Table 1.
Patient characteristics, ultrasound and fine needle aspiration findings (n = 437).
| Characteristics | Number of patients | Benignn (%) | Malignantn (%) | Statistical significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 105 | 9 (9) | 96 (91) | ns |
| Female | 332 | 31 (9) | 301 (91) | |
| Age | ||||
| <55 | 323 | 25 (8) | 298 (92) | ns |
| ≥55 | 114 | 15 (13) | 99 (87) | |
| Nodule size | ||||
| ≤1 cm | 297 | 20 (7) | 277 (93) | P = 0.011 |
| >1 cm | 140 | 20 (14) | 120 (86) | |
| Internal components | ||||
| Solid | 407 | 33 (8) | 374 (92) | P = 0.005 |
| Mixed | 30 | 7 (23) | 23 (77) | |
| Hypo-echogenicity | ||||
| Yes | 429 | 35 (8) | 394 (92) | <0.001 |
| No | 8 | 5 (63) | 3 (38) | |
| Margins | ||||
| Irregular | 351 | 24 (7) | 327 (93) | P = 0.001 |
| Regular | 86 | 16 (19) | 70 (81) | |
| Calcification | ||||
| Micro | 252 | 17 (7) | 235 (93) | P = 0.042 |
| Macro or no | 185 | 23 (12) | 162 (88) | |
| Aspect ratio | ||||
| >1 | 130 | 6 (5) | 124 (95) | P = 0.032 |
| ≤1 | 307 | 34 (11) | 273 (89) | |
| Elastography (ES) scores | ||||
| 1 | 17 | 4 (24) | 13 (77) | P < 0.001 |
| 2 | 126 | 29 (23) | 97 (77) | |
| 3 | 250 | 7 (3) | 243 (97) | |
| 4 | 44 | 0 | 44 (100) | |
| Benign (1–2) | 143 | 33 (23) | 110 (77) | P < 0.001 |
| Malignant (3–4) | 294 | 7 (2) | 287 (98) | |
| TI-RADS | ||||
| 3 | 1 | 1 (100) | 0 | P < 0.001 |
| 4a | 10 | 6 (60) | 4 (40) | |
| 4b | 33 | 1 (3) | 32 (97) | |
| 4c | 330 | 32 (10) | 298 (90) | |
| 5 | 63 | 0 | 63 (100) | |
| FNA biopsy | ||||
| Benign (1–2) | 67 | 23 (34) | 44 (66) | P < 0.001 |
| Intermediate (3–4) | 62 | 10 (16) | 52 (84) | |
| Malignant (5–6) | 308 | 7 (2%) | 301 (98) | |
Abbreviations: TI-RADS, Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System assessment categories; FNA, fine needle aspiration; ns, not statistically significant.