ABSTRACT
Objective To study the clinical efficacy and safety of microwave ablation (MWA) in the treatment of autonomous functional thyroid nodules(AFTN) . Methods Sixty-seven nodules of 53 AFTN patients who refused or were not suitable for surgical resection and 131I therapy were enrolled in the study . All the nodules were evaluated by ultrasound ,color Doppler flow imaging ( CDFI) and contrast enhanced ultrasound(CEUS) ,and all of them were benign and confirmed by pathology . And then ,percutaneous MWA was performed . Fluid isolation and mobile ablation were used to completely inactivate the nodules ,and CEUS was used to evaluate the efficacy of the treatment . The following items included thyroid hormone level ,nodule volume ,nodular blood supply ,thyroid radionuclide imaging ,conscious symptom ,beauty score and complication . Finally ,the factors influencing the curative effect were analyzed . Results The follow-up period was at least 12 months . Compared with before treatment ,the differences of thyroid hormone level , the volume of nodules ,the nodule blood supply were statistically significant ( P ＜ 0 .01) . The 61 hot nodules" changed to cold or warm nodules" . The differences between the improvement ratio of conscious symptoms and beauty scores were statistically significant( P ＜ 0 .05) . The cure ratio in this study was 81 .13% ,and the incidence of complications was 11 .32% ,and the recurrence ratio was 4 .48% . The nodule volume≥14 .04 ml or in a dangerous position were the main factors affecting the curative effect . Conclusions MWA can inactivate the AFTN in situ ,make it lose the secretory function and reduce the volume of nodules . Therefore ,percutaneous MWA guided by ultrasound and CEUS treatment of AFTN can be regarded as another safe and effective treatment besides surgical resection or 131I therapy .