Objective: The aim of this study was to develop a simple predictor model to\ndiagnose malignancy by using ultrasound features of thyroid nodules and the\nassociation with cytopathological diagnosis obtained by fine needle aspiration.\nMaterials and Methods: The likelihood of malignancy from ultrasound\nfeatures was assessed in thyroid nodules obtained by fine-needle aspiration\nbiopsy (FNAB) according to cytopathological findings reported using Bethesda\nSystem. A score was developed depending on the presence of each ultrasound\nfeature evaluated. Results: 429 nodules were assessed, 103 (24%)\nwere malignant. The following ultrasound features were associated with malignancy,\naccording to the logistic regression analysis and were assigned a\nscore of 0, +1, +2 depending on the presence or absence of each one: hypoechogenicity,\nsolid appearance, irregular margins, microcalcifications, absence\nof a halo, diameter of greater than or equal to 10 mm and intranodular vascular flow. The area under\nthe curve of the proposed model was 0.900, demonstrating its predictive\ncapacity. 4 risk categories were stablished based on the score obtained. Malignant\nnodules scored higher than the benign nodules (7.24 Â} 1.87 vs. 3.74\nÂ} 1.83). Conclusions: The proposed predictive model demonstrated to be\nuseful and easy to apply when stratifying thyroid nodule risk of malignancy\nusing presented US features and applying the proposed risk categories\nto increase the accuracy at selecting nodules that need to be studied with\nFNA.
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