Table IV.
Comparison of the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and accuracy of CEUS alone, RTE alone and combination of CEUS + RTE in the differential diagnosis of malignant and benign thyroid nodules.
| Pathological results | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detection | Malignant (n=66) | Benign (n=43) | Sensitivity | Specificity | PPV | NPV | Accuracy |
| CEUS | 81.82% | 90.70% | 93.10% | 90.70% | 85.32% | ||
| Malignant | 54 | 4 | |||||
| Benign | 12 | 39 | |||||
| RTE | 80.30% | 88.37% | 91.38% | 88.37% | 83.49% | ||
| Malignant | 53 | 5 | |||||
| Benign | 13 | 38 | |||||
| CEUS + RTE | 95.45%a,b | 95.35%a,b | 96.92% | 95.35% | 95.41% a,b | ||
| Positive (all/any) | 63 | 2 | |||||
| Negative (all) | 3 | 41 | |||||
a
P<0.05, vs. CEUS
b
P<0.05, vs. RTE. CEUS, contrast-enhanced ultrasound; RTE, real-time elastography; PPV, positive predictive value; NPV, negative predictive value.