Table 2 Family Physicians opinions on thyroid nodule evaluation in primary care
From: A pilot study examining Toronto-area family physician perspectives on thyroid neoplasm evaluation
Statement | Percentage strongly disagree or disagreea (number) | Percentage neutrala (number) | Percentage strongly agree or agreea (number) | Percentage indicating “don’t know”a (number) | Mean (standard deviation)a |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thyroid ultrasound (TUS) should be offered for palpable thyroid nodules (TNs) | 0% (0/58) | 3.5% (2/58) | 96.6% (56/58) | 0% (0/58) | 4.7 (0.5) |
TUS should be performed in patients with abnormal thyroid blood tests | 40.4% (23/57) | 26.3% (15/57) | 33.3% (19/57) | 1.7% (1/58) | 2.9 (1.1) |
Some of my patients expect or request a TUS, even if not medically necessary | 29.3% (17/58) | 17.2% (10/58) | 53.4% (31/58) | 0% (0/58) | 3.3 (1.2) |
TC screening by TUS is associated with reduced TC deaths | 61.9% (26/42) | 16.7% (7/42) | 21.4% (9/42) | 27.6% (16/58) | 2.4 (1.1) |
Suspicious TNs < 1 cm should always be biopsied | 28.6% (16/56) | 17.9% (10/56) | 53.6% (30/56) | 3.4% (2/58) | 3.3 (1.1) |
TN should be biopsied, if recommended by a radiologist on an imaging report | 0% (0/58) | 10.3% (6/58) | 89.7% (52/58) | 0% (0/58) | 4.3 (0.6) |
If a TN is incidentally noted on a chest computerized tomography scan, a TUS must be ordered | 19.6% (11/56) | 8.9% (5/56) | 71.4% (40/56) | 3.6% (2/58) | 3.7 (1.1) |
I am concerned about the risk of possible overdiagnosis of low risk TC patients | 16.1% (9/56) | 30.4% (17/56) | 53.6% (30/56) | 3.4% (2/58) | 3.5 (0.9) |