title: Diagnostic value of CT artifacts for solitary coarse calcifications in thyroid nodules.
abstract: This study aimed to estimate the diagnostic value of CT artifacts for solitary coarse calcifications (SCC) in thyroid nodules. A total of 78 SCCs (coarse calcifications >2 mm, no definite mass lesion around calcification) in 63 cases received surgery from Jan 2009 to Jun 2014 were enrolled, including 52 nodular goiters (NG) in 41 cases and 26 papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTC) in 22 cases. The CT artifacts in NGs and PTCs were recorded, and its sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, false positive rate, false negative rate and accuracy for the diagnosis of NG were calculated. CT artifacts were more often observed around the SCCs in NG cases (P<0.05), its sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, false positive rate, false negative rate and accuracy for the diagnosis of NG were 80.7%, 76.9%, 87.5%, 66.7%, 23.1%, 33.3% and 79.5%, and there was no intergroup difference about the CT artifacts in SCCs (P>0.05). CT artifacts are important for the diagnosis of SCCs in thyroid nodules to tell benign from malignancy, and CT artifacts around the SCC are helpful for the diagnosis of NG and no artifacts indicate a larger probability of PTC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Hangzhou First People's Hospital Hangzhou 310006, China.
authors.forename: Darong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Hangzhou First People's Hospital Hangzhou 310006, China.
authors.forename: Wenhui
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Hangzhou First People's Hospital Hangzhou 310006, China.
authors.forename: Jingjing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Hangzhou First People's Hospital Hangzhou 310006, China.
authors.forename: Zhijiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Han
keywords: Thyroid nodule; coarse calcification; computed radiography; thyroid tumor; tomography