Evaluation of Solitary Thyroid Nodule at Nuclear Medicine Centre Dinajpur - Our Initial Experience

Nodular enlargement of the thyroid is detectable by palpation in 4% -7% of adult population. Palpable thyroid nodules are more common in iodine deficient geographic areas than in areas of the world with sufficient intake of iodine. Solitary Th yroid nodule is four time more likely to develop in women than men. 85-90% of Thyroid nodules are benign but the presence of a thyroid nodule warrants follow up and further testing for malignancy. Clinical examination, thyroid ultrasonography, scanning and FNAC are the main methods to evaluate solitary thyroid nodule. In a peripheral Nuclear Medicine Centre in northern part of Bangladesh where iodine deficiency is high, 52 solitary thyroid nodule where evaluated in one year. Among them 36 were female, 16 were male (2.3:1). Mean age were 38.10±12.4 SD. In Ultrasound, 31 were solid nodule, 12 were cystic and 1 was mixed. In radio nuclide thyroid scanning cold nodules were 45 (86.54%), hot nodule, were 7 (13.46%). In FNAC 45 cold nodules were evaluated, among them 1 3 were colloids nodule, 10 (19.23%) thyroid cyst, 7 cases were thyroiditis, 5 cases were follicular adenoma and thyroid malignancy were found is 10 (19.23%) Cases of which 6 were papillary carcinoma, 4 were follicular carcinoma. Incidence of malignancy is cold nodule were 22.22% and in solid nodule were 32.25% in our study. Further large scale study should be carried out to evaluate the incidence of malignancy is solitary thyroid nodule.