The value of TI-RADS combined with superb micro-vascular imagine in distinguishing benign and malignant thyroid nodules: A meta-analysis

Changfu Zhu; Lin Zhong; Mingxin Lin; Congliang Tian; Cong Wang

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0261521

The value of TI-RADS combined with superb micro-vascular imagine in distinguishing benign and malignant thyroid nodules: A meta-analysis

PLoS One. 2022 Jan 18;17(1):e0261521. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261521. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Changfu Zhu¹, Lin Zhong², Mingxin Lin¹, Congliang Tian³, Cong Wang¹

Affiliations

¹ Ultrasound Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
² Pathology Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
³ Pediatrics Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.

Abstract

This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the value of thyroid imaging report and data system (TI-RADS) combined with superb micro-vascular imagine technique(SMI) in distinguishing benign and malignant thyroid nodules. We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Chinese biomedical databases from inception through February 31, 2021. Meta-analysis was conducted using STATA version 14.0 and Meta-Disc version 1.4 softwares. We calculated the summary statistics for sensitivity(Sen), specificity(Spe), and receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve. Six studies that met all inclusion criteria were included in this meta-analysis. A total of 408 thyroid malignant nodules and 496 thyroid benign nodules were assessed. All thyroid nodules were histologically confirmed after SMI. The pooled Sen and Spe of TI-RADS were 0.80(95%CI = 0.71-0.87) and 0.82(95%CI = 0.75-0.87); The pooled Sen and Spe of TI-RADS combined with SMI were 0.88 (95%CI = 0.80-0.91) and 0.89 (95%CI = 0.85-0.92). The areas under the SROC curve of TI-RADS and TI-RADS combined with SMI were 0.8874(SE = 0.0165) and 0.9415(SE = 0.0102), between which there was significant difference(Z = 2.789; SE = 0.0194; p = 0.0053). Our meta-analysis indicates that TI-RADS combined with SMI may have high diagnostic accuracy, and is more effective than single TI-RADS in distinguishing benign and malignant thyroid nodules.

MeSH terms

Thyroid Nodule*

Grants and funding

This study is supported by Liaoning Natural Science Foundation Project (20170540256). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.