Thyroid nodule parameters influencing performance of ultrasound elastography using intrinsic compression

Min-Hee Kim; Si Luo; Sun Hee Ko; Ja-Seong Bae; Jaechan Lim; Dong-Jun Lim; Yongmin Kim

doi:10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2015.05.002

Thyroid nodule parameters influencing performance of ultrasound elastography using intrinsic compression

Ultrasound Med Biol. 2015 Sep;41(9):2333-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2015.05.002. Epub 2015 Jun 19.

Authors

Min-Hee Kim¹, Si Luo², Sun Hee Ko¹, Ja-Seong Bae³, Jaechan Lim⁴, Dong-Jun Lim⁵, Yongmin Kim⁶

Affiliations

¹ Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic Univeristy of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
² Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
³ Department of Surgery, Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
⁴ Department of Creative IT Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Korea.
⁵ Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic Univeristy of Korea, Seoul, Korea. Electronic address: ldj6026@catholic.ac.kr.
⁶ Department of Creative IT Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Korea; Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.

PMID: 26095532
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2015.05.002

Abstract

The influence of nodule parameters on the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound (US) elastography in differentiating thyroid nodules was evaluated. One hundred seventy-six nodules (83 benign, 93 malignant) from 156 patients were included. Conventional B-mode and elastography examinations were performed. External compression with a transducer was not applied, as the pulsation from the carotid artery was used. Three nodule parameters (size, depth and distance to the carotid artery) were measured. The elasticity contrast index, in which increases with the stiffness of the nodules, was correlated with distance to the carotid artery (correlation coefficient = 0.283 in all nodules and 0.415 in malignant nodules, p < 0.01 in both groups). The diagnostic accuracy of elastography was significantly associated with a nodule's distance to the carotid artery (p < 0.05). No significant correlation was found between the diagnostic accuracy of elastography and the other parameters. Elastography results for nodules close to the carotid artery should be interpreted with caution.

Keywords: Diagnostic accuracy; Elastography; Parameter; Thyroid nodule.

MeSH terms

Elastic Modulus
Elasticity Imaging Techniques / methods*
Female
Humans
Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / methods*
Male
Middle Aged
Palpation / methods*
Pressure
Reproducibility of Results
Sensitivity and Specificity
Shear Strength
Thyroid Nodule / diagnostic imaging*
Thyroid Nodule / physiopathology*