Contrast enhanced ultrasound at first month: A feasible predictor for retreatment after benign thyroid nodule thermal ablation.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the clinical values of contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) at the first follow-up for predicting retreatment in benign thyroid nodules (BTNs) after thermal ablation (TA).

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

A total of 176 BTNs from 155 patients who underwent TA with a median follow-up period of 32.5 months (range 7 to 83 months) were enrolled in this study. Initial ablation ratio (IAR) and CEUS base IAR (CIAR) was calculated by conventional US and CEUS at 1-month after TA. The predicting performances for retreatment of quantitative and qualitative CEUS at 1-month after TA were analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis.

RESULTS

The median final volume reduction rate (VRR) of all nodules was 96.9% (range 31.4% to 100%). The areas under curves (AUCs) of quantitative and qualitative CEUS at 1-month for nodular retreatment were 0.986 and 0.981. Correspondingly, the sensitivity, negative predictive value (NPV) and negative likelihood ratio (LR) were 100%, 100% and 0 for both quantitative and qualitative CEUS.

CONCLUSION

CEUS at 1-month is a feasible predictor for nodular retreatment after BTNs TA. According to our results, CEUS is recommended as routine at the first follow-up for BTNs underwent TA.