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Thyroid core needle biopsy: patients’ pain and satisfaction compared to fine needle aspiration

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to compare patients’ pain and satisfaction of fine needle aspiration (FNA) and core needle biopsy (CNB) for a thyroid nodule.

Methods

We consecutively enrolled patients with thyroid nodules who underwent ultrasound-guided FNA or CNB in our institution. The patients answered a questionnaire about pain scores during the procedure, immediately after the procedure and 20 min after the procedure, and any complication after the biopsy. Through a phone interview which was conducted 2 weeks after the procedure, a researcher asked the patients about residual pain and overall subjective satisfaction score about the procedures. Patients were also asked to report any complication or complaint after the procedures on the phone interview.

Results

The 167 patients who had undergone thyroid FNA (n = 87) or CNB (n = 80) were included. The pain scores were not significantly different between the two groups during the procedure and after the procedure. Overall satisfaction scores after 2 weeks were not different, either. There was no acute or delayed major complication in both groups.

Conclusions

Differences regarding patients’ pain and satisfaction scores between CNB and FNA were not demonstrated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, SMG-SNU Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea

    Hyo Jin Kim

  2. Department of Radiology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, South Korea

    Yeo Koon Kim & Sang Il Choi

  3. Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, South Korea

    Jae Hoon Moon

  4. Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, South Korea

    June Young Choi

Authors
  1. Hyo Jin Kim
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  2. Yeo Koon Kim
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  3. Jae Hoon Moon
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  4. June Young Choi
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  5. Sang Il Choi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yeo Koon Kim.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical standards

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

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Jin Kim, H., Koon Kim, Y., Hoon Moon, J. et al. Thyroid core needle biopsy: patients’ pain and satisfaction compared to fine needle aspiration. Endocrine 65, 365–370 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-019-01973-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-019-01973-2

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