Conventional ultrasound combined with real-time elastography in diagnosis of thyroid lesions

Objective To explore the value of conventional ultrasound and new evaluated criteria (7 score method) of ultrasound elastography (UE) in the diagnosis of thyroid lesions. Methods Totally 68 patients (115 thyroid nodules) proved by pathology underwent preoperative conventional ultrasound and real-time ultrasound elastography. The features on gray scale,color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI) and elastogram were documented. Results The sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of conventional ultrasound in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules were 80.00%,88.00% and 85.22%. In ultrasound elastography imaging map,benign lesions of 1 to 4 score were more common and malignant lesions of 5 to 7 score were more common. With 5 or more score (including 5 score) as a standard to judge malignant,the sensitivity,specificity and accuracy were 87.50%,100% and 95.65%. There was significant difference in accuracy between conventional ultrasound and ultrasound elastography (P0.05). Conclusion In the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant thyroid lesions,the ultrasound elastography imaging can provide greater help,but still need to combine with conventional ultrasound for diagnosis.