Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35761269›Full record

ArticleBiomedical engineering online2022

Thermography as an aid for the complementary diagnosis of nodules in the thyroid gland.

Viviane Magas Bittencourt de Camargo, Leandra Ulbricht, Jose Carlos Pereira Coninck, Wagner Luis Ripka, Humberto Remigio Gamba

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Biomedical engineering online, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.0field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. The role of infrared thermography in thyroid nodule detection and classification: a scoping review.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Viviane Magas Bittencourt de CamargoFederal Technological University of Paraná/Graduate Program in Electrical Engineering and Industrial Informatics, Endereço: Av. Sete de Setembro 3165. Campus Curitiba Sede Centro, Curitiba, PR, CEP-80230-901, Brazil. vivianemagas@hotmail.com.
Leandra UlbrichtFederal Technological University of Paraná/Program in Biomedical Engineering, Endereço: Av. Silva Jardim, 807 - Bloco V3. Campus Curitiba Sede Centro, Curitiba, PR, CEP-80230-901, Brasil.
Jose Carlos Pereira ConinckDepartment of Statistics, Federal Technological University of Paraná/ Academic, Endereço: Av. Sete de Setembro 3165. Campus Curitiba Sede Centro, Curitiba, PR, CEP-80230-901, Brasil.
Wagner Luis RipkaFederal Technological University of Paraná/Program in Biomedical Engineering, Endereço: Av. Silva Jardim, 807 - Bloco V3. Campus Curitiba Sede Centro, Curitiba, PR, CEP-80230-901, Brasil.
Humberto Remigio GambaFederal Technological University of Paraná/Graduate Program in Electrical Engineering and Industrial Informatics, Endereço: Av. Sete de Setembro 3165. Campus Curitiba Sede Centro, Curitiba, PR, CEP-80230-901, Brazil.
Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná · BR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundConsidering the estimate that thyroid cancer will become the fourth most prevalent type of tumor, improving its diagnosis is a necessity. The gold standard for evaluating thyroid nodules is ultrasound followed by biopsy. These tests, however, have limitations, especially in nodules smaller than 0.5 cm. Dynamic infrared thermography is an imaging method that does not require ionizing radiation or contrast injection. The aim of the study was to analyze the thermal behavior of thyroid nodules through infrared thermography using the cold stress protocol.

resultsThe Wilcoxon test showed thermal differences between groups (control and healthy, p < 0.001). The difference in the thermal behavior of the nodular tissues was evidenced by the longitudinal analysis. When comparing the nodules, it was possible to verify that the beginnings of tissue heating is significant (p = 0.001). In addition, the variability analysis showed a "well" effect, which occurred in period t-1 (pre-cooling time) to period t = 3 (time three minutes). Benign nodules had a variation ratio of 1.81 compared to malignant nodules.

conclusionBenign nodules present a different thermal behavior than malignant nodules, and both present different behavior than normal tissue. For the analysis of nodules, the protocol used with cold stress, dynamic thermography and the inclusion of time t-1 were essential for the differentiation of nodules in the thyroid gland. Therefore, we recommend the continuance of these parameters for future studies.

methodsThirty-three individuals with nodules in the thyroid region and nine healthy individuals participated in this descriptive exploratory study. In total, 42 nodules were evaluated, 11 malignant and 31 benign. The region of interest was exposed to cold stress for 30 s. First, the image was captured before the cold stress and subsequently, the images were assessed every 30 s, over a 10-min time period after cold stress. The perfusion and the thermal behavior of the tissues were evaluated by longitudinal analysis based on the number of pixels in each time period. The statistical tests of Wilcoxon, F-Snedecor and longitudinal models would assist in data analysis.

Indexed as

Thyroid NeoplasmsThyroid NoduleHumansThermographyComplementary diagnosisDynamic thermographyThyroid nodule

Identifiers

PMID35761269
PMCPMC9235134
OpenAlexW4283586956

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.