Endocrine Abstracts

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the reference values of quantitative shear wave elastography (SWE) for cervical lymph nodes with normal ultrasound characteristics, and assess if there are differences according the location and other characteristics of patients.

Methods: 67 cervical lymph nodes from 52 patients with thyroid nodules that were diagnosed previously as different thyroid disease had been imaged with SWE. The shear elasticity modulus, which indicates the stiffness of the lymph nodes, was measured in transverse position in three locations from medial to distal and in longitudinal position from cranial to caudal also in three locations on each lymph nodes, both the second measure corresponds the location of hilum.

Results: All the lymph nodes fulfilled all the ultrasound characteristics of benignity. Mean transverse value of elasticity of the lymph nodes were significantly different (P=0.005) by location (II: 20.97 KPa; III: 18.09; IV: 16.41 KPa; V: 26.99 KPa). The longitudinal mean measure was significantly higher than the transversal mean measure (29.58 KPa vs 15.39 KPa; P=0.013). There were no differences by measurements from the medial to the distal or from the cranial to the caudal. Also, no difference by volume, diagnosis, age or gender.

Conclusions: SWE may be valuable quantitative indicators for characterizing cervical lymph nodes, but there are differences by location of lymph node and the position of ultrasound probe that need to be standardized.