Open AccessUltrasound-guided fine needle aspiration cytology and ultrasound examination of thyroid nodules in the UAE: A comparison
Author(s) -
Suhail AlSalam,
Charu Sharma,
Maysam T. Abu Sa’a,
Bachar Afandi,
Khaled M. Aldahmani,
Alia Al Dhaheri,
Hayat Yahya,
Duha Al Naqbi,
Esraa Al Zuraiqi,
Baraa Kamal Mohamed,
Shamsa Ahmed Almansoori,
Meera Al Zaabi,
Aysha Al Derei,
Amal Al Shamsi,
Juma Al Kaabi
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0247807
Subject(s) - thyroid nodules , medicine , malignancy , cytopathology , bethesda system , thyroid , fine needle aspiration , radiology , histopathology , cytology , nodule (geology) , pathology , biopsy , paleontology , biology
Background Thyroid nodules are a common clinical finding and most are benign, however, 5–15% can be malignant. There is limited regional data describing the accuracy of ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytological examination compared to ultrasound examination of thyroid in patients who have undergone thyroid surgery. Methods A retrospective analysis of ultrasonographic (US) reports, FNA cytology reports and histopathology reports of 161 thyroid nodules presented at the endocrine center at Tawam hospital in Al Ain city, the United Arab Emirates during the period 2011–2019 was performed. US reports and images with FNA cytopathology reports and slides were reviewed by an independent radiologist and pathologist. Results In total, 40 nodules were reported as benign by US examination, while very low suspicious, low suspicious, intermediate suspicious and highly suspicious categories were reported in 21, 41, 14 and 45 nodules respectively. In addition, 68 nodules were reported as benign (Bethesda category II), while atypical follicular cells of unknown significance (Bethesda category III), follicular neoplasm (Bethesda category IV), suspicious for malignancy (Bethesda category V), and malignant (Bethesda category VI) categories were reported in 33, 9, 24 and 27 nodules respectively. The risk of malignancy for US benign nodules was 5%, while the risks of malignancy in very low suspicious, low suspicious, intermediate suspicious and highly suspicious nodules were 52%, 36%, 100% and 87%, respectively. The risk of malignancy for Bethesda category II was 3%, while the risks of malignancy in category III, IV, V and VI were 58%, 67%, 96% and 100%, respectively. Conclusion Thyroid FNA cytological examination and ultrasonography are key tools in predicting malignancy in thyroid nodules. Thyroid nodules with the diagnosis of Bethesda category III & IV run a high risk of malignancy thus more vigilance is required.