Table 1.
Basic patients’ characteristics and conventional ultrasound features of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC).
| Indicators | Total PTCs with CLNM (n = 405) | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes (n = 138) | No (n = 267) | ||
| Mean age | 43.0 ± 1.09 | 47.7 ± 0.73 | 0.14 |
| Age range | 18–81 | 23–78 | |
| Gender | 0.025 | ||
| Male | 47 (34.1%) | 62 (23.2%) | |
| Female | 91 (65.9%) | 205 (76.8%) | |
| Size | 0.001 | ||
| <10 mm and ⩾5 mm | 66 (47.8%) | 175 (65.5%) | |
| <20 mm and ⩾10 mm | 55 (39.9%) | 80 (30.0%) | |
| ⩾20 mm | 17 (12.3%) | 12 (4.5%) | |
| Location | 0.155 | ||
| Left | 69 (50.0%) | 124 (46.4%) | |
| Right | 66 (47.8%) | 142 (53.2%) | |
| Isthmus | 3 (2.2%) | 1 (0.4%) | |
| Lymph-vascular/neural invasion | 0.096 | ||
| Yes | 6 (4.3%) | 4 (1.5%) | |
| No | 132 (95.7%) | 263 (98.5%) | |
| Shape | 0.674 | ||
| Regular | 83 (60.1%) | 161 (60.3%) | |
| Irregular | 55 (39.9%) | 106 (39.7%) | |
| Margin | 0.855 | ||
| Well defined | 44 (31.9%) | 109 (40.8%) | |
| Poorly defined | 94 (68.1%) | 158 (59.2%) | |
| Echogenicity | 0.453 | ||
| Hypoechoic | 128 (92.8%) | 255 (95.5%) | |
| Isoechoic | 6 (4.3%) | 6 (2.4%) | |
| Hyperechoic | 4 (2.9%) | 6 (2.4%) | 0.021 |
| Taller than wide | |||
| Yes | 83 (60.1%) | 128 (47.9%) | |
| No | 55 (39.9%) | 139 (52.1%) | 0.284 |
| Calcification | |||
| Microcalcification | 60 (43.5%) | 100 (37.5%) | |
| No calcification | 78 (56.5%) | 167 (62.5%) | 0.182 |
| CDFI patterns | |||
| Type I | 51 (37.0%) | 111 (41.6%) | |
| Type II | 77 (55.8%) | 147 (55.1%) | |
| Type III | 10 (7.2%) | 9 (3.3%) | 0.196 |
| Earlier arrival on CEUS | |||
| Earlier | 6 (4.3%) | 5 (1.9%) | |
| Meantime | 132 (95.6%) | 262 (98.1%) | 0.000 |
| Peak intensity on CEUS | |||
| Hypoechoic enhancement | 59 (42.8%) | 221 (82.8%) | |
| Isoechoic enhancement | 66 (47.8%) | 39 (14.6%) | |
| Hyperechoic enhancement | 13 (9.4%) | 7 (2.6%) | |
| Homogeneity on CEUS | 0.003 | ||
| Heterogeneous | 33 (23.9%) | 32 (11.9%) | |
| Homogeneous | 105 (76.1%) | 235 (88.1%) | |
| CEUS enhancement pattern | 0.608 | ||
| Centripetal | 2 (1.4%) | 2 (0.7%) | |
| Entire | 136 (98.6%) | 265 (99.3%) | |
CDFI, Color Doppler flow imaging; CEUS, contrast-enhanced ultrasound; CLNM, cervical lymph node metastasis; PTC, papillary thyroid carcinoma.