Long-term assessment of a multidisciplinary approach to thyroid nodule diagnostic evaluation

The diagnostic evaluation of patients with thyroid nodules is imprecise. Despite the benefits of fine-needle aspiration (FNA), most patients who are referred for surgery because of abnormal cytology prove to have benign disease. Recent technologic and procedural advances suggest that this shortcoming can be mitigated, although few data confirm this benefit in unselected patients.

A total of 2587 sequential patients were evaluated by thyroid ultrasound and were offered ultrasound-guided FNA (UG-FNA) of all thyroid nodules that measured > or =1 cm during a 10-year period. Results of aspiration cytology were correlated with histologic findings. The prevalence of thyroid cancer in all patients and in those who underwent surgery was determined. Surgical risk was calculated.