Focus on caring for and improving people's endocrine health

In recent years, the incidence of thyroid diseases has been increasing. In response to this situation, Lao Cai Provincial Endocrinology Hospital has increased screening for thyroid diseases and promoted the application of modern treatment methods, improving the effectiveness of treating this disease.

One of the common thyroid diseases today is thyroid nodules - a condition in which separate tissue masses appear in the thyroid gland, which can be clearly detected through ultrasound. This is a common endocrine disease in the community, especially in women and the elderly.

Doctor Ha Ngoc Le - Provincial Endocrinology Hospital said: In recent years, thanks to the remarkable development of medicine, minimally invasive procedures are considered the preferred choice for treating thyroid nodules with clinical symptoms or cosmetic problems.

These procedures include intrafollicular ethanol injection and thermal ablation techniques. Minimally invasive procedures have been shown to reduce the volume of thyroid nodules (57-77% after 5 years), improve local symptoms, and improve quality of life.

In particular, the procedures can be performed on an outpatient basis without general anesthesia, rarely cause complications, and almost do not cause thyroid dysfunction. Among them, radiofrequency ablation has shown great promise in the treatment of benign thyroid nodules with long-term effects reported within 3 to 5 years.

In Lao Cai province, the Provincial Endocrinology Hospital is the first medical unit to deploy the radiofrequency ablation method in the treatment of benign thyroid tumors from August 2022 thanks to the professional support of Bach Mai Hospital. Currently, the hospital has sent a document requesting Bach Mai Hospital to support the transfer of modern radiofrequency ablation techniques in the treatment of papillary thyroid cancer, in order to improve professional capacity and create conditions for local people to access advanced treatment techniques without having to be transferred to Hanoi.

Along with receiving and applying modern techniques in treatment, the Provincial Endocrinology Hospital also pays special attention to screening and propaganda to raise community awareness of thyroid disease prevention.

Dr. Nguyen Van Hien - Deputy Director of the Provincial Endocrinology Hospital, said: In recent years, the number of cases of thyroid disease has been increasing rapidly. For diseases related to the thyroid, supplementing iodized salt and iodine-supplemented products is extremely necessary because this micronutrient helps the thyroid gland function better.

Recently, the Provincial Endocrinology Hospital has coordinated with Lao Cai - Cam Duong Regional Medical Center to organize thyroid disease screening for students aged 8 to 10 in the area. This is a special group of subjects that need attention to detect abnormalities early from school age.

In October 2025, the hospital continued to implement the program "Screening for thyroid diseases for high-risk subjects" with a total of 250 completely free thyroid function tests for the community. The free tests in the program include quantifying FT4 (free thyroid hormone) and TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) - two key indicators that help accurately assess thyroid function status.

Thyroid disease is one of the common endocrine disorders but is often not given due attention because of its silent progression and few symptoms in the early stages. Therefore, regular screening plays an important role not only in early detection but also in raising public awareness of endocrine health care, helping to prevent cardiovascular complications, metabolic disorders or reproductive dysfunction.

With a development orientation towards modernity, safety and patient-centeredness, the Provincial Endocrinology Hospital is gradually affirming its pioneering position in caring for and improving endocrine health for local people.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/chu-trong-cham-soc-va-nang-cao-suc-khoe-noi-tiet-cho-nguoi-dan-post885399.html