Table 1. Survey Respondent Characteristics by Diagnostic Preferences.
| Characteristic | Respondentsa | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overdiagnosis (n = 280)b | Appropriate care (n = 159) | Total (N = 439) | ||
| Age, mean (SD), y | 53.0 (9.1) | 54.4 (8.9) | 53.5 (9.1) | .12 |
| Gender | ||||
| Female | 56 (20.4) | 36 (23.2) | 92 (21.5) | .64 |
| Male | 217 (79.2) | 118 (76.1) | 335 (78.1) | |
| Other | 1 (0.4) | 1 (0.6) | 2 (0.5) | |
| Race and ethnicityc | ||||
| American Indian/Alaskan Native | 0 | 0 | 0 | .27 |
| Asian | 40 (14.7) | 18 (12.2) | 58 (13.8) | |
| Black | 4 (1.5) | 2 (1.4) | 6 (1.4) | |
| Hispanic/Latino | 9 (3.3) | 5 (3.4) | 14 (3.3) | |
| White | 211 (77.3) | 111 (75.0) | 322 (76.5) | |
| Otherd | 8 (2.9) | 8 (5.4) | 16 (3.8) | |
| >1 Race or ethnicity | 1 (0.4) | 4 (2.7) | 5 (1.2) | |
| Time in practice, mean (SD), y | 20.1 (9.1) | 21.5 (9.0) | 20.6 (9.1) | .13 |
| Time since training, y | ||||
| 0 to <5 | 12 (4.4) | 6 (3.8) | 18 (4.2) | .16 |
| 5 to <10 | 45 (16.4) | 21 (13.5) | 66 (15.3) | |
| 10 to <20 | 90 (32.8) | 39 (25.0) | 129 (27.9) | |
| ≥20 | 127 (46.4) | 90 (57.7) | 217 (50.4) | |
| Specialty | ||||
| Endocrinology | 93 (33.2) | 46 (28.9) | 139 (31.7) | .26 |
| General surgery | 65 (23.2) | 48 (30.1) | 113 (25.7) | |
| Otolaryngology | 122 (43.6) | 65 (40.9) | 187 (42.6) | |
| Location | ||||
| Northeast | 53 (19.8) | 36 (23.8) | 89 (21.2) | .21 |
| Midwest | 66 (24.6) | 47 (31.1) | 113 (27.0) | |
| South | 101 (37.7) | 48 (31.8) | 149 (35.6) | |
| West | 48 (17.9) | 20 (13.3) | 68 (16.2) | |
| Practice setting | ||||
| Academic tertiary hospital | 38 (13.7) | 24 (15.4) | 62 (14.3) | .46 |
| Academic-affiliated hospital | 32 (11.6) | 11 (7.1) | 43 (9.9) | |
| Community | 57 (20.6) | 36 (23.1) | 93 (21.5) | |
| Private practice | 144 (52.0) | 79 (50.6) | 223 (51.5) | |
| Other | 6 (2.2) | 6 (3.8) | 12 (2.8) | |
| Access to tumor board to discuss patient management | ||||
| Yes | 202 (72.7) | 109 (69.9) | 311 (71.7) | .17 |
| No | 71 (25.5) | 47 (30.1) | 118 (27.2) | |
| Not applicable | 5 (1.8) | 0 | 5 (1.2) | |
| Uses 2015 ATA guidelines | ||||
| Yes | 223 (86.4) | 119 (82.1) | 342 (84.9) | .25 |
| No | 35 (13.6) | 26 (17.9) | 61 (15.1) | |
| Primarily responsible for deciding whether a thyroid nodule needs FNA | ||||
| Myself | 224 (80.0) | 128 (80.5) | 352 (80.2) | >.99 |
| Other | 56 (20.0) | 31 (19.5) | 87 (19.8) | |
| Primarily performs FNA for patients with thyroid nodules | ||||
| Myself | 100 (35.7) | 62 (39.0) | 352 (36.9) | .54 |
| Other | 180 (64.3) | 97 (61.0) | 87 (63.1) | |
Abbreviations: ATA, American Thyroid Association; FNA, fine-needle aspiration.
a
Data are reported as number (percentage) of respondents unless otherwise indicated. Totals in each category may not sum to column total because some respondents omitted responses to survey questions in that category.
b
Defined as recommending fine-needle biopsy for patients outside the 2015 ATA guidelines for nodules less than 1 cm with features concerning for papillary thyroid cancer or nodules less than 1.5 cm without concerning features.
c
Race and ethnicity were self-reported.
d
Other includes Arab American, Indian American, Indian subcontinent, multiracial (identifying as 50% Asian and 50% White), and Pakistani.