Evaluation of solitary thyroid nodule by clinical presentation, fine needle aspiration cytology and thyroid scan

Abstract

Background: The solitary thyroid nodule, defined as a palpable discrete swelling within an otherwise apparently normal gland, is usually a benign lesion. However, patients and physicians alike are typically concerned about the possibility of thyroid cancer. This study describes a strategy for the treatment of clinically euthyroid patients who have a solitary thyroid nodule that prevents unnecessary testing while identifying the few patients who require therapy.Methods: This is a prospective study of randomly selected patients with clinically palpable, solitary thyroid nodule diagnosed and treated at Al-Karama Teaching Hospital from September 2015 till December 2018. Initially 176 patients were diagnosed by clinical examination to have solitary thyroid nodule but after investigation and operative finding, 42 patients were found to have multinodular goiter and all excluded from the study.Results: All the 134 patients included in the study (21 males and 113 females) have been evaluated by clinical examination; thyroid scan and fine needle aspiration, ultrasound and the results of the evaluation have been correlated with operative histologic diagnosis. The study was undertaken to obtain information on the usefulness of the above measures for predicting or ruling out malignancy in solitary thyroid nodule.Conclusions: The incidence of malignancy seems to be higher among male, presented with hard nodule at palpation, those associated with hoarseness or palpable cervical lymph nodes. A cytological diagnosis of malignant tumor is reliable and provides sufficient basis of definitive surgery for thyroid cancer.

Solitary thyroid nodule: an overview of one year study at a tertiary care hospital

“…22 cases (6.3%) had palpable cervical lymph node enlargement with 12 cases were reported as malignant on FNAC and HPE. Similar observation were reported in the findings of Surriah et al 5 Our study observed that 81.14% of the cases who presented with STN were euthyroid and reports of our study were consistent with the findings of Brander et al 6 1.7% of the cases in our study were hyperthyroid which was similar to findings in the study of Udelsman and contrary to the findings of Tamhane et al who reported the cases of hyperthyroidism up to 11%. 7,8 In the present study, ultra sonographic findings were recorded which include size and number.…”

Perioperative Diagnosis of Thyroid Lesions through Fine-Needle Aspiration: A Clinicopathological Retrospective Analysis

“…This was also comparable with other studies. 15,16 This study revealed that the most common clinical presentation was the presence of gradually progressive swelling in the front of the neck as seen in 70% of cases. Moreover, 30% of patients showed other compression symptoms, such as difficulty in swallowing, and only two patients presented with cervical lymphadenopathy due to metastatic lesion.…”

Comparison of Fine-Needle Aspiration Cytopathology with Histopathological Examination of the Thyroid Gland in Patients Undergoing Elective Thyroid Surgery: Do We Still Need Fine-Needle Aspiration Cytopathology?

“…et. al., females 113/134 (84.3%) were more frequently affected than males 21/134 (15.7%) by any type of thyroid disease [32].…”