Correlation research between preoperative ultrasonographic features and postoperative recurrence of papillary thyroid carcinoma: a retrospective study

Objective This study sought to evaluate the risk factors for recurrent papillary thyroid carcinoma by preoperative ultrasonography. Methods A retrospective study enrolled a total of 146 patients with thyroid papillary carcinoma confirmed by postoperative pathology, and divided into a recurrence group ( n = 35) and a non-recurrence group ( n = 111) to study their preoperative ultrasound report examination, including the presence of thyroiditis, tumor location, the maximum diameter of the primary tumor, tumor number, the presence of focal strong echogenicity within the lesion, the presence of abnormal lymph nodes, the presence of ultrasound imaging manifestations of thyroid invasion, and to explore the risk factors associated with recurrent papillary thyroid cancer. Moreover, the consistency of ultrasound examination and postoperative pathological findings was explored. Results There were significant differences in the maximum diameter of the primary tumor and thyroid invasion between the recurrent and non-recurrent papillary thyroid carcinoma groups ( P < 0.05), and the preoperative tumor diameter diagnostic cutoff value is 13.750 mm. At the same time, ultrasound and pathology have good consistency in the number of papillary thyroid carcinoma tumors, moderate consistency in lymph node metastasis, and excellent consistency in the presence or absence of thyroid invasion. Conclusions The maximum diameter of the primary tumor and thyroid invasion can be used as indicators to evaluate the risk of recurrence of thyroid papillary carcinoma by ultrasonic examination. In addition, the number of tumors and the presence of thyroid invasion in ultrasonic and pathological diagnosis showed good consistency.