THYROID-NODULES IN THE ELDERLY

Thyroid nodules in the elderly are more frequent and more frequently m alignant. Fine needle aspiration is the first step to diagnose these t ype of nodules, and thyroid scans and ultrasounds may be obtained in s pecial cases. Thyroid suppression is frequently not effective in decre asing the size of the nodule and may cause subclinical or clinical thy rotoxicosis. It is not uncommon to discover that what initially was th ought to be a solitary nodule is only the dominant nodule of a multino dular goiter.