Thyroid appearance of cells is viewed to determine whether they resemble normal or cancerous cells. There can be many nodules, which is termed a multinodular goitre, and this can sometimes be a toxic multinodular goitre. An enlarged thyroid gland is called a goitre. Goitres are present in some form in about 5% of people, and are the result of a large number of causes, including iodine deficiency, autoimmune disease (both Grave's disease and Hashimoto's thyroiditis), infection, inflammation, and infltrative disease such as sarcoidosis and amyloidosis. Sometimes no cause can be found, a state called "simple goitre". Some forms of goitre are
Iron deficiency exclude iron deficiency, and the utility is improved by taking a concurrent C-reactive protein (CRP). The level of serum ferritin that is viewed as "high" depends on the condition. For example, in inflammatory bowel disease the threshold is 100, where as in chronic heart failure (CHF) the levels are 200. Before commencing treatment, there should be definitive diagnosis of the underlying cause for iron deficiency. This is particularly the case in older patients, who are most susceptible to colorectal cancer and the gastrointestinal bleeding it often causes. In adults, 60% of patients with iron deficiency anemia may have underlying gastrointestinal