RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: Some paper claim thyroidectomy decreases snoring and sleep apnea symptoms and the opposite. The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the effects of sleep apnea and snoring by total thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine (RI) therapy. METHODS: A total of 88 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy and RI therapy for thyroid cancer in the outpatient clinic of the department of surgery of a general hospital were recruited. Interviewers completed their demographic data, past medical history, and data on total thyroidectomy and sleep apnea with snoring, and also preoperative and postoperative Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), preoperative and postoperative Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), preoperative and postoperative Snoring Index (SI), preoperative and postoperative global life satisfaction (index of well-being) scale, and postoperative Beck Depression Inventory. RESULTS: The Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test showed PSQI preoperative-postoperative p=0.750, ESS preoperative-postoperative p=0.000, SI preoperative-postoperative p=0.034, life satisfaction preoperative-postoperative p=0.216 (based on negative ranks). CONCLUSION: The above results indicate that snoring and daytime sleepiness increased after total thyroidectomy and RI therapy, suggesting that the patency of upper airway (UA) was reduced or the collapsibility of the UA increased after total thyroidectomy and RI therapy. That is, the above results indicate that sleep apnea and snoring were aggravated after total thyroidectomy and RI therapy.
