Complications Following Radiofrequency Ablation of Benign Thyroid Nodules: A Systematic Review
Jin-Fen Wang1, Tao Wu1, Kun-Peng Hu2
1Department of Ultrasound, Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510630, China.
Objective:
This systematic review examined whether radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a safe treatment modality for benign thyroid nodules (BTNs).
Data Sources:
PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library database were searched for articles that (a) targeted human beings and (b) had a study population with BTNs that were confirmed by fine-needle aspiration cytology and/or core needle biopsy.
Study Selection:
Thirty-two studies relating to 3409 patients were included in this systematic review.
Results:
Based on literatures, no deaths were associated with the procedure, serious complications were rare, and RFA appears to be a safe and well-tolerated treatment modality. However, a broad spectrum of complications offers insights into some undesirable complications, such as track needle seeding and Horner syndrome.
Conclusions:
RFA appears to be a safe and well-tolerated treatment modality for BTNs. More research is needed to characterize the complications of RFA for thyroid nodules.
