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| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2014 | Volume
: 1
| Issue : 3 | Page : 142-144 |
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Correlation between wayne's score and laboratory evidence of thyrotoxicosis in Nigeria
Anas Ahmad Sabir1, Sandra Omozehio Iwuala2, Olufemi Adetola Fasanmade2, Sani Atta Abubakar3, Garba Yunusa Haruna4, Augustine Efedaye Ohwovoriole2
1 Department of Medicine, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria
2 Department of Medicine, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria
3 Department of Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria
4 Department of Radiology, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria
| Date of Submission | 01-Apr-2014 |
| Date of Acceptance | 24-May-2014 |
| Date of Web Publication | 17-Aug-2014 |
Correspondence Address:
Anas Ahmad Sabir
Department of Medicine, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto
Nigeria
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/2384-5147.138944
Background: The diagnosis of thyrotoxicosis is based on clinical suspicion and confirmed by thyroid function test. In Nigeria, measurements of thyroid function tests are not readily available therefore the need for clinical assessment remains paramount in the diagnosis and management of thyrotoxicosis. Objective: The objective was to determine the relationship between Wayne's score and biochemical indices of thyroid function in Nigerians. Materials and Methods: A total of 30 newly diagnosed patients with thyrotoxicosis referred to the Endocrinology Clinic were recruited for participation in this study. All patients had detailed history taken and thorough physical examinations performed. They were also assessed using the Wayne's score. The patients also had the biochemical evaluation of their thyroid function. The relationship between the Wayne's score values and the biochemical indices were then correlated using the Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: All the patients with elevated thyroid hormones had elevated Wayne's score. The correlation coefficient between T3 and Wayne's score was 0.79, whereas between T4 and Wayne's score was 0.81. The average Wayne's score was 31.6. There was negative correlation between age and Wayne's score (r = 0.86). Conclusion: The Wayne's score can be used as a screening tool for thyrotoxicosis in our environment. Keywords: Thyroid hormones, thyrotoxicosis, Wayne′s score
How to cite this article:
Sabir AA, Iwuala SO, Fasanmade OA, Abubakar SA, Haruna GY, Ohwovoriole AE. Correlation between wayne's score and laboratory evidence of thyrotoxicosis in Nigeria. Sub-Saharan Afr J Med 2014;1:142-4 |
How to cite this URL:
Sabir AA, Iwuala SO, Fasanmade OA, Abubakar SA, Haruna GY, Ohwovoriole AE. Correlation between wayne's score and laboratory evidence of thyrotoxicosis in Nigeria. Sub-Saharan Afr J Med [serial online] 2014 [cited 2023 Sep 23];1:142-4. Available from: https://www.ssajm.org/text.asp?2014/1/3/142/138944 |
| Introduction | |  |
Thyrotoxicosis is a relatively common disorder. It occurs in all parts of the world, affecting 2% of women and 0.2% of males. [1] It is a clinical syndrome due to excessive amounts of thyroid hormone in the circulation and its excessive effects on tissues. The diagnosis is based on clinical suspicion and confirmed by thyroid function test. [2] In Nigeria, measurements of thyroid function test such as serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), thyroxine (T4), triiodothyronine (T3) are not readily available and even when available they are quite expensive with associated delay before the result is obtained. Therefore, the need for clinical assessment remains paramount in the diagnosis and management of thyrotoxicosis.
The Wayne's score is a clinical score that may be used in the clinical diagnosis of thyrotoxicosis. [3] It is a diagnostic index that scores the presence or absence of various signs and symptoms of hyperthyroidism for the purpose of establishing a diagnosis.
The objective was to determine the relationship between Wayne's score and biochemical indices of thyroid function in Nigerians.
| Materials and Methods | | |
A total of 30 newly diagnosed patients with thyrotoxicosis referred to the Endocrinology Clinic of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital were recruited for participation in this study. All subjects gave informed consent.
All patients had detailed history taken and thorough physical examination performed. All the patients were also evaluated using the Wayne's score which is a scoring scale that rates dyspnea on exertion, palpitation, tiredness, heat intolerance, cold intolerance, nervousness, excessive sweating, appetite, weight, palpable thyroid, bruit, exophthalmos, lid retraction, lid lag, hyperkinesia, hands, and atrial fibrillation [Table 1]. Wayne's score of >19 is considered diagnostic of thyrotoxicosis, 11-19 is considered equivocal and <11 is considered euthyroid. [3]
The patients also had the biochemical evaluation of their thyroid function-T3, T4, TSH done using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The relationship between the Wayne's score values and the biochemical indices were then correlated using the Pearson's correlation coefficient. Patients with cardiac diseases or already on anti-thyroid medications were excluded from the study.
| Results | | |
Twenty-one (70%) subjects were females, while nine (30%) subjects were males. The patients' ages ranged between 19 and 61 years with a mean age of 33.3 ± 8.6 years. The highest frequency of thyrotoxicosis (36.7%) was in the age group 25-34 years as shown in [Table 2].
All the patients with elevated thyroid hormones had elevated Wayne's score >19. The correlation coefficient between T3 and Wayne's score was 0.79, while between T4 and Wayne's score was 0.81. The average Wayne's score was 31.6. There was negative correlation between age and Wayne's score (r = −0.86). The relationship between thyroid hormones and Wayne's score is illustrated in [Table 3].
| Discussion | | |
We found that thyrotoxicosis was more common in the females affecting the young adult population more than the elderly. This is similar to other studies that found thyrotoxicosis to be more common in young females. [1],[4],[5] The negative correlation between age and Wayne's score suggests that old age is associated with clinically less severe thyrotoxicosis and the diagnosis of thyrotoxicosis may be more difficult in the elderly. This is in keeping with other findings. [6],[7],[8] The exact reason for less severe clinical features in older age groups remains incompletely understood. [7] However reduced production of thyroid hormones with advancing age has been suggested the so called "thyroid hormone economy". [9] Clinically less severe thyrotoxicosis in the older age group can also be as a result of masking of clinical features by coexisting diseases or the treatment (e.g., beta blockers used in the treatment of hypertension can mask tachycardia and tremors found in thyrotoxicosis).
We found out that all the patients with elevated thyroid hormones had elevated Wayne's score and therefore it can be used for screening thyrotoxicosis. This finding was also previously found by other researchers. [3],[10],[11],[12],[13]
The Wayne's score correlated well with the biochemical indices of thyrotoxicosis.
While our research and some previous research works [8] found strong correlation between the severity of thyrotoxic symptoms and elevation in the serum levels of free T4 and T3 estimates, other studies found no strong correlation. [11],[12] Trzepacz et al. [11] found out that the hyperthyroid symptom scale did not strongly correlate with free T4 or T3 estimates and was inversely correlated with age. Kolawole et al. [12] also found elevated Wayne's score in all patients with biochemical evidence of thyrotoxicosis. However, they found no correlation between symptoms severity and hormones levels, which may be due to the individual variations in the sensitivity of thyroid hormone receptors to thyroid receptors.
Differences in previous findings may be due to methodological differences such as different criteria for patient inclusion, observer error (because some observers tended to score consistently lower than others) or early diagnosis of thyrotoxicosis at a less advanced stage.
The Limitation of the Study
Being an open un-blinded design there is possibility of bias.
| Conclusion | | |
The Wayne's score which is an observer - rated and easy to administer clinical assessment tool correlated well with the biochemical indices of thyrotoxicosis. It can therefore be used as a screening tool for thyrotoxicosis in our environment. However, larger studies need to be carried out.
| References | | |
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| 11. | Trzepacz PT, Klein I, Roberts M, Greenhouse J, Levey GS. Graves' disease: An analysis of thyroid hormone levels and hyperthyroid signs and symptoms. Am J Med 1989;87:558-61.
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[Table 1], [Table 2], [Table 3]
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