American Thyroid Association guidelines for evaluation of thyroid nodule: Our experience of patients presenting to AKUH

Abstract

Thyroid nodules are one of the frequently seen presentations in the clinic. Thyroid nodules are present in almost 5% of females and 1% males in iodine-sufficient regions [1]. On the other hand it can incidentally be found in as high as 67% of the patients on ultrasound neck. Among all the thyroid nodules, 5-15% come out to be malignant on final histopathology [1]. Thyroid carcinomas can be divided into Differentiated Thyroid Carcinomas (DTC) and undifferentiated carcinomas. The differentiated thyroid carcinomas include papillary, follicular and hurthle cell carcinomas [1]. Among all the thyroid carcinomas reported, 90% tend to be DTC. The undifferentiated group includes anaplastic thyroid cancers [1,2]. Over last 3 decades, the incidence of thyroid cancer is increasing worldwide [1,3]. An increase of almost 4 folds have been seen between 1988 and 2002 in incidence of papillary thyroid carcinoma [1].