Sonoelastography in differentiating benign and malignant thyroid nodules: A histopathological correlation

TL;DR

This study shows that sonoelastography can help tell the difference between benign and malignant thyroid nodules, potentially reducing the need for biopsies.

Contribution

The study introduces a new cutoff value for ARFI imaging to improve thyroid nodule classification accuracy.

Findings

Malignant thyroid nodules had significantly higher ARFI values than benign ones.

Using a 2.8 m/s cutoff, ARFI achieved high sensitivity and specificity in differentiating nodules.

Combining ARFI with conventional ultrasound improved diagnostic accuracy.

Abstract

Thyroid nodules are common and distinguishing benign from malignant ones is essential for optimal management. This cross-sectional
study of 120 patients assessed Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) imaging in differentiating thyroid nodules, correlating results
with histopathology. Malignant nodules showed higher mean ARFI values (3.59 ± 0.7 m/s) than benign ones (1.98 ± 0.31 m/s).
With a 2.8 m/s cutoff, ARFI achieved 92.6% sensitivity and 92.9% specificity. Combining ARFI with conventional ultrasound improved
diagnostic accuracy, highlighting its potential to reduce unnecessary biopsies.