Clinical value and impact factors of virtual touch tissue quantification techniques in evaluating benign and malignant thyroid nodules / 中华超声影像学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the value of virtual touch tissue quantification (VTQ) elastography and its influencing factors in identifying benign and malignant thyroid nodules.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted in 210 cases of 240 thyroid nodules.Their images,including 2D ultrasound,color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI) and VTQ elastography,were reviewed,and the scanning view,the maximum diameter of the nodule,inside blood flow,calcifications and its depth beneath the skin were recorded.The value of shear wave velocity(SWV) in identifying benign and malignant thyroid nodules was calculated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.The influences of the maximum diameter of the nodules,calcifications,internal blood flow,the depth beneath skin and scanning views as well as type of pathology on the value of SWV were analyzed using multiple linear regressions (MLR).Results The sensitivity and specificity of VTQ in differential diagnosis of benign and malignant thyroid nodules was 74.8％ and 73.4％,respectively,and the area under ROC curve was 0.799.MLR indicated that the maximum diameter of the nodule,the type of pathology and internal blood flow were correlated with the SWV value (P ＜0.05),of which,the type of pathology was the important factor (standardized coefficient was-0.312).Microcalcifications,the depth of the nodules located and the scanning surface were not significantly related to SWV value (P ＞0.05).Conclusions VTQ can quantitatively provide the information on the hardness of thyroid tissue,which is of a definite value in the differential diagnosis of the nodules.The pathology of the nodule,its internal blood flow and maximum diameter are the factors that affect the value of SWV,and not its depth,scanning views and microcalcifications.