The Prevalence of Subclinical Thyroid Nodules Diagnosed by Ultrasound in Asymptomatic Iranian Population

Background: Different diagnostic methods have estimated different prevalence rates for thyroid nodules. Ultrasonography is a useful imaging method for evaluating thyroid gland. Aim: To evaluate the prevalence of subclinical thyroid nodules in an Iranian population by ultrasound method. Methods: This study performed from December2017 to May2018 on 103 patients attended to the Radiology Departments. All patients underwent an ultrasound screening of thyroid gland(GEE6 model device with 7-12 MHz probe).A checklist ofdemographic data and nodule's characteristics including number, size, shape, echogenicity, vascularity, calcification and cystic changes was recorded. Patients with palpable thyroid nodules, patients with known thyroid problems and those who referred for thyroid ultrasonography, were excluded from the study. Results: The number of patients with subclinical thyroid nodulesformed 17.48% of the studied population. Thyroid nodules were detected in 21.54% of women and 10.53% of men.Moreover, 60% of subclinical thyroid noduleswere unilateral and 35% were bilateral. The mean number of subclinical thyroid nodulesdetected in patients was 3.39 +/- 2.93.There was no significant difference between the mean number of patients with cystic changes in their subclinical thyroid nodulesand patients without any cystic changes in their nodules. Conclusion: The prevalence of subclinical thyroid nodulesin the studied population was lower than the similar studies. More studies with bigger sample size is recommended.