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The impact of the ultrasound classification on the rate of thyroid surgery indications: a 577 cases series

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Abstract

Objectives

Nodules of the thyroid gland are common but rarely malignant. Their management can range from simple monitoring to surgery. The use of ultrasound and fine needle aspiration can reduce the rate of unnecessary surgeries. However, there is a risk of false positives and false negatives of malignancy that only pathology can avoid. The objective of this study is to assess the impact of ultrasound classification on the rate of surgical indications.

Material and methods

Between 2013 and 2017, the ultrasound classification was gradually adopted in our daily practice to become now routine. During this period, we conducted a retrospective study of all the patients who presented to our department for one or more thyroid nodules.

Results

A total of 577 patients were included in the study. We compared two groups, a first where the ultrasound classification was used and a second where this classification was not used. In the end, we found that this classification significantly reduced the surgical indication by 19% while increasing the malignancy detection rate in operated patients by 21%.

Conclusions

The use of ultrasound classification reduces the indications for surgery while increasing the rate of malignancy in operated patients. The generalization of the use of the ultrasound classification score is strongly recommended in daily practice.

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Acknowledgements

We thank our colleagues in medical imaging and pathology departments for their contribution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ENT Department, Avicenna Military Hospital, Marrakech, Morocco

    Youssef Darouassi, Abdelfettah Aljalil, Mohamed Amine Hanine, Youness Chebraoui, Mossaab Tayane, Ilyass Benchafai, Mohamed Elakhiri, Mohamed Mliha Touati & Haddou Ammar

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  1. Youssef Darouassi
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  2. Abdelfettah Aljalil
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  3. Mohamed Amine Hanine
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  4. Youness Chebraoui
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  5. Mossaab Tayane
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  6. Ilyass Benchafai
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  7. Mohamed Elakhiri
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  8. Mohamed Mliha Touati
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  9. Haddou Ammar
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Correspondence to Youssef Darouassi.

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Darouassi, Y., Aljalil, A., Hanine, M.A. et al. The impact of the ultrasound classification on the rate of thyroid surgery indications: a 577 cases series. J Ultrasound 25, 827–830 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40477-022-00655-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40477-022-00655-6

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