Clinical, laboratory, ultrasound, elastography, cytological (FNAB) and anatomopathological findings obtained in the study of single and multiple, solid and cystic, benign and malignant thyroid nodules

Thyroid nodules are very frequent in the general population, with a very low occurrence of malignancy among them, so that it is a challenge to identify nodules suspected of malignancy and to make the necessary decision of conduct. A study was conducted on 517 patients of both sexes seen at the Endocrinology Outpatient Clinic of UNAERP, a secondary health service. The sample consisted of 464 women (80.97%) and 53 men (20.03%) ranging in age from 15 to 89 years (mean: 52.3 years, 51.8 years for women and 57.1 years for men). All patients had clinically diagnosed thyroid nodules, later confirmed by specific examination. A total of 1808 nodules were studied (1468 in women and 340 in men). The study was approved by the "Plataforma Brasil" Protocol 96398818.0.0000.5498 Ethics Committee and all patients gave written informed free consent to participate. We are aware of the fact that the diagnosis of malignancy for a thyroid nodule is a puzzle and that each investigative exam performed corresponds to one of its parts. The more exams we can perform, the easier it will be to reach a correct diagnosis. However, if the number of exams should be limited for economic reasons, in our opinion, the option should be for ultrasound-guided thyroid FNB associated with TI-RADS classification, despite its limitations.