• Laila Qadan, Adel Ahmed, and Kusum Kapila.
• Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Jabriya, Kuwait, laila@hsc.edu.kw.
• Med Princ Pract. 2019 Jan 1; 28 (3): 280-283.

ObjectiveThyroid ultrasound plays a major role in the clinical management of patients with thyroid nodules. Comprehensive reporting enables malignant risk stratification and biopsy decisions. In this study, we aimed at a systematic evaluation of the content and completeness of thyroid radiology reports.MethodsA retrospective study was undertaken. A total of 200 thyroid ultrasound reports of examinations performed over a 1-year period were reviewed. After excluding 18 reports, the remaining 182 were evaluated for the inclusion of the following nodule characteristics: size, 3-axis dimensions, location, presence or absence of five signs suspicious of malignancy, namely microcalcification, hypoechogenecity, irregular margin, height-to-width ratio, and intranodular vascularity.ResultsWhile all reported nodules could be stratified easily as being more or less than 1 cm in size, only 23.6% of these nodules were reported in 3 dimensions, and 33.5% of the nodules were specifically localized. For any described nodule, the frequency of reporting on echogenicity was 50%, on vascularity 19.2%, on margin 10.4%, on calcifications 9.3%, and no report contained a description of the height-to-width ratio. The cumulative frequency of reporting on one characteristic per nodule was 84%, of two characteristics 27%, three characteristics 4.4%, and no report included ≥4 characteristics per nodule.ConclusionDespite easily accessible templates, reporting of thyroid nodule sonogram continues to be incomplete and inconsistent. This in turn constitutes a waste of a significant tool that could otherwise help in making timely informed medical decisions and in providing a significant platform for patients' future follow-up.© 2019 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

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