Prediction of bilateral thyroid carcinoma and lateral cervical lymph node metastasis in PTC patients with suspicious thyroid nodules

This study aimed to evaluate the factors associated with bilateral papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and lateral cervical lymph node metastasis (LLNM) in patients with suspicious unilateral PTC. This study analyzed patients with suspicious unilateral PTC who were enrolled in a university hospital between 2016 and 2019 in Zhejiang, China. Using logistic regression, the study examined the factors associated with bilateral PTC and LLNM in demographic data, anthropometric measurements, lifestyle factors, medical history, preoperative diagnostic tests, and histopathological factors. A total of 256 patients, with a mean age of 49 years, were enrolled. Bilateral PTC was associated with multifocality (aOR: 5.069, 95