Copyright © 2022 The Author(s); Published by Nickan Research Institute. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of
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Immunopathol Persa. 2022;x(x):e31350 Original
Consistency analysis of ultrasound-guided fine-
needle aspiration and histopathology results in
thyroid nodules
Amir Bahrami
1
ID
, Soheila Valizadeh
1
ID
, Nasser Aghamohammadzadeh
1
ID
, Farzad Najafipour
1
ID
, Monireh Halimi
2
ID
, Reza
Javad-Rashid
3
ID
, Javad Jalili
4
ID
, Jalil Houshyar
1*
ID
1
Endocrine Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
2
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
3
Radiology Department, Medical Radiation Sciences Research Group, Imam Reza Hospital, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz,
Iran
4
Radiology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Immunopathologia Persa
http www.immunopathol.com
*Correspondence to
Jalil Houshyar,
Email: hoshyarj2@gmail.com,
houshyar@tbzmed.ac.ir
Received 1 January 2022
Accepted 28 Apr. 2022
Published online 28 May 2022
Keywords: Fine needle
aspiration, Histopathology,
Thyroid nodule, Ultrasound
Introduction: Thyroid nodules are considered as a frequent clinical problem. The great majority of thyroid nodules
are benign; however malignancy probability is predicted to be 5-10%. The inconsistency between ultrasonography
and fine-needle aspiration (FNA) findings is one of important problems in management of thyroid nodules.
Objectives: This study was designed to investigate the consistency of ultrasonography, FNA and histopathology
findings in thyroid nodules.
Patients and Methods: In this descriptive study, 93 patients who were candidate for thyroid surgery were included.
Data on ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration of the thyroid and histopathologic results before and after
surgery were considered. The Cramér’s V and Fisher’s exact tests were conducted for this study.
Results: In patients whose ultrasound (US) results were low-suspicious, we observed a significant correlation
between FNA and pathology results (Cramér’s V = 0.574, P = 0.037). However, relationship between FNA and
pathology was not accessible among patients whose ultrasonography results were intermediate suspicious or
high-suspicious due to insufficient number of samples.
Conclusion: In our study, a significant correlation was observed between FNA and pathology results in low-
suspicious nodules.
Abstract
Citation: Bahrami
A, Valizadeh S,
Aghamohammadzadeh
N, Najafipour F, Halimi
M, Javad-Rashid R,
Jalili J, Houshyar J.
Consistency analysis of
ultrasound-guided fine-
needle aspiration and
histopathology results
in thyroid nodules.
Immunopathol Persa.
2022;x(x):e31350.
DOI:10.34172/
ipp.2022.31350.
Introduction
Thyroid nodules are considered as discrete
lessions in the thyroid gland which may
or may not be palpable and radiology are
distinct from thyroid parenchyma (1). The
frequency of palpable thyroid nodule is
higher among women and older patients in
developing societies and iodine-decreasing
intake (2,3). Based on the epidemiological
data, the frequency of nodules varies in
different discovery methods, 19% to 68%
ultrasonography, 2%-6% (palpation) and
8%–65% (autopsy) (4,5). In recent years, the
diagnosis of thyroid nodules was increased,
which is largely due to more availability and
widespread use of imaging methods such
as ultrasonography to examine patients’
symptoms (6). Although most of the nodules
are benign, the risk of thyroid cancer is
estimated at 7%-15% in all cases. Moreover,
different factors like family history, gender,
age and history of radiation exposure are
Key point
Thyroid nodules are considered as a frequent clinical
problem. The great majority of thyroid nodules are
benign, however malignancy probability is predicted
to be 5%-10%. Around 93 patients who were
candidate for thyroid surgery were studied. Data
on ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration of the
thyroid and histopathologic results before and after
surgery, were evaluated. Based on our findings, when
a nodule is classified in low-suspicious category, a
significant correlation was seen between fine-needle
aspiration and pathology results.
considered the clinical significance for
nodules malignancy (7,8). Since 1966,
thyroid ultrasound (US) has been conducted
to confirm the presence of nodules and
detect thyroid disorders at early stages.
Ultrasonography findings can evaluate the
shape, composition, margin and type of
calcification of nodules (9,10). Nodules that
need to be further examind based on imaging
DOI:10.34172/ipp.2022.31350