Prevalence and clinical characteristics of non-thyroidal illness syndrome with non-critically ill patients in rehabilitation specialist hospital

Abstract

Abstract Backgroud To investigate the prevalence and clinical characteristics of Non-thyroid illness syndrome(NTIS) patients in specialized rehabilitation hospital. Methods 6 799 patients admitted to our institution between January 2019 and May 2022, and analyzed retrospectively. There were 2,702 patients with NTIS and 2,207 patients with euthyroid sick syndrome (ESS). Plasma thyroid hormone was detected using chemiluminescence instrument and its associated reagents, and SPSS 21.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results the incidence of NTIS was 39.7% in rehabilitation specialized hospital, and the total length of hospitalization for patients with NTIS was substantially longer than for patients without NTIS. The incidence rates of unhealthy behaviors, such as smoking and drinking, and diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, were substantially higher in the NTIS group than in the non-NTIS group. Only BNP, APTT, and TT did not differ significantly between the two groups, all others laboratory results demonstrated statistically significant differences. Comparison of thyroid function between the two groups showed that fT3, TT4, and TSH values with the NTIS group were lower than the wtihout NTIS group, while fT4 and TT3 showed opposite results In NTIS patients, the pattern of only fT3 decreaseingwas 71.8%, followed by fT3 and fT4 simultaneously decreasing was 25.7%. Correlation analysis showed that fT3 positively correlated with TT4 was 0.811, while fT3 negatively correlated with fT4 and TT3 was − 0.703 and − 0.647, respectively, and without any correlation with TSH. PCT, WBC, hs-CRP, N/L%, and fT3 had negative correlations of -0.48, -0.46, -0.39, and − 0.35, respectively. Conclusion The incidence of NTIS patients in rehabilitation specialized hospitals is high. These patients have a lengthy hospitalization period, a state of high inflammation, impaired liver and renal function, coagulation disorders, and fibrinolytic activation.