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Background: We aimed to compare the diagnostic accuracy of mammography and ultrasonography and their breast imaging-reporting and data system (BI-RADS) classification versus breast core needle biopsy (CNB) findings in distinguishing the breast masses. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted during 2016-2018 on female patients who were referred to a radiology center in Babol, northern Iran, for routine screening and/or for CNB. Patients underwent sonography and mammography by a senior radiologist. The breast lesions were also evaluated according to BI-RADS classification. CNB was performed on the breast masses by the same radiologist and pathological procedures were performed by an expert pathologist. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Results: In total, 213 breast masses were finally assessed, of which 107 (50.2 %) masses were benign and 106 (49.8 %) masses were malignant. The sensitivity for mammography and ultrasound alone was 72.6% and 68.9%, respectively. This rate for combined mammography and ultrasound was 84.9%. About BI-RADS classification, 28 masses were classified as BI-RADS 3, 99 as BI-RADS 4A, 4 as BI-RADS 4B, 18 as BI-RADS 4C, and 64 as BI-RADS 5. BI-RADS 4A had the highest sensitivity (70.1%) among BI-RADS categories. The highest specificity pertained to BI-RADS 3 and 5 (100%) among BI-RADS categories. Also, the highest accuracy was related to BI-RADS 5 (80.3%). Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that combined mammography and ultrasound had a higher rate of accuracy than mammography or ultrasound alone. Furthermore, the imaging methods BI-RADS classification had an acceptable positive predictive value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the association of peripheral calcification, as well as its sonographic features, with thyroid nodule malignancy. Material and methods: This study was prospectively conducted during 2015-2020 on patients diagnosed with thyroid nodule undergoing ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration in Shahid Beheshti teaching hospital or private offices in Babol, northern Iran. The ultrasonographic characteristics of the nodules, as well as the cytological findings, were recorded. Regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between sonographic results and malignancy. We also used receiver operator characteristics (ROC) analysis to estimate the ability of ultrasound to predict the characteristic features of malignancy, as estimated by the area under the curve (AUC). Results: A total of 1857 thyroid nodules were finally included, of which 84 were peripherally calcified nodules. There was a significant positive association between the nodule malignancy and peripheral calcification (OR = 2.23, 95% CI: 1.13-4.35). In the nodules with peripheral calcification, significant positive associations were seen between malignancy and lobulated margin (OR = 3.85, 95% CI: 1.02-14.54) and solid composition (OR = 4.05, 95% CI: 0.99-16.53). The ROC analysis indicated that AUC for lobulated margin and solid composition was 63.8% and 66.5%, respectively, in predicting malignant thyroid nodules. Conclusion: The findings showed that peripheral calcification on sonography can be a potential indicator of malignant thyroid nodules. Also, the presence of lobulated margin and/or solid composition, besides peripheral calcification, can be helpful in better distinguishing malignant from benign nodules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bladder cancer ranks ninth in world-wide cancer incidence and is 2.5-4 times more common in men, and painless gross hematuria is its typical clinical symptom. Cystoscopy is used to evaluate the cause of hematuria in bladder while the use and reliability of ultrasonography is questionable for this purpose. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare abdominal ultrasonography and rigid cystoscopy in the diagnosis of bladder tumors in Babol Shahid Beheshti Hospital. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 60 patients who were candidate for cystoscopy referred to Babol Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Iran in 2017-2018. In this study, rigid cystoscope was used to view the bladder after doing sonography. The numbers, demographic information (age, gender and residence) and clinical characteristics (indication of cystoscopy, history of chronic disease, sonographic and cystoscopic results) of patients were recorded in the checklist. Results: The mean age of patients (37 (61.7%)=males) was 58.65±14.26 (19-85) years and 48 (80%) of them were >50 years old. The sensitivity and specificity of sonography was 71.43 (95% CI: 29.4, 96.33) and 96.23% (95% CI: 87.02, 99.54) in detecting bladder tumors, respectively. The negative predictive and positive predictive values in sonography were 96.23 (95% CI: 88.76, 98.8) and 71.43% (95% CI: 37.25, 91.33) respectively. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that since sonography has high negative predictive values in evaluating hematuria; therefore it can be replaced with rigid cystoscopy for patients with lower risk of malignancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]