Individualized Homoeopathic Treatment of a Geriatric Case of Goitre- A Case-Report

Abstract

Goiter is defined as an enlarged thyroid gland (>20-25g), that can be diffuse/simple or nodular. Thyroid nodules are common, perceived by palpation in at least 4 percent of the population in iodine-sufficient areas and more than half of patients by using ultrasonography, with the majority being asymptomatic. Nodular goitre is one of the most common endocrine problems in the world today, affecting up to 12% of the world's population and 170 million people in India. Females are more likely to suffer from goitre than males of the same age group with a sex ratio Female: Male = 24:1. Diagnosis of a case or goitre is confirmed by ultrasonography and/or thyroid scintigraphy. The conventional approach to treat goitre is to wait and watch when it is asymptomatic along with an annual thyroid function test as the natural history is progression to a toxic multinodular goitre. This case report summarizes the improvement seen in a 72-year-old lady diagnosed with cystic colloidal goitre with calcification and thickened isthmus (volume of the right lobe was 25cc with calcification of 0.7cm & 0.5 cm, volume of the left lobe was1.8cc) with the help of Causticum 200, which was chosen guided by the principles of homoeopathy, and was prescribed only once during treatment. At the end of 9 months after the commencement of treatment, radiological reports showed the volume of the right lobe of the thyroid was 2.94cc, the volume of the left lobe was 1.32 cc, the isthmus was normal, both lobes showed evidence of calcification but exact measurement was not available. Clinically goitre was not visible to the naked eye. Thus, the effectiveness of the minimum dose of the correctly chosen simillimum is evident, as observed in this case.