The role of ultrasonography and ultrasound guided biopsy in the management of patients with cold nodules of the thyroid.
The histological diagnoses of surgical specimens from 86 patients with cold nodules of the thyroid (55 goitres, 16 adenomas and 15 malignancies) were compared with the clinical data, ultrasonographic appearances and the results of the fine needle biopsy of each patient to evaluate the role of ultrasonography alone and combined with guided biopsy in distinguishing patients with malignancies from patients without malignancies. The Authors suggest that ultrasonography alone cannot be used for distinguishing malignancies from non-malignancies in cold nodules of the thyroid; the combined use of the ultrasonographic appearances with guided biopsy offers a remarkable diagnostic gain in this field. In the Authors' case material the detection of a simple cyst by ultrasound always excluded the possibility of malignancy.
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis; D000231:Adenocarcinoma, Papillary / Q000175:diagnosis; D000236:Adenoma / Q000175:diagnosis; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D006044:Goiter, Nodular / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014463:Ultrasonography