Table 4.
Pre-procedural checklist before RFA
| Benign thyroid nodule | Recurrent thyroid cancer |
|---|---|
| Pathologic diagnosis | Pathologic and/or serologic diagnosis |
| Benign diagnosis from at least two rounds of US-guided FNA or CNB | Cancer recurrence on US-guided FNA or CNB |
| Benign diagnosis from at least one round of US-guided FNA or CNB in thyroid nodules with highly specific benign US features or AFTN | Increased washout Tg level in aspirate or Tg immunostaining of CNB specimen |
| Increased washout calcitonin level in aspirate or calcitonin immunostaining of CNB specimen in patients with medullary cancer | |
| US | US |
| Features of the nodule and surrounding critical structures | Features of the nodule and surrounding critical structures |
| Nodule volume | Tumor volume |
| Symptom score | - |
| Cosmetic score | - |
| Laboratory tests | Laboratory tests |
| Complete blood count | Complete blood count |
| Blood coagulation battery | Blood coagulation battery |
| Thyroid function test | Thyroid function test |
| Serum TSH | Serum TSH |
| Serum T3 | Serum T3 |
| Serum fT4 | Serum fT4 |
| CT or MRIa) | CT or MRIa) |
| Technetium 99mTc pertechnetate or 123I thyroid scanb) | - |
RFA, radiofrequency ablation; US, ultrasound; FNA, fine-needle aspiration; CNB, core needle biopsy; Tg, thyroglobulin; AFTN, autonomously functioning thyroid nodule; TSH, thyrotropin; T3, triiodothyronine; fT4, free thyroxine; CT, computed tomography; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging.
a)
Selectively indicated.
b)
Indicated for AFTNs.