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Should we use stylet needles for aspiration cytology of thyroid nodules?

Nature Clinical Practice Endocrinology & Metabolism volume 5, pages 84–85 (2009)Cite this article

Since the first report of thyroid-gland ultrasound imaging was published in the late 1960's,1 imaging in this field has undergone a remarkable evolution. Ultranography has developed in parallel with considerable advances in computing, transducer, and display technologies.

The methods of thyroid ultrasound imaging used today hardly resemble those of 50 years ago, such as the cryptic deflections on oscilloscopes produced in A-mode scanning and the barely recognizable B-mode images. Contemporary ultrasound scans have greatly improved clarity and are much easier to interpret than the images provided by those early modalities. Virtually all structural thyroid lesions can be identified on current high-resolution ultrasound images. The increasingly frequent use of advanced ultrasound techniques has enabled clinicians to identify a great number of nonpalpable nodules; as a consequence, the unexpected 'epidemic' of thyroid nodules has raised questions about the correct diagnostic approach to these lesions. Ultrasound characteristics cannot be used to obtain an accurate diagnosis of benign thyroid lesions, even if certain features on the ultrasound scan, such as hypoechoic structure, irregular margins or microcalcifications, suggest that nodules should be considered 'suspicious' for malignancy. Although the use of Doppler-flow analysis might provide improved predictive values when determining the risk of malignancy in a thyroid lesion, no currently available ultrasound technique can be used to determine with an acceptable degree of accuracy whether a nodule is benign.2

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  1. Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Internal Medicine and Endocrinology Unit, University of Brescia, Piazzale Spedali Civili 1, Brescia 25100, Italy cappelli@med.unibs.it

Authors and Affiliations

  1. C Cappelli is Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences at the University of Brescia, Italy.,

    Carlo Cappelli

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  1. Carlo Cappelli
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Cappelli, C. Should we use stylet needles for aspiration cytology of thyroid nodules?. Nat Rev Endocrinol 5, 84–85 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpendmet1037

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