Thyroid cancer quality of care indicators: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND

Thyroid cancer, the most common endocrine malignancy, has highly variable practice patterns. This scoping review aimed to identify quantitative and qualitative quality of care indicators (QIs) essential for providing optimal care in thyroid cancer management.

METHODS

A comprehensive search across MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, and Web of Science identified QIs defining structures, processes, and outcomes in five care phases: pre-diagnosis, diagnosis, treatment, post-treatment surveillance, and end-of-life care.

RESULTS

Of the 3,143 articles screened, 36 were included, yielding 135 unique QIs. Key diagnostic QIs were the use of a standardized ultrasound reporting system (n ​= ​4), diagnostic fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) (n ​= ​3), and FNA cytology reporting with the Bethesda System (n ​= ​3). Common treatment QIs included thyroidectomy by high-volume surgeons (≥10-32 cases/year) (n ​= ​7), preoperative voice assessment for high-risk patients (n ​= ​4), and recurrent laryngeal nerve monitoring (n ​= ​3). Serum thyroglobulin (Tg) monitoring was the primary post-treatment QI for recurrence (n ​= ​2).

CONCLUSIONS

Developing an evidence-based QI list can identify care gaps, direct targeted interventions, promote care standardization, and improve outcomes for thyroid cancer patients.