Comparative study of superb microvascular imaging and contrast-enhanced ultrasound in differentiating thyroid micronodules / 中华超声影像学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the value of superb microvacular imaging ( SMI) technology in differentiating thyroid microcarcinomas from benign micronodules comparing with contrast‐enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) . Methods A total of 195 thyroid micronodules ( ≤1 .0 cm) from 172 patients were examined using CEUS and SMI ,and the findings were reviewed and evaluated in comparison to the pathological results . Results Of all the 195 thyroid nodules ,pathologic findings revealed that 140 (71 .8% ) were malignant and 55 (28 .2% ) were benign ,CEUS diagnosed that 127 (65 .1% ) were malignant and 68 (34 .9% ) were benign ,and SMI diagnosed that 129 (66 .2% ) were malignant and 66 (33 .8% ) were benign . There were no differences between the SMI and CEUS in terms of sensitivity ( 90 .0% vs 87 .9% ) , specificity ( 94 .5% vs 92 .7% ) ,accuracy ( 91 .3% vs 89 .2% ) ,positive predictive value ( 97 .7% vs 96 .9% ) and negative predictive value ( 92 .9% vs 87 .9% ) ( P > 0 .05 for all) . Conclusions SMI can effectively observe the perforating blood vessels of thyroid micronodules , which plays an important role in differentiating of benign and malignant thyroid micronodules .