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Objectives: To correlate the screening ability of ultrasound-based TIRADS with the FNAC-based Bethesda system when the latter is kept as a gold standard. Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Histopathology department, Rehman Medical Institute, Peshawar 15th June 2022-14th June 2023. A total of 363 patients from any age group of either gender diagnosed with thyroid nodules were included in the trial. All the participants underwent ultrasound followed by ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration of thyroid nodules. TIRADS and Bethesda grading was done for each participant. Demographics and grading scores were recorded. Keeping Bethesda scoring as gold standard diagnostic performance of TIRADS grading was calculated. Results: Mean age of the patients was 46.68 ± 12.28 years with a female-to-male ratio of 2.3:1. TIRADS grading revealed 210 (69.8%) from TIRADS 2 while 70(82.4%), 12(50%), and 09(23.7%) patients were from TIRADS 3, 4 and 5 categories respectively. Bethesda grades were 301(82.9%), 21(5.8%), 09(2.5%), 28(7.7%), and 04(1.1%) from Bethesda 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 categories respectively. The sensitivity of the TIRADS was 93.8%, specificity 89.1%, positive predictive value 45%, negative predictive value 99.3%, and a diagnostic accuracy of 89.5%. Conclusion: TIRADS grading has a high diagnostic ability when Bethesda scoring is kept as the gold standard. It can be used effectively in segregating benign from malignant nodules and is recommended for screening patients presenting with thyroid nodules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bethesda system for reporting thyroid cytopathology (TBSRTC) has attempted to standardize thyroid fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) reporting internationally into six diagnostic categories and help in clinical decision making. But there exists a significant variation in the reporting percentage and rates of malignancies in each category across the centres which complicates clinical decision making. To study the usefulness of TBSRTC in surgical planning of thyroid nodules and to correlate TBSRTC with final histopathology. 85 patients with thyroid nodules who underwent surgery were evaluated prospectively. Preoperatively FNAC and TBSRTC reporting was done and following surgery histopathology was correlated with cytology. Distribution of 85 patients amongst the six categories of TBSRTC was as follows: 2.35% in Category I, 68.23% II, 7.05% III, 16.47% IV, 2.35% V and 3.52% VI. In 93% (79) of patients TBSRTC correlated with histopathology whereas in 7% (6) it did not. Risk of malignancy calculated was 0% in II, 33.33% in III, 7.14% in IV and 100% in V and VI categories. Sensitivity, specificity, Positive Predictive Value and Negative Predictive Value of TBSRTC was 100% for V, VI categories, whereas it was 100%, 78%, 15% and 100% respectively for III, IV. The diagnostic accuracy in our study is 100% for Category V and VI whereas it is 79% for Category III and IV. TBSRTC proved to be a very good screening platform for triaging patients with thyroid nodules into benign and malignant groups, as it is directly related to risk of malignancy in each category. It has helped in appropriate surgical planning in 96.4% of our patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is unequivocally recognized that thyroid nodules are frequently detected in the adult population and mostly characterized by benign lesions (up to 70% of them), with only 5%–15% malignant lesions. The evaluation of thyroid lesions with fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) represents one of the first and most useful diagnostic tools in the definition of their nature. Despite the fact that the majority of thyroid lesions are correctly diagnosed as either benign (70%–75%) or malignant (5%–10%) entities, the remaining nodules (20%–25%) represent the "gray zone" of follicular lesions, which belong to indeterminate categories, according to the different classification systems. This indeterminate group of lesions includes both benign and malignant entities, which cannot be easily discriminate with morphology alone. In these last decades, the increasing role of molecular testings, feasibly performed on cytological material combined with the discoveries of specific genetic alterations in the field of thyroid pathology, has opened the pace to their more accurate and specific contribution on cytology. In fact, in 2015, in the revised management guidelines for patients with thyroid nodules and well-differentiated thyroid cancers (WDTCs), the American Thyroid Association (ATA) confirmed the performance of molecular testing in thyroid indeterminate cytology, and the same performance was addressed in recent update of the management of thyroid nodules in the second edition of the Bethesda system for reporting thyroid cytopathology (TBSRTC). In the current review, we discuss the role of molecular tests for the different thyroid diagnostic categories of the Bethesda system for reporting thyroid cytopathology, mostly focusing our attention on the follicular and indeterminate lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine whether the size of thyroid nodules in ACR-TIRADS ultrasound categories 3 and 4 is correlated with the Bethesda cytopathology classification. Methods: Thyroid nodules (566) subclassified as ACR-TIRADS 3 or 4 were divided into three size categories according to American Thyroid Association guidelines. The frequency of different Bethesda categories in each size range within ACR-TIRADS 3 and 4 classifications was analyzed. Results: Most nodules in both ACR-TIRADS classifications fell in the Bethesda 2 category, regardless of size (90.8% and 68.6%, ACR-TIRADS 3 and 4 respectively). The prevalence of Bethesda 6 nodules in the ACR-TIRADS 4 group was 14 times higher than in the ACR-TIRADS 3 group. There were no significant differences between nodule size and fine needle aspiration biopsy classification in any of the ACR-TIRADS categories. Conclusion: Size does not appear to be an important criterion for indication of fine needle aspiration biopsy in thyroid nodules with a high suspicion of malignancy on ultrasound examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential complimentary role of various molecular imaging modalities [fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT), ultrasound (US)-elastography, and diffusion weighted imaging-magnetic resonance imaging (DWI-MRI)] in characterizing thyroid nodules, which have been designated as "intermediate risk category" on the Bethesda thyroid cytopathology reporting system (BTCRS), is illustrated in this communication. The clinical cases described (category III thyroid nodules on BTCRS) show the imaging features and the final diagnostic impressions rendered by the interpreting physicians with the modalities that have been independently compared in a tabular format at the end; of particular note is the high negative predictive value of these (specifically FDG-PET/CT), which could aid in enhancing the diagnostic confidence in the reported "intermediate risk category" thyroid nodules, a "gray zone" from the patient management viewpoint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]