Utility of routine ultrasonography follow-up after total thyroidectomy in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma: a single-center study

Abstract

Abstract Background This study aimed to assess the appropriate number of sessions and interval of routine follow-up ultrasonography (US) in patients who underwent total thyroidectomy for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Methods Between January 2008 and December 2009, 569 patients underwent total thyroidectomy for PTC. Of the 569 patients, 44 were excluded from the study because of no US follow-up data for the neck (n = 43) or owing to indeterminate tumor recurrence/persistence (n = 1). The follow-up US for all the patients was performed by a single radiologist. Based on the cytohistopathological results, tumor recurrence/persistence was determined. Results In the 525 patients, the mean interval to the last follow-up US was 54.7 months, and the mean number of follow-up US sessions was 4.4. Of the 525 patients, 31 (5.9%) showed nodal (n = 30) and non-nodal (n = 1) tumor recurrence/persistence. Patient age and N stage were independently associated with tumor recurrence/persistence. Among patients showing tumor recurrence/persistence after total thyroidectomy, the time at first detection of suspicious US findings on follow-up US was ≤8 months in 2 patients, between 10 and 23 months in 21, and ≥ 25 months in 8. In a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the number of sessions and interval of the provided follow-up US were inappropriate for the detection of tumor recurrence/persistence. Conclusions For the detection of tumor recurrence/persistence after total thyroidectomy in PTC patients, routine US follow-up with a 1- or 2-year interval may be excessive.

Keywords

• Papillary thyroid carcinoma
• Total thyroidectomy
• Ultrasonography
• Follow-up
• Recurrence
• Surveillance