ArticleScientific reports2016
Quality of Life and Cost-Effectiveness of Radiofrequency Ablation versus Open Surgery for Benign Thyroid Nodules: a retrospective cohort study.
Article in Scientific reports, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 33 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 84 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cost-Effectiveness of Radiofrequency Ablation for Benign Non-Functioning Thyroid Nodules: A Systematic Review.Clinical otolaryngology : official journal of ENT-UK ; official journal of Netherlands Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology & Cervico-Facial Surgery · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Ablative Technologies for Thyroid Nodules: A Health Technology Assessment.Ontario health technology assessment series · 2026Pooled it
- Quality of Life Following Thermal Ablation of Benign Thyroid Nodules: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Thyroid : official journal of the American Thyroid Association · 2025Pooled it
- Italian Guidelines for the Management of Non-Functioning Benign and Locally Symptomatic Thyroid Nodules.Endocrine, metabolic & immune disorders drug targets · 2023Guideline
- A systematic review and meta-analysis comparing tumor progression and complications between radiofrequency ablation and thyroidectomy for papillary thyroid carcinoma.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Pooled it
- 2017 Thyroid Radiofrequency Ablation Guideline: Korean Society of Thyroid Radiology.Korean journal of radiologyGuideline
- EQ-5D-5L and SF-6D Utility Measures in Symptomatic benign Thyroid Nodules: Acceptability and Psychometric Evaluation.The patient · 2017Trial
- Comparison of thyroid-specific quality of life after thermal ablation vs. thyroid lobectomy for benign thyroid nodules.BMC endocrine disorders · 2026Article
- The clinical utility of thermal ablation procedures in thyroid nodules: Latin American Thyroid Society (LATS) surgical affairs committee expert opinion. Part 2.Archives of endocrinology and metabolism · 2025Review
- Thermal Ablation as a Non-Surgical Alternative for Thyroid Nodules: A Review of Current Evidence.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Review
- Ultrasound-guided percutaneous thermal and non-thermal ablation of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.World journal of gastroenterology · 2025Review
- Tissue Ablation: Applications and Perspectives.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2024Review
- Efficacy of radiofrequency ablation for treatment of toxic thyroid nodules-a narrative review.Gland surgery · 2024Review
- Brazilian Consensus on the Application of Thermal Ablation for Treatment of Thyroid Nodules: A Task Force Statement by the Brazilian Society of Interventional Radiology and Endovascular Surgery (SOBRICE), Brazilian Society of Head and Neck Surgery (SBCCP), and Brazilian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism (SBEM).Archives of endocrinology and metabolism · 2024Article
- General Principles for the Safe Performance, Training, and Adoption of Ablation Techniques for Benign Thyroid Nodules: An American Thyroid Association Statement.Thyroid : official journal of the American Thyroid Association · 2023Article
- Psychometric properties of EQ-5D-5L for use in patients with Graves' disease.Health and quality of life outcomes · 2023Article
- Locoregional Thermal and Chemical Tumor Ablation: Review of Clinical Applications and Potential Opportunities for Use in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.JCO global oncology · 2023Review
- Choice in Ablative Therapies for Thyroid Nodules.Journal of the Endocrine Society · 2023Review
- Hyperthyroidism Due to Graves Disease After Radiofrequency Ablation.JCEM case reports · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This study is to compare the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and cost-effectiveness of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and open thyroidectomy (OT) for benign thyroid nodules (BTNs) treatment. HRQoL and utility were assessed for 404 BTN patients immediately before treatments (RFA:OT = 137:267) and at 6-month visit. A cost-effectiveness analysis was performed from societal perspective in the China context. Resource use (hospitalization, sick leaves) was collected. We used the net monetary benefit approach and computed cost-effectiveness acceptability curves for RFA and OT. Sensitivity analyses of costs of RFA were performed. At 6-month visit, patients treated with RFA had significantly better HRQoL than patients treated with OT on general health (68.5 versus 66.7, P = 0.029), vitality (71.3 versus 67.5, P < 0.001) and mental health (80.9 versus 79.3, P = 0.038). RFA was more effective than OT in terms of quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs; 0.01QALY/patient) but more expensive (US$823/patient). The probability that RFA would be cost effective at a US$50,000/QALY threshold was 15.5% in China, and it would be increased to 88.4% when price of the RFA device was lowered by 30%. RFA exhibited a significant improvement of HRQoL relative to OT, but is unlikely to be cost effective at its current price in short time.
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Registered trials
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