Table 4.
Diagnostic Performance of Different Parameters Analyzed by Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) Curves Analysis
| Parameters | AUC (95% CI) | Sensitivity (%) | Specificity (%) | Accuracy (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The hardest color | 0.791(0.722, 0.859) | 78.8 | 79.3 | 78.9 |
| The main color | 0.810(0.745, 0.875) | 79.3 | 82.8 | 80.1 |
| The stiff rim | 0.664(0.591, 0.736) | 44.8 | 87.9 | 54.4 |
| Internal color homogeneity | 0.724(0.646, 0.803) | 79.3 | 65.5 | 76.2 |
| Color homogeneity with surrounding glands | 0.730(0.651, 0.810) | 82.3 | 63.8 | 78.2 |
| SWE color score ≥3 | 0.828(0.764, 0.891) | 82.8 | 82.8 | 83.1 |
| Conventional Ultrasonography | 0.796(0.723, 0.868) | 86.7 | 72.4 | 83.5 |
| Combined conventional Ultrasonography with SWE color scores | 0.820(0.753, 0.887) | 85.2 | 81.0 | 84.3 |
Notes: The hardest color, colors of maximum hardness inside a nodule; The main color, color that filled the entire nodule or was predominant in the nodule; The stiff rim, a high-hardness area with an annular or semi-cyclic distribution at the edge of a nodule; Internal color homogeneity, homogeneity refers to only one color appeared in a nodule while inhomogeneity refers to two or more than two colors in a nodule; Color homogeneity with surrounding glands, homogeneity refers to that the color in nodule was consistent with its surrounding glands, while inhomogeneity refers to that the color in nodule was inconsistent with its surrounding glands, showing a clear edge to separate the nodule from its surrounding glands. AUC, area under ROC curve.