The Logistic Regression Analysis Of Ultrasonographic Features Of Thyroid Nodules

Objective:To study the ultrasonographic features of thyroid nodules and filter out the most significant features.Methods:One hundred thyroid nodules in 63 patients were studied with gray-scale and color Doppler ultrasound before surgery.To analyze the sonographic features,the sensitivity and specificity of ultrasonographic features were then calculated.The most significant features were screened out by Logistic regression analysis.Results:The significant features to differentiate malignant from benign were shape,margin,halo,echo stucture,echo genecity,echo uniformity, microcalcifications, metastatic lymph nodes,Internal bolood and bolood vessel shape .The common ultrasonographic features of Malignant nodules included irregular shape(76.09%), illdefined margins(84.78%),absent halo sign (80.43%),solid(86.96%),hypoechoic texture (89.13%), heterogeneous texture (82.61%),microcalcifications(60.87%), metastatic lymph nodes (58.70%) ,Internal bolood(60.87%),irregular vessel shape (65.22%). The sensitivities and specificities of the ultrasonographic features of malignant nodules of thyroid were irregular shape(76.09% ? 79.63%),illdefined margins(84.78% ? 85.19%),absent halo sign (71.74%?62.96%),solid(86.96%?59.25%),hypoechoic texture (89.13%?59.26%),heterogeneous texture (82.61%?55.55%),microcalcifications(60.87%?92.59%), metastatic lymph nodes (58.70% ? 92.59%) ,Internal bolood(60.87% ?83.34%),irregular vessel shape(65.22%?92.59%).With all the ultrasonographic features mentioned above,the sensitivity and specificity of the ultrasonography in diagnosing malignant nodules of thyroid is 84.78 %,77.78%.The accuracy rate of ultrasound diagnosis for thyroid lesion was 81.00%. By Logistic regression analysis the most significant features to differentiate malignant from benign were margin,microcalcifications,blood vessel shape and morphologic feature of blood flow.Conclusions:Ultrasound is a very effective inspection methods in diagnosis of thyroid nodules.The margin,microcalcifications,blood vessel shape and morphologic were four significant features of thyroid nodules to differentiate malignant from benign.