Hashimoto's Thyroiditis: Literature Review

Abstract

Introduction: Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (HT) is an autoimmune thyroid disease characterized by increased thyroid volume, lymphocytic infiltration of the parenchyma, and the presence of specific antibodies against thyroid antigens. Objective: To provide an updated and comprehensive synthesis of the available literature on Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, including aspects such as its definition, epidemiology, etiology, pathogenesis, histology, histopathology, clinical, diagnosis, treatment and recommendations, in order to disseminate knowledge and generate understanding regarding Hashimoto's Thyroiditis among the population. Methodology: A non-systematic bibliographic review of narrative type was carried out with the use of bibliographic resources selected from databases such as; Elsevier, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scielo and Google Scholar, applying both inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: 80 sources of information were obtained, of which 49 were discarded because they did not meet the inclusion criteria; consequently, 31 sources were obtained for the elaboration of this research. Discussion: Hashimoto's thyroiditis is characterized by an increase in thyroid volume and lymphocytic infiltration of the parenchyma. It has a higher incidence in female patients than in male patients. Symptoms evolve progressively and its treatment can be pharmacological or surgical depending on the degree of the disease. Conclusions: The effects of this pathology include affectations both at a structural level (increase in size of the gland) and functional affectations, such as occur in the follicular cells, consequently, the decrease in the secretion of thyroid hormones generates a symptomatology related to hypothyroidism.