Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23750241›Full record

ArticlePloS one2013

External validation of a nomogram that predicts the pathological diagnosis of thyroid nodules in a Chinese population.

Ridong Wu, Liling Zhu, Wen Li, Qing Tang, Fushun Pan, Weibin Wu, Jie Liu, Chen Yao, Shenming Wang

Abstract readValidation Study
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Ridong WuDepartment of Vascular and Thyroid Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, PR China.
Liling Zhu
Wen Li
Qing Tang
Fushun Pan
Weibin Wu
Jie Liu
Chen Yao
Shenming Wang

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionNomograms are statistical predictive models that can provide the probability of a clinical event. Nomograms have better performance for the estimation of individual risks because of their increased accuracy and objectivity relative to physicians' personal experiences. Recently, a nomogram for predicting the likelihood that a thyroid nodule is malignant was introduced by Nixon. The aim of this study was to determine whether Nixon's nomogram can be validated in a Chinese population. MATERIALS AND

methodsAll consecutive patients with thyroid nodules who underwent surgery between January and June 2012 in our hospital were enrolled to validate Nixon's nomogram. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify the risk factors for thyroid carcinoma. Discrimination and calibration were employed to evaluate the performance of Nixon's model in our population.

resultsA total of 348 consecutive patients with 409 thyroid nodules were enrolled. Thyroid ultrasonographic characteristics, including shape, echo texture, calcification, margins, vascularity and number (solitary vs. multiple nodules), were associated with malignance in the multivariate analysis. The discrimination of all nodules group, the group with a low risk of malignancy (predictive proportion <50%) and the group with a high risk of malignancy (predictive proportion ≥50%) using Nixon's nomogram was satisfactory, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the three groups were 0.87, 0.75 and 0.72, respectively. However, the calibration was significant (p = 0.55) only in the high-risk group.

conclusionNixon's nomogram is a valuable predictive model for the Chinese population and has been externally validated. It has good performance for patients with a high risk of malignancy and may be more suitable for use with these patients in China.

Indexed as

Asian PeopleNomogramsAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overCalibrationChildFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedMultivariate AnalysisROC CurveThyroid NoduleYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID23750241
PMCPMC3672210

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