ArticleHead & neck2023
Cost comparison between open thyroid lobectomy and radiofrequency ablation for management of thyroid nodules.
Article in Head & neck, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 11 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
- Patient-Reported Symptom Relief from Percutaneous Benign Thyroid Nodule Radiofrequency Ablation in Routine Clinical Care.AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology · 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
- Efficacy of echolaser smart interface-guided laser ablation in volume reduction of symptomatic benign thyroid nodules.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2024Article
- Article
- 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
- Early Adoption of Thyroid Radiofrequency Ablation in Canada: Physician Experiences, Barriers, and Facilitators to Implementation.Journal of otolaryngology - head & neck surgery = Le Journal d'oto-rhino-laryngologie et de chirurgie cervico-facialeArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThere is an increasing array of treatment options for addressing clinically significant thyroid nodules, including radiofrequency ablation (RFA). While effective, the cost compared to alternative approaches has not been well elucidated.
methodsThis study involved a retrospective chart review, focusing on variable direct cost (VDC) of each procedure, from April 2016 to January 2020. We analyzed costs for 53 open lobectomies and 16 RFA procedures.
resultsCost effectiveness depended on the simulated cost of the RFA probe. In comparison to open lobectomy, the VDC to perform RFA was $597 (19%) cheaper when the simulated probe cost was $1500 and $403 (13%) more expensive for a probe cost of $2500. Statistical significance was achieved for both these differences.
conclusionsIf cost per RFA probe can be less than $2100-the break-even dollar amount between open lobectomy and RFA-there would be considerable cost savings for treating thyroid nodules.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.