High prevalence of iodine deficiency in pregnant women living in adequate iodine area.

Objectives: Iodine deficiency during pregnancy is associated with obstetric and neonatal adverse outcomes. Serum thyroglobulin (sTg) and thyroid volume (TV) are optional tools to urinary iodine concentration (UIC) for defining iodine status. This cross-sectional study aims to evaluate the iodine status of pregnant women living in iodine-adequate area by spot UIC and correlation with sTg, TV and thyroid function.

Excessive iodine intake and ultrasonographic thyroid abnormalities in schoolchildren.

High nutritional levels of iodine may induce a higher prevalence of autoimmune thyroiditis, hypothyroidism, goiter, as well as hyperthyroidism, mostly in the elderly. This study assessed thyroid volume and ultrasonographic abnormalities as well as urinary iodine excretion (UIE) in 964 schoolchildren living in an iodine-sufficient area in southern Brazil. Thyroid volume correlated with age and body surface area in boys and girls.

[Preoperative evaluation of cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules with 18F-FDG PET].

The aim of this article is to discuss the role of 18F-FDG Positron Emission Tomography (PET) in the preoperative evaluation of patients with cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules. All studies with patients with thyroid cancer were selected to the calculation of sensitivity. Only studies aiming to evaluate patients with thyroid nodules whose cytological result was indeterminate were selected to establish the specificity.

[Usefulness of ultrasound in the diagnosis and management of well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma].

Thyroid nodules are found in the vast majority of the population, but only 5 to 10% are malignant. Ultrasonography of the thyroid, by virtue of being a straightforward, non-invasive method presenting strong correlation with macroscopic aspects of the thyroid gland, is being increasingly used to identify nodules that present a higher risk of malignancy. The presence of certain ultrasonographic characteristics such as hypoechogenicity, microcalcifications, irregular contours and central vascularization on Doppler, increase the risk of the lesion being malignant.

Role of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in preoperative assessment of cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules.

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) in the preoperative diagnosis of thyroid nodules with indeterminate fine-needle aspiration biopsy results.

Methods: Forty-two consecutive patients with thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytological results participated in this study. Abnormal (18)F-FDG PET uptake was assessed visually and by measuring the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) in thyroid topography.

[Ultrasonographic evaluation of thyroid nodules: comparison with cytologic and histologic diagnosis].

The purpose of this study was to evaluate our ultrasonographic classification of thyroid nodules, based on echo structure, echogenicity, calcification, margin and analysis of the surrounding parenchyma. From January 1998 to January 2002, 2,468 consecutive patients with thyroid nodules were referred for thyroid ultrasonography and ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy (USFNAB) in our Thyroid Unit. Among 1,039 nodules classified as benign on ultrasound, 998 (96.