title: Pre-operative detection of thyroid pyramidal lobes by ultrasound and computed tomography.
abstract: This study aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of pre-operative ultrasound (US) and computed tomography (CT) for detecting thyroid pyramidal lobe (TPL). A single radiologist prospectively performed thyroid US and retrospectively reviewed neck CT to detect TPLs in 135 consecutive patients scheduled for thyroid surgery. The location, size and superior extent of each TPL and its separation or continuity with the main thyroid gland were assessed by thyroid US, neck CT and surgery. The prevalence of TPLs as diagnosed by thyroid US, neck CT and surgery was 58.5% (79/135), 56.3% (76/135) and 60% (81/135), respectively. We compared US and CT detection of TPLs with surgical data to determine their sensitivity (85.2% and 91.4%), specificity (81.5% and 94.4%), positive (87.3% and 96.1%) and negative (78.6% and 87.9%) predictive values and accuracy (83.7% and 92.6%). For detecting TPLs, both neck CT and thyroid US have good diagnostic value, although neck CT is more accurate than thyroid US.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Haeundae Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, South Korea.
authors.forename: Ji Hwa
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Ryu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Busan Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, South Korea. Electronic address: dwultra@lycos.co.kr.
authors.forename: Dong Wook
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery (Busan Cancer Center), Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan National University College of Medicine, Busan, South Korea.
authors.forename: Taewoo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D013965:Thyroidectomy; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000379:methods
keywords: Computed tomography; Pyramidal lobe; Thyroid; Ultrasound; Variation