Abstract

Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography for differentiating malignant and benign thyroid nodulestaking fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) as a gold standard.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study

Place and Duration: Conducted at Radiology department ofHayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar for duration of six months from 1st February 2020 to 31st July 2020.

Methods: One hundred and eighteen patients of either gender clinically diagnosed to have thyroid nodules with ages 20 to 70 years were enrolled. After taking written consent, detailed demographics including age, sex, BMI and family history were recorded. Ultrasonography was performed and findings were recorded. FNAC was taken as gold standard. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound were examined. Data was analyzed by SPSS 27.0.

Results: There were 33 (27.97%) males while 85 (72.03%) were females. Mean age of patients was 40.33±10.65 years. By ultrasonography 30 (25.42%) patients had malignant and 88 (74.58%) had benign thyroid nodules. By FNAC 33 (27.96%) patients had malignant and 85 (72.03%) had benign nodules. The sensitivity and specificity of ultrasonography was 90.91% and 100%. PPV was 100%, NPV was 96.59% and diagnostic accuracy was 97.46%.

Conclusion: Ultrasonography is very useful diagnostic tool for diagnosing malignant thyroid nodules with high diagnostic accuracy rate.

Keywords: Thyroid Nodules, Ultrasound, FNAC, Accuracy