How to read thyroid ultrasound results

  With the emphasis on health and quality of life, more and more people are opting for regular medical checkups, and now many medical checkups are making thyroid ultrasound a routine item, so how do you view the results of thyroid ultrasound.  Before going into detail, it is important to emphasize that ultrasound is a relatively subjective test, which in layman’s terms means that the accuracy of ultrasound results depends heavily on the judgment and experience of the examining physician.  After finding a swelling or nodule on the thyroid gland, it is important to pay attention to the words used to describe the nodule: 1. Echo: most malignant tumors are solid and hypoechoic internally, but not all hypoechoic ones are malignant. The number of nodules: most of them are multiple, some of them can also be single, and the number is generally not used as an evaluation indicator of malignancy or goodness; 3. On the contrary, those with clear borders and intact surrounding halo tend to be benign; 4.Longitudinal ratio: longitudinal ratio close to 1 is considered as possible malignancy; 5.Calcification: Calcified foci are generally divided into microcalcification, coarse calcification, and marginal calcification (circular calcification). Microcalcifications mostly appear as point-like strong echogenicity, which can be seen in 40%-61% of papillary carcinomas. However, it can also be seen in other benign and malignant lesions. Coarse calcification and marginal calcification are mostly seen in benign; 6. Blood flow: according to the distribution of blood flow inside and around the mass, there are four types: Type I: no internal blood flow; Type II: little internal blood flow; Type III: peripheral blood flow; Type IV: internal linear branching blood flow. Most of the malignant nodules have type III and type IV blood flow distribution. Most benign nodules have no blood flow or less blood flow; 7. Peripheral lymph nodes: If there is cystic attenuation or microcalcifications in the peripheral lymph nodes, suggesting metastasis, it can disprove that the mass on the thyroid is malignant; of course, as can be seen from the above, these indicators are not absolute individually, so the discovery of a thyroid mass should not be overly stressful. You should seek consultation with an experienced ultrasonographer and head and neck surgeon and face it positively!