Intra- and Inter-observer Variation of Thyroid Shear Wave Elastography - a Variability Study

Background: The main goal of diagnosing thyroid nodules is to differentiate the few malignant from the large background of benign lesion. Currently available pre-operative tests are unable to rule out malignancy in a subset of patients and diagnostic surgery is necessary. Therefore there is a need to develope the available diagnostic tools for the pre-operative diagnostic work-up of thyroid nodules.

The study will investigate a novel ultrasonographic technique called Shear Wave Elastography (SWE) in the pre-operative evaluation of thyroid nodules.

Hypothesis:

1. SWE is a precise tool for evaluation of thyroid nodules in terms of inter- and intra-observer reliability and day-to-day variation.

The study will be conducted as part of a larger PhD study, and an evaluation of the diagnostic value of thyroid SWE will be evaluated in a larger study.

Perspectives:

An optimization of the pre-operative risk-stratification and diagnosis of thyroid nodules can reduce unnecessary thyroid surgery, with a reduction in morbidity and better use of the economic and surgical resources.