Where would the healthcare provider place hands to assess goitre?

Where would the healthcare provider place hands to assess goitre?

• A. Over the scapulae
• B. Over the maxillary sinuses
• C. Over the angle of Louis
• D. Over the anterior portion of the neck

Answer: (D)

Goitre is enlargement of the thyroid gland, which sits in the front of the neck. To assess it, place your hands on the anterior portion of the neck, just below the larynx/cricoid cartilage, with fingers on either side of the trachea. Ask the patient to swallow so you can feel the thyroid move and gauge its size, shape, and any nodules. Those other areas—behind the neck (scapulae), near the facial sinuses, or at the upper chest where the angle of Louis is located—are not positions where the thyroid sits, so palpating there wouldn’t assess goitre.

Goitre is enlargement of the thyroid gland, which sits in the front of the neck. To assess it, place your hands on the anterior portion of the neck, just below the larynx/cricoid cartilage, with fingers on either side of the trachea. Ask the patient to swallow so you can feel the thyroid move and gauge its size, shape, and any nodules. Those other areas—behind the neck (scapulae), near the facial sinuses, or at the upper chest where the angle of Louis is located—are not positions where the thyroid sits, so palpating there wouldn’t assess goitre.