Improvement in Thyroid-Specific Quality of Life After Radio Frequency Ablation of Symptomatic Benign Solitary Thyroid Nodules: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Abstract

Radio frequency ablation (RFA) is an effective and safe treatment for thyroid nodules, with a volume reduction ratio of 60%-80%. However, only limited reports include validated disease-specific outcome measures. Using the validated Thyroid-Related Patient Reported Outcome (ThyPRO), we aimed to investigate changes in disease-specific quality of life (QOL) following RFA treatment. In this prospective clinical study, we compared ThyPRO questionnaires from baseline and after RFA treatment with a previously collected sample from the general population. Fifty-four patients completed RFA. At baseline, ThyPRO scores were significantly worse than scores from the general population. After treatment, a large and significant improvement was observed on the Goiter Symptoms scale, and moderate improvements were seen on the Cosmetic Complaints and ThyPRO overall QOL scales. At 12 months, patients still had higher scores than the general population on most scales. RFA treatment significantly improves goiter-related symptoms and overall disease-specific QoL.