Objective: To evaluate the value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in diagnosing thyroid nodules coexisting with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT).
Methods: Totally 62 thyroid nodules in 48 HT patients were retrospectively analyzed. The CEUS characteristics were reviewed, and diagnostic value of enhancement pattern and peak intensity were calculated.
Results: Peak intensity (P=0.002) and enhancement pattern (P<0.001) differed significantly between malignant and benign thyroid nodules. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy of heterogeneous enhancement were 97.6%, 85.7%, 93.0%, 94.7%, and 93.5%, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and accuracy of low intensity at peak time were 85.4%, 52.4%, 77.8%, 64.7%, and 74.2%, respectively.
Conclusions: Heterogeneous enhancement is effective in the diagnosis of malignant thyroid nodules coexisting with HT. CEUS can improve the diagnostic accuracy in distinguishing thyroid nodules with unknown malignancy under the conventional ultrasound.