Ultrasonic scanning of the thyroid gland as a guide to the treatment of the clinically solitary nodule.

This study examines the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonic scanning in the recognition of multinodular goitre in 87 patients referred for examination who were thought by the referring clinician to have a single nodule in the thyroid gland. Twenty-five were found to have multinodular glands, 23 of which were correctly identified by ultrasound. Of those who had truly solitary nodules, ultrasonic scanning enabled us to identify all 23 who had cystic lesions and 35 out of the 39 who had predominantly solid lesions. The clinical significance of these observations in the management of patients with so-called 'single nodules' is discussed.