THYROID-NODULES - EVALUATION WITH COLOR DOPPLER ULTRASONOGRAPHY

Forty-seven patients with thyroid nodules (13 papillary carcinomas, 14 adenomas, and 20 adenomatous goiters) underwent color Doppler sonogra phy with a 7.5 MHz transducer. Perinodular or intranodular color flow signals were depicted in 10 of 13 papillary carcinomas, in 10 of 14 fo llicular adenomas, and in 14 of 20 adenomatous goiters. No correlation existed between the presence of color signals and pathology, whereas the detection rate of color signals had a dependence on the size of th e lesions. No specific flow pattern for malignancy could be found. Col or Doppler sonography would not improve the ability to differentiate b enign from malignant nodules significantly.