ABSTRACT
Thyroid nodules are a very common problem in clinical practice. The most widely used method for the diagnosis of thyroid nodules is palpation. However, it is not possible to diagnose thyroid nodules using palpation in the majority of cases. But ultrasonography is more sensitive in detecting thyroid nodules. In this study, we aimed to compare the diagnosis of patients obtained with physical examination or ultrasonography in order to evaluate the change in diagnosis of patients after ultrasonography. 907 patients (74 5 females, 162 males; age: 40.9±11.7 years) were included in the study. Physical examination (palpation ) findings and ultrasonography results of patients were analyzed and compared. Of the 261 patients evaluated as having diffuse goiter with palpation, 237 (90.8%) patients had nodules in ultrasonography. In addition, of 460 patients who had single nodules, 258 (56.0%) had more than one nodule with ultrasonography. It was determined that, out of 907 patients, diagnosis of 553 (60.9%) patients changed in our study. In conclusion, the results of our study necessitate the use of ultrasonography as a complementary method to physical examination in the diagnosis of thyroid diseases , especially thyroid nodules.
Thyroid nodules are a very common problem in clinical practice. The most widely used method for the diagnosis of thyroid nodules is palpation. However, it is not possible to diagnose thyroid nodules using palpation in the majority of cases. But ultrasonography is more sensitive in detecting thyroid nodules. In this study, we aimed to compare the diagnosis of patients obtained with physical examination or ultrasonography in order to evaluate the change in diagnosis of patients after ultrasonography. 907 patients (74 5 females, 162 males; age: 40.9±11.7 years) were included in the study. Physical examination (palpation ) findings and ultrasonography results of patients were analyzed and compared. Of the 261 patients evaluated as having diffuse goiter with palpation, 237 (90.8%) patients had nodules in ultrasonography. In addition, of 460 patients who had single nodules, 258 (56.0%) had more than one nodule with ultrasonography. It was determined that, out of 907 patients, diagnosis of 553 (60.9%) patients changed in our study. In conclusion, the results of our study necessitate the use of ultrasonography as a complementary method to physical examination in the diagnosis of thyroid diseases , especially thyroid nodules.