Observational studyEndocrine practice : official journal of the American College of Endocrinology and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists2024
Physical Examination of the Thyroid: Accuracy in Detecting Thyroid Nodules and Frequency of Additional Findings.
Observational study in Endocrine practice : official journal of the American College of Endocrinology and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Precision medicine in thyroid nodules: current strategies, challenges, and future directions.Hormones (Athens, Greece) · 2026Review
- [Ultrasound in secondary prevention of thyroid nodules-evidence, benefits, and limitations].HNO · 2026Review
- Unravelling the rise in thyroid cancer incidence and addressing overdiagnosis.Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2026Review
- Impact of a simple informative leaflet on Brazilian doctors' attitudes towards active surveillance of thyroid microcarcinomas.Heliyon · 2024Article
- Insights into Ultrasound Features and Risk Stratification Systems in Pediatric Patients with Thyroid Nodules.Journal of imaging · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThyroid palpation is a common clinical practice to detect thyroid abnormalities. However, its accuracy and potential for additional findings remain unclear. This study aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of physical exams in detecting thyroid nodules.
methodsA retrospective observational study was conducted on a random sample of adult patients who underwent their first-time thyroid ultrasound between January 2015 and September 2017, following a documented thyroid physical exam. The study assessed the performance of thyroid palpation in detecting 1 or multiple thyroid nodules, as well as the proportion of additional findings on ultrasounds due to false positive thyroid palpation.
resultsWe included 327 patients, mostly female (65.1%), white (84.1%), and treated in a primary care setting (54.4%) with a mean age of 50.8 years (SD 16.9). For solitary thyroid nodules, the physical exam had a sensitivity of 20.3%, specificity of 79.1%, an accuracy of 68.5%, negative predictive value of 81.8%, and positive predictive value of 17.6%. For detecting a multinodular goiter, physical exams demonstrated a sensitivity of 10.8%, specificity of 96.5%, accuracy of 55.4%, negative predictive value of 53.9, and positive predictive value of 73.9%. Among 154 cases with palpable nodules, 60% had additional nodules found in subsequent thyroid ultrasound.
conclusionThyroid physical exam has limited diagnostic performance and leads to additional findings when followed by a thyroid ultrasound. Future efforts should be directed at improving the accuracy of thyroid physical exams or re-evaluating its routine use.
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Registered trials
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