Accuracy of shear wave elastography in characterization of thyroid nodules in children and adolescents

Insights into Imaging

Ahmed Gaber Hassanein¹  Abdulrahim A. Alabdulsalam²  Mohamed Yasser Ibrahim Daoud³  Ibrahim Khalid Al Jabr³  Mohammed Qasem AlAlwan⁴  Mohammed Hazem⁵  Ossama M. Zakaria⁶  Abdulwahab A. AlYahya⁷  Nahla Mohamed Ali Hasan⁸ 

[1] Albaha University Medical Center, Albaha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;Maxillofacial Surgery Unit, Surgery Department, Sohag Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt;Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al Ahsa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, P.O. Box: 400, 31982, Al-Ahsa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, P.O. Box: 400, 31982, Al-Ahsa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;Department of Radiology, King Fahd Hospital Hofuf, Al Ahsa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, P.O. Box: 400, 31982, Al-Ahsa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;Department of Radiology, Sohag Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt;Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, P.O. Box: 400, 31982, Al-Ahsa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;Department of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt;Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, P.O. Box: 400, 31982, Al-Ahsa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;Radiology Department, Polyclinic Center, King Faisal University, P.O. Box: 400, 31982, Al-Ahsa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;Sohag University Hospital, Sohag, Egypt;Department of Radiology, Sohag Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt;

关键词: Ultrasound;    Shear wave elastography;    Thyroid nodules;    Children and adolescents;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13244-021-01074-7

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThyroid nodules are an important health problem in children and adolescents. They possess a higher risk of malignancy in comparison to adults. This fact forms a great dilemma for clinicians. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability of shear wave elastography (SWE) as a non-invasive technique in the characterization of thyroid nodules in children and adolescents.MethodsThis prospective study included 56 patients with thyroid nodules. All the patients underwent clinical assessment, laboratory investigations, ultrasound, and Doppler examination, followed by an SWE assessment. Statistical analysis was performed and the best cut-off value to differentiate benign from malignant nodules was determined using the ROC curve and AUC.ResultsSeventy-two nodules were detected in the examined patients (ages ranged from 11 to 19 years, with mean age of 14.89 ± 2.3 years). Fifty-eight nodules (80.6%) were benign, and fourteen nodules (19.4%) were malignant (histopathologically proved). Highly suspicious criteria for prediction of malignancy by ultrasound and Doppler were hypoechoic echopattern, internal or internal and peripheral vascularity, microcalcifications, taller-than-wide dimensions, irregular outlines, and absence of halo (p < 0.05). The diagnostic performance for their summation was 70.69% sensitivity, 82.8% specificity, 80.45% accuracy, a 63.79% positive predictive value (PPV), and 87.9% negative predictive values (NPV). Regarding SWE, our results showed that 42.2 kPa was the best cut-off value, with AUC = 0.921 to differentiate malignant from benign nodules; the diagnostic performance was 85.71% sensitivity, 94.83% specificity, 93.06% accuracy, 76.9% PPV, and 93.2% NPV.ConclusionShear wave elastography is a non-invasive technique that can assist in the diagnosis of malignant thyroid nodules among children and adolescents.

【 授权许可】

CC BY