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Preliminary Results of Utrasound-Guided Percutaneous Radiofrequency Ablation in the Treatment of Refractory Non-nodular Hyperthyroidism

  • Clinical Investigation
  • Non-Vascular Interventions
  • Published:
CardioVascular and Interventional Radiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

To assess the safety and efficacy of ultrasound-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for the treatment of refractory non-nodular hyperthyroidism.

Methods

This was a single-center retrospective study in 9 patients with refractory non-nodular hyperthyroidism (2 males, 7 females; median age, range, 36 years, 14–55 years) who underwent RFA between August 2018 and September 2020. The incidence of post-procedural complications, changes in thyroid volume, thyroid function and the use and dosages of anti-thyroid drugs, were compared pre- and post-RFA.

Results

All patients completed the procedure successfully, and no serious complications occurred. Three months after ablation, thyroid volumes were significantly decreased with the mean volumes of the right and left lobes reduced to 45.6% (10.9 ± 2.2 ml/23.9 ± 7.2 ml, p < 0.001) and 50.2% (10.8 ± 7.4 ml/21.5 ± 11.4 ml, p = 0.001) of the volumes within 1 week after ablation. The thyroid function was gradually improved in all patients. At 3 months post-ablation, the levels of FT3 and FT4 were returned to the normal range (FT3, 4.9 ± 1.6 pmol/L vs. 8.7 ± 4.2 pmol/L, p = 0.009; FT4, 13.1 ± 7.2 pmol/L vs. 25.9 ± 12.6 pmol/L, p = 0.038), the TR-Ab level was significantly lower (4.8 ± 3.9 vs. 16.5 ± 16.4 IU/L, p = 0.027), and the TSH level was significantly higher (0.76 ± 0.88 vs. 0.03 ± 0.06, p = 0.031) than that before-ablation. Additionally, three months after RFA, the anti-thyroid medication dosages were reduced to 31.25% compared to baseline (p < 0.01).

Conclusion

Ultrasound-guided RFA in the treatment of refractory non-nodular hyperthyroidism was safe and effective in this small group of patients with limited follow-up. Further studies with larger cohorts and longer follow-up are needed to validate this potential new application of thyroid thermal ablation.

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Acknowledgments

Xiaoyin Tang, Bingwei Lu and Min Ding collected the data of the patients, designed the pipeline of the analysis and drafted the manuscript. Bo Zhai and Ping Li conceived and coordinated the overall study and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript

Funding

This study was not supported by any funding.

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Author notes

  1. Tang Xiaoyin, Lu Bingwei and Ding Min contributed equally to this study. They collected the data of the patients, designed the pipeline of the analysis, and drafted the manuscript. Considering the contribution of these three authors, we request these three authors to share the authorship of this manuscript.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Tumor Interventional Oncology, School of Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, 160 Pujian Road, Shanghai, 200127, China

    Tang Xiaoyin, Ding Min, Lin Yan, Li Ping & Zhai Bo

  2. Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, 160 Pujian Road, Shanghai, 200127, China

    Lu Bingwei

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  1. Tang Xiaoyin
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Correspondence to Li Ping or Zhai Bo.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Xiaoyin, T., Bingwei, L., Min, D. et al. Preliminary Results of Utrasound-Guided Percutaneous Radiofrequency Ablation in the Treatment of Refractory Non-nodular Hyperthyroidism. Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol 46, 1015–1022 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00270-023-03401-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00270-023-03401-5

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