Value of ultrasonography in diagnosis of nodules in patients with chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis

Abstract

Objective To assess the value of ultrasonography in the diagnosis of nodules in patients with chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis (CLT). Methods We collected the data for patients with thyroid nodules at the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from January 2015 to December 2017. A total of 398 thyroid nodules from 398 patients which were pathologically confirmed were included in this retrospective study. Gray-scale ultrasound and color Doppler images of these thyroid nodules were analyzed. According to the postoperative pathological findings, these cases were divided into four groups: benign nodules without CLT group (BN), PTC without CLT group (PTC), benign nodules with CLT group (CLT+ BN), and PTC with CLT group (CLT+ PTC). Results The ultrasonographic characteristics of PTC with or without CLT were similar (P>0.05), except the blood flow inside the nodule (P=0.001). Most of the ultrasonic features differed significantly between PTC and benign nodules with CLT, such as long to short dimension ratio, echo, shape, border, microcalcifications, and blood flow signal. Conclusion Conventional ultrasound is useful for the detection of benign or malignant nodules with CLT. CLT has no significant effect on the ultrasonographic diagnosis of PTC. The value of color Doppler blood flow characteristics in the differential diagnosis of nodules is limited. Key words: Ultrasonography; Chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis; Thyroid nodules; Papillary thyroid carcinoma; Differential diagnosis