Thyroid nodules is a very common disease, especially in middle-aged women.
thyroid nodules are important?
If the thyroid gland is an nodule two centimeters, then the nodule is already quite large. If the nodules of the thyroid gland grow inward, there will be symptoms of compression. If they grow outward, there will be a very obvious bag.
If this nodule is benign, there will be no compression symptoms when it grows outward. If you don’t care about whether it looks good or not, you can ignore it. But if the nodule grows inward and is very pressed, it needs surgery to make it happen.
So, is this nodule benign and malignant? Is there any harm? We need to observe some other descriptions of B-ultrasound. For example, whether there are burrs, whether the boundaries are clear, and whether there are calcifications can all be a comprehensive factor.
If you want to know clearly about this two-centimeter nodule, you should go to the hospital for diagnosis.
What kind of thyroid nodules that may be malignant? Beware of 5 situations!
After discovering thyroid nodules, you should go to an endocrinologist for treatment. Detailed medical history inquiries can help determine the nature of the nodules.
- Nodules with symptoms of hyperthyroidism may be hyperfunctional adenoma, or subacute thyroiditis in and Hashimoto thyroiditis in early stages.
- nodules with hypothyroidism are generally subacute thyroiditis and Hashimoto thyroiditis, or woody goiter.
- Nodules with a history of neck radiation therapy in childhood, or non-goiter-endemic areas, are at high risk of malignancy in children.
- has a high rate of malignancy in nodules with a family history of thyroid cancer .
- The nodules that have existed for many years should be considered when the painlessness increases significantly in the short term.
Most patients with nodules have a normal range of thyroid function and are less likely to be malignant in patients with abnormal thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). The thyroid-specific antibodies TRAb, TPOAb, and TGAb are of significance for the diagnosis of thyroiditis and have no special significance for the differentiation of benign and malignant.
calcitonin and carcinoembryonic antigen will be elevated in medullary thyroid carcinoma. High-resolution ultrasound examination found that the sensitivity of thyroid nodules was high, but the specificity of benign and malignant was not high. How to check
thyroid nodules?
During the physical examination, the doctor's palpation of the neck is the main detection method for thyroid nodules and the easiest and convenient method. However, there are certain limitations in physical examinations, because palpation can only detect larger or superficial nodules, and the doctor's experience will also affect the detection rate of nodules.
If the nodule is deep, or the nodule is smaller and the difference between the texture and glands is not obvious, then palpation alone may miss the diagnosis.
B ultrasound has ideal resolution, and can detect tiny nodules with a diameter of 2mm, improving the sensitivity of thyroid nodules detection. Ultrasound can not only provide important information such as the size, texture, boundary, calcification and blood flow signal , but is also non-invasive, fast, and not expensive. Therefore, it can be used as a basis for diagnosis of nodules, and can also be used to follow up the growth of nodules.
CT and MRI examinations are not better than ultrasound examinations for thyroid nodules, so they are not used as routine and are considered only when the nodules are located behind the sternum, cannot be discovered by transcervical ultrasound, or when it is necessary to understand the relationship between the nodules and surrounding tissues.
Because the thyroid contains iodine, it has a natural contrast advantage with surrounding tissues. Usually, CT scan to obtain clear images. Since iodine-containing contrast agents may have an impact on thyroid function, enhanced scans should be avoided in patients with nodules with abnormal thyroid function and should only be used if necessary. After nodules are found in
, some necessary biochemical examinations should be performed, including the determination of thyroid function, autoantibodies and tumor marker .
isotope scan can also observe the location of goiter and ectopic thyroid gland after the sternum, track the metastasis of thyroid cancer, judge the recurrence of thyroid cancer, and identify whether neck mass is derived from the thyroid gland, or its position relationship with the thyroid gland, which has a certain auxiliary effect on the diagnosis of thyroid nodules.
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