goiters undergoing thyroidectomy. Results: The study consisted of 103,678 patients with thyroidectomy and a goiter diagnosis, which included: simple goiter (n = 7,692, 7.42%), nodular goiter (n = 73,524, 70.92%), thyrotoxicosis (n = 14,043, 13.54%), thyroiditis (n = 1,248, 1.20%), and thyroid cancer (n = 7,169, 6.92%). Factors associated with operation for simple goiter included age >65 years (AOR 1.43 [1.15–1.79]), black race (AOR 1.35 [1.14–1.58]), and being uninsured (AOR 2.13 [1.52–2.98]). Patients with cancerous goiters undergoing thyroidectomy were less likely to be Black (AOR 0.38 [0.31–0.48]) or uninsured (AOR 0.25 [0.07–0.89]). Discussion: Understanding disparities within populations undergoing thyroidectomy for goiter may allow for targeted efforts to more effectively treat goiters nationwide.