Table 2.
Patients’ demographics features and clinicopathological characteristics.
| Variable | Number of patients | % |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | 1339 | |
| Age (mean ± SD, years) | 45.7 ± 11.2 | |
| Groups (<55 years vs ≥55 years) | 1016/323 | 75.9/24.1 |
| Gender (m/f) | 289/1050 | 21.6/78.4 |
| BMI (≤25 vs >25 Kg/m2) | 377/962 | 28.2/71.8 |
| Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (yes/no) | 233/1106 | 17.4/82.6 |
| Graves’ disease (yes/no) | 13/1326 | 1.0/99.0 |
| Nodular goiters (yes/no) | 421/918 | 31.4/68.6 |
| Basic disease (yes/no) | 133/1206 | 10.0/90.0 |
| Malignant tumor history | 13/1326 | 1.0/99.0 |
| Laterality (left/right/both sites) | 519/606/214 | 38.8/45.2/16.0 |
| TSH level (mIU/L, mean ± SD) | 2.9 ± 1.5 | — |
| Free-T3 level (pmol/L, mean ± SD) | 4.1 ± 1.6 | — |
| Free-T4 level (pmol/L, mean ± SD) | 16.2 ± 5.4 | — |
| Tumor size (≤10 mm vs >10 mm) | 941/398 | 70.3/29.7 |
| Multifocality (yes/no) | 177/1162 | 13.2/86.8 |
| Bilaterality (yes/no) | 214/1125 | 16.0/84.0 |
| Extrathyroid extension (yes/no) | 78/1261 | 5.8/94.2 |
| Number of CLNs removed | 5.8 ± 2.3 | — |
| Number of LLNs harvest | 23.8 ± 10.4 | — |
| Lymph node metastasis (yes/no) | 653/686 | 48.8/51.2 |
SD: standard deviation;
BMI: body-mass index; TSH: Thyroid Stimulating Hormone; Free-T3: free triiodothyroxine; Free-T4:free
tetraiodothyroxine; CLN: central lymph node; LLN: lateral lymph node.