BMC Medical Imaging (May 2022)

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound improves the potency of fine-needle aspiration in thyroid nodules with high inadequate risk

  • Tinghui Yin,
  • Bowen Zheng,
  • Yufan Lian,
  • Haifeng Li,
  • Lei Tan,
  • Shicheng Xu,
  • Yong Liu,
  • Tao Wu,
  • Jie Ren

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12880-022-00805-6
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 22, no. 1
pp. 1 – 9

Abstract

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Abstract Background This study aims to determine the clinical value of contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) for fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of high inadequate risky thyroid nodules. Methods During April 2018 and April 2021, consecutive 3748 thyroid nodules underwent FNA were retrospectively analyzed. CEUS guided FNA (CEUS-FNA) was applied in 115 nodules with high inadequate risk in Lingnan Campus. Ten nodules underwent CEUS-FNA presented non-enhancing, and would be further analyzed independently. Other 105 partial or total enhancing nodules were included as CEUS-FNA group, and 210 nodules with high inadequate risk in Tianhe Campus were match as the US-FNA control group. FNA specimens were collected for liquid-based preparation. Cytological results were classified following the Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology. Results The overall FNA specimen inadequate rate in our center was 6.6%. All of the ten non-enhancing nodules under CEUS have an inadequate result in cytopathological analyzes. The subsequent postoperative pathology and follow-up ultrasonography showed the non-enhancing nodules were benign or stable without further malignant features. Total specimen inadequate rate of high inadequate risk thyroid nodules in CEUS-FNA group was significantly lower than US-FNA group (6.7% vs. 16.7%, P = 0.014). Further stratified analyzed shown that FNA under US guidance, the inadequate rates in cystic, predominantly cystic, predominantly solid and solid sub-groups were 28.1%, 17.1%, 10.0% and 9.2% (P = 0.019). In contrast, the inadequate rates in cystic, predominantly cystic, predominantly solid and solid sub-groups were 7.4%, 6.7%, 5.6% and 6.7% (P = 0.996) in CEUS-FNA group. Conclusions CEUS can improve the specimen adequacy of FNA in high inadequate risk thyroid nodules by avoiding unnecessary FNAs of the non-enhancing nodules, and accurately locating the viable tissue and precise guidance in real-time. CEUS is a recommend modality for FNA guidance of high inadequate risk thyroid nodules.

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