[Comparison of stratification methods for malignant risk of thyroid nodules]

Objective: To compare the diagnostic value of the 2015 American Thyroid Association(ATA) guidelines and the American College of Radiology Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System(ACR TI-RADS) classification for thyroid nodules. Method: Retrospective analysis of 340 cases of 386 thyroid nodules confirmed by surgery or pathology from November 2016 to November 2018 in Yan' an University Hospital was conducted, using 2015 ATA, ACR TI-RADS for classification. Histopathology or cytology was the gold standard, The receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve was plotted, using χ test to compare the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of the two methods. Result: Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of ACR TI-RADS were 961%, 741%, 645%, 974%, 813%, respectively, and the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of the 2015 ATA guidelines was 937%, 733%, 632%, 960%, 801%,respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. The area under ACR TI-RADS and 2015 ATA guide curve is 0851 and 0839, respectively. Conclusion: Both ACR TI-RADS and 2015 ATA guidelines have high diagnostic value. The two classification methods are equally effective in assessing the benign and malignant thyroid nodules.