Publication:

Solitary thyroid nodule: an overview of one year study at a tertiary care hospital

Background Thyroid nodules are a common finding in general practice. These nodules are either solitary or multinodular. In the present study thorough evaluation of all the cases presenting with a solitary thyroid nodule (STN) is done. The clear overview of prevalence of STN, associated risk factors, its distribution and its percentage of malignancy, clinic-pathological correlation and findings on ultra-sonogram.

Methods A one year cross sectional study at a tertiary care hospital was done after ethical committee approval. All cases of thyroid with solitary thyroid nodule were included and socio demographic data, clinical examination and USG data was noted. Thyroid hormone profile, FNAC and HPE was performed for every case enrolled and data was noted. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 22.

Results 350 cases were enrolled with 44.42% prevalence and 61.43% were females. Maximum age group was 31-40 years with swelling as the most common sign. 81.14% were euthyroid, 6.3% of cases had lymph node involvement. Micro calcification in 69.7% of nodules and 78.65 were solid. 40.3% of the STN were of colloid on FNAC and 6% were malignant. Malignancy on HPE was 14.6% and papillary carcinoma was the most commonest and follicular least.

Conclusions All cases of STN require a thorough clinical approach supported by ultra-sonogram, FNAC and detailed HPE after surgery for evaluation of benign and malignant lesions. Fine needle aspiration cytology has become an invaluable, minimally invasive and reliable tool in the preoperative assessment of patients with suspicion of malignancy.