Contrast-enhanced ultrasound in diagnosis of solitary thyroid nodule

Objective To study the enhanced patterns of solitary thyroid nodule with real-time contrast-enhanced ultrasound and assess its value in differentiating between malignant and benign thyroid nodules.Methods Seventy-eight patients with solitary thyroid nodule(37 malignant,41 benign)underwent real-time contrast-enhanced ultrasound.The patterns of their enhancement were assessed from six aspects:Degree of enhancement,process of enhancement,homogeneity of enhancement,completeness of enhancement,boundary of the enhanced lesions,shape of the enhanced lesions.Results Contrast-enhanced patterns were significantly different between benign and malignant thyroid nodules(all P0.05),except for process of enhancement.The shape of most malignant lesions was irregular(94.59%),the boundary was unclear(86.49%)and had no significantly enhanced(78.38%).Most malignant lesions were inhomogeneously(78.38%)and incompletely enhanced(70.27%).Conclusion The patterns of real-time contrast-enhanced ultrasonography are significantly different between benign and malignant thyroid nodules,and have important clinical value.