Ultrasonic elastography and ~(18)F-FDG PET/CT in differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules

Objective: To compare the value of ultrasonic elastography(UE) with 18F-FDG PET/CT in differentiating benign and malignant thyroid nodules.Methods: Eighty-nine patients with 115 lesions in the thyroid were retrospective studied.All the patients underwent UE and 18F-FDG PET/CT.Pathologic outcome was used as the gold diagnosis criterion.The sensitivity,specificity,accuracy of UE in diagnosing thyroid nodules were compared with 18F-FDG PET/CT.Results: Sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of UE were 87.06%,93.05% and 72.4%,and that of 18F-FDG PET/CT were 96.55%,66.28% and 73.91%.The accuracy of UE was higher than 18F-FDG PET/CT in differentiating benign and malignant thyroid nodules(χ2=14.29,P0.05).Conclusion: UE has better diagnostic value than 18F-FDG PET/CT in differentiating benign and malignant thyroid nodules.