Comparison of physical examination and simultaneous ultrasonography results in patient in whom thyroid gland nodule was diagnosed on scintigraphy previously and referred to general surgery clinics

Abstract

Introduction: The first step in diagnosis of thyroid nodules is physical examination (PE). <5% of the adult population has palpable nodules. However, ultrasound (US) studies revealed higher thyroid nodule prevalence. 1-3% of the nodules have malignancy risk and proper and trusted methods of diagnosis and follow-up are necessary. We compared nodules found on PE and US in terms of number and localization. Methods: The data of 42 patients in whom thyroid nodules were diagnosed on scintigraphy, and US and PE were done at the same time between October 2002 and 2003 was analyzed retrospectively. The numbers of nodules detected on PE and US were compared. The nodules located in a different position on PE compared to that of US were accepted false positive. The nodules which were not detected on PE but on US were accepted false-negative results of PE. Mann-Whitney U-test was used for statistical analysis. True positivity on PE was considered equal to the true negativity, and sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were calculated. Results: PE detected 62 nodules in 42 patients (the mean: 1.47 and standard deviation [SD]: 0.63, for each patient). US detected 73 nodules (the mean: 1.73 and SD: 0.76). The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of PE were calculated 51.

Prevalence of Iodine Deficiency among School Children from New Settlement in Kyrgyzstan

“…Previous studies have been conducted focused on either screening or diagnostic tests, which resulted in decreased (weak) specificity and sensitivity (accuracy of the specific test). Considering that Sunamak and Duren [ 19 ] reported that thyroid ultrasonography is a reliable method to measure thyroid and that careful physical examination is needed to detect nodules in the thyroid, this stepwise approach to iodine deficiency evaluation is valuable as it informs conducting of more reliable tests, specifically in communities requiring careful assessment. Further studies using the thyroid ultrasonography for screening young children whose thyroid glands are small are warranted to explore more accurate findings.…”