Table 1.
Patient Demographic, Clinical, and Pathologic Characteristics on the Basis of Lymph Node Status
| Characteristic | No. of Patients (%) | P* | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Patients (N = 78,724) | Node-Negative (n = 40,071) | Node-Positive (n = 38,653) | ||
| Median age, years (IQR) | 44 (34-54) | 45 (36-55) | 41 (32-53) | < .001 |
| Median LNs examined, No. (IQR) | 4 (1-9) | 2 (1-5) | 7 (3-17) | < .001 |
| T stage | < .001 | |||
| 1 | 30,369 (38.6) | 19,184 (47.9) | 11,185 (28.9) | |
| 2 | 24,322 (30.9) | 13,253 (33.1) | 11,069 (28.6) | |
| 3 | 17,878 (22.7) | 6,319 (15.8) | 11,559 (29.9) | |
| 4 | 6,155 (7.8) | 1,315 (3.3) | 4,840 (12.5) | |
| Race | < .001 | |||
| White | 67,992 (86.4) | 34,754 (86.7) | 33,238 (86) | |
| Black | 3,379 (4.3) | 1,973 (4.9) | 1,406 (3.6) | |
| Other | 5,548 (7) | 2,411 (6) | 3,137 (8.1) | |
| Margins† | < .001 | |||
| Positive | 12,666 (16.1) | 3,810 (9.5) | 8,856 (22.9) | |
| Negative | 61,544 (78.2) | 34,583 (86.3) | 26,961 (69.8) | |
| RAI use | 50,264 (63.8) | 23,348 (58.3) | 26,916 (69.6) | < .001 |
| Facility type | < .001 | |||
| Academic | 36,215 (46) | 17,857 (44.6) | 18,358 (47.5) | |
| Community | 4,504 (5.7) | 2,295 (5.7) | 2,209 (5.7) | |
| Comprehensive | 37,974 (48.2) | 19,912 (49.7) | 18,062 (46.7) | |
| Extrathyroidal extension | 16,745 (21.3) | 4,497 (11.2) | 12,248 (31.7) | < .001 |
| Sex | < .001 | |||
| Female | 59,981 (76.2) | 32,820 (81.9) | 27,161 (70.3) | |
| Male | 18,743 (23.8) | 7,251 (18.1) | 11,492 (29.7) | |
| Facility location | < .001 | |||
| Midwest | 18,329 (23.3) | 9,220 (23) | 9,109 (23.6) | |
| Northeast | 19,648 (25) | 10,863 (27.1) | 8,785 (22.7) | |
| South | 24,319 (30.9) | 12,365 (30.9) | 11,954 (30.9) | |
| West | 16,428 (20.9) | 7,623 (19) | 8,805 (22.8) | |
| Insurance status | < .001 | |||
| Private | 60,643 (77) | 31,317 (78.2) | 29,326 (75.9) | |
| Government | 13,264 (16.8) | 6,719 (16.8) | 6,545 (16.9) | |
| Not insured | 2,490 (3.2) | 1,006 (2.5) | 1,484 (3.8) | |
| Income | < .001 | |||
| < $35,000 | 17,217 (21.9) | 8,508 (21.2) | 8,709 (22.5) | |
| ≥ $35,000 | 58,290 (74) | 29,912 (74.6) | 28,378 (73.4) | |
| Surgery | < .001 | |||
| Total thyroidectomy | 73,006 (92.7) | 36,384 (90.8) | 36,622 (94.7) | |
| Lobectomy | 3,999 (5.1) | 2,966 (7.4) | 1,033 (2.7) | |
| Other surgery | 1,719 (2.2) | 721 (1.8) | 998 (2.6) | |
NOTE. Percentages may not add up to 100% as a result of rounding or missing values.
Abbreviations: IQR, interquartile range; LN, lymph node; RAI, radioactive iodine.
*
χ2 test for categorical variables and t test for continuous variables.
†
Margin status was either missing or could not be assessed in 5.7% of patients.