Singer P A
University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles, USA.
Otolaryngol Clin North Am. 1996 Aug;29(4):577-91.
Thyroid nodular disease is very common in the United States, with palpable nodules occurring in approximately 5% of adults, especially in women. Because of the possibility of a single nodule being cancerous (albeit only approximately 5%), a thorough clinical evaluation, including a detailed history and physical exam, must be undertaken. Fine needle aspiration biopsy is the cornerstone of the laboratory evaluation of thyroid nodules, and its use in recent years has resulted in a significant decrease in the number of thyroid surgeries being performed, while increasing the yield of malignant lesions of patients who have undergone operation. The utility of levothyroxine suppression in patients with benign thyroid nodules continues to be controversial.
甲状腺结节疾病在美国非常常见，约5%的成年人可触及结节，女性尤为多见。由于单个结节有可能是癌性的（尽管概率仅约为5%），因此必须进行全面的临床评估，包括详细的病史和体格检查。细针穿刺活检是甲状腺结节实验室评估的基石，近年来其应用使得甲状腺手术的数量显著减少，同时提高了接受手术患者恶性病变的检出率。左甲状腺素抑制疗法在良性甲状腺结节患者中的效用仍存在争议。
