TY - JOUR
T1 - Incidentally discovered thyroid nodules: incidence, grey-scale and color Doppler pattern in an adult population screened by real-time compound spatial sonography
AU - Midiri, Massimo
AU - Bartolotta, Tommaso Vincenzo
AU - Galia, Massimo
AU - Lagalla, Roberto
AU - Taibbi, Adele
AU - Palermo Patera, null
AU - Damiani, null
AU - Runza, null
AU - Bartolotta, Tommaso Vincenzo
AU - Galia, Massimo
AU - Lagalla, Roberto
AU - Midiri, Massimo
AU - Palermo Patera, Giovanni
AU - Runza, Giuseppe
AU - Damiani, Laura
PY - 2006
Y1 - 2006
N2 - Purpose. Our aim was to assess the incidence and ultrasound features of thyroid nodules in an adult population screened by means of high-resolution ultrasonography (HRUS) and to evaluate the contribution of real-time spatial compound sonography (CS) in terms of image quality. Materials and methods. A total of 704 consecutive patients (400 women, 304 men) without thyroid disease underwent HRUS and CS examination of the thyroid gland. Number, size, location, echotexture and colour Doppler pattern of detected nodules were assessed. Two radiologists also assessed image quality of the two techniques. Results. Seven hundred and eleven thyroid nodules (size range 0.18-4.1 cm; mean: 1.1 cm) were detected in 233 subjects (33.1%). Of these, 416 (58.5%) were found in 143 women whereas 295 (41.5%) were detected in 90 men. In both genders, the number of detected nodules increased with age, with the highest prevalence in the seventh decade (p<0.001). There were 461/711 (64.9%) thyroid nodules that were hypoechoic, and 449/711 (63.1%) had peripheral vascularity only (p<0.001). Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) revealed no malignancies. CS was graded better than HRUS in 621/711 (87.3%) cases (p<0.001). Conclusions. The prevalence of benign, small, hypoechoic thyroid nodules with peripheral vascularity was high in our series, thus suggesting a conservative approach. CS provided better image quality compared with HRUS.
AB - Purpose. Our aim was to assess the incidence and ultrasound features of thyroid nodules in an adult population screened by means of high-resolution ultrasonography (HRUS) and to evaluate the contribution of real-time spatial compound sonography (CS) in terms of image quality. Materials and methods. A total of 704 consecutive patients (400 women, 304 men) without thyroid disease underwent HRUS and CS examination of the thyroid gland. Number, size, location, echotexture and colour Doppler pattern of detected nodules were assessed. Two radiologists also assessed image quality of the two techniques. Results. Seven hundred and eleven thyroid nodules (size range 0.18-4.1 cm; mean: 1.1 cm) were detected in 233 subjects (33.1%). Of these, 416 (58.5%) were found in 143 women whereas 295 (41.5%) were detected in 90 men. In both genders, the number of detected nodules increased with age, with the highest prevalence in the seventh decade (p<0.001). There were 461/711 (64.9%) thyroid nodules that were hypoechoic, and 449/711 (63.1%) had peripheral vascularity only (p<0.001). Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) revealed no malignancies. CS was graded better than HRUS in 621/711 (87.3%) cases (p<0.001). Conclusions. The prevalence of benign, small, hypoechoic thyroid nodules with peripheral vascularity was high in our series, thus suggesting a conservative approach. CS provided better image quality compared with HRUS.
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10447/21408
M3 - Article
VL - 111
SP - 989
EP - 998
JO - LA RADIOLOGIA MEDICA
JF - LA RADIOLOGIA MEDICA
SN - 0033-8362
ER -