Diagnostic value of CT artifacts for solitary coarse calcifications in thyroid nodules

This study aimed to estimate the diagnostic value of CT artifacts for solitary coarse calcifications (SCC) in thyroid nodules. A total of 78 SCCs (coarse calcifications >2 mm, no definite mass lesion around calcification) in 63 cases received surgery from Jan 2009 to Jun 2014 were enrolled, including 52 nodular goiters (NG) in 41 cases and 26 papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTC) in 22 cases. The CT artifacts in NGs and PTCs were recorded, and its sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, false positive rate, false negative rate and accuracy for the diagnosis of NG were calculated. CT artifacts were more often observed around the SCCs in NG cases (P<0.05), its sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, false positive rate, false negative rate and accuracy for the diagnosis of NG were 80.7%, 76.9%, 87.5%, 66.7%, 23.1%, 33.3% and 79.5%, and there was no intergroup difference about the CT artifacts in SCCs (P>0.05). CT artifacts are important for the diagnosis of SCCs in thyroid nodules to tell benign from malignancy, and CT artifacts around the SCC are helpful for the diagnosis of NG and no artifacts indicate a larger probability of PTC.