Comparison of palpation-guided versus ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsies of thyroid nodules in an outpatient endocrinology practice.

Objective: To investigate the role of thyroid ultrasonography in our outpatient endocrine practice.

Methods: We compared the efficacy of ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (US-FNAB) of thyroid nodules with that of palpation-guided aspiration (P-FNAB) and determined the malignancy rates of palpable and nonpalpable nodules. All patients referred for assessment of thyroid nodular disease from October 1997 through August 2001 were included in the study.