Avoidance of unnecessary fine-needle aspiration with the use of the Thyroid Imaging Reporting Data System classification and strain elastography based on The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology.

Abstract

Thyroid fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy has been widely accepted as an accurate and cost-effective tool in the management of thyroid nodules. To avoid unnecessary FNAs and provide appropriate management, patient evaluation should be based on a multidisciplinary approach. For this purpose, the Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (TI-RADS) and strain elastography (SE) were proposed as tools for the risk assessment of malignancy in thyroid nodules. The aim of the present study was to analyze the utility of TI-RADS system and SE, along with FNA, and prospectively evaluate 369 consecutive patients referred for FNA of a thyroid nodule. TI-RADS was tested against The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology to determine whether there was an agreement between the two classification systems; statistically, some agreement was observed. Medians of the maximum SE values (E-max) were obtained for benign and malignant FNA results and found to be 1.97 [interquartile range (IQR): 1.87] and 2.8 (IQR: 3.42), respectively (P=0.004). The number of studies investigating the utility of TI-RADS and SE along with TBSRCT is currently limited. Our study demonstrated that a multidisciplinary approach with the use of TI-RADS and SE may mildly improve the management of thyroid nodules.