Reliability of Shear-Wave Elastography Estimates of the Young Modulus of Tissue in Follicular Thyroid Neoplasms.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the reliability of shear-wave elastographic estimates of the Young modulus in thyroid follicular neoplasms. In this study, 35 adults with follicular nodules diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy were enrolled. A single sonographer examined all nodules in three planes (sagittal, transverse, and transverse center). Two raters independently placed ROIs in each nodule. Intra- and interrater reliability were computed as intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and were reported using the Guidelines for Reporting Reliability and Agreement Studies. Thirty-five subjects with 35 follicular pattern nodules diagnosed by FNA biopsy were enrolled; 23 (65.7%) patients were female, with a mean age of 55.1 years (range, 23-85 years). For rater 1, intrarater agreement showed ICCs for single measurements of 0.87, 0.87, and 0.90 in the sagittal, transverse, and transverse center plans, respectively; ICCs for the median of multiple measurements were 0.97, 0.94, and 0.96 in the sagittal, transverse, and transverse center planes, respectively. For rater 2, intrarater agreement showed ICCs for single measurements of 0.94, 0.86, and 0.92 in the sagittal, transverse, and transverse center planes, respectively; ICCs for the median of multiple measurements were 0.97, 0.92, and 0.96 in the sagittal, transverse, and transverse center planes, respectively. Interrater agreement between measurements performed for the same subject showed ICCs for single measurements of 0.87, 0.87, and 0.80 in the sagittal, transverse, and transverse center planes, respectively; ICCs for the median of multiple measurements were 0.96, 0.93, and 0.92 in the sagittal, transverse, and transverse center planes, respectively. ROI placement is a reliable method for estimating the Young modulus of tissue in follicular thyroid nodules.