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Doppler Ultrasound

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Thyroid and Parathyroid Ultrasound and Ultrasound-Guided FNA

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Abstract

The Doppler shift is a change in frequency that occurs when sound (or light) is emitted from, or bounced off of, a moving object. The role of Doppler ultrasound in thyroid imaging has recently experienced a significant change. The prior belief that power Doppler imaging plays an important role in the prediction of the likelihood of malignancy in a thyroid nodule has undergone a reassessment. Most of the prior guidelines for management of thyroid nodules considered vascularity as a risk factor for malignancy. More recent studies suggest that vascularity does not have a significant predictive value in most thyroid nodules. Most guidelines still recommend documentation of vascularity in all significant thyroid nodules but do not consider vascularity as a factor determining the need for biopsy. An absent flow pattern does not have sufficient predictive value to eliminate the need to biopsy an avascular solid nodule. Doppler imaging is useful in the evaluation of goiter, thyroid nodules, lymph nodes, and parathyroid glands.

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Abbreviations

AACE:

American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists

AME:

Associazione Medici Endocrinologi

ATA:

American Thyroid Association

GD:

Graves’ disease

PI:

Pulsatility index

PPV:

Positive predictive value

PRF:

Pulse repetition frequency

PSV:

Peak systolic velocity

RAIU:

Radioactive iodine uptake

RI:

Resistive index

RR:

Relative risk

TBFA:

Thyroid blood flow area

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Thyroid Center of New Hampshire, St. Joseph Hospital, Nashua, NH, USA

    Robert A. Levine MD, FACE, ECNU

Authors
  1. Robert A. Levine MD, FACE, ECNU
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert A. Levine MD, FACE, ECNU .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Arizona, College of Medicine, Phoenix, AZ, USA

    Daniel S. Duick

  2. Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Thyroid Center of New Hampshire, St. Joseph Hospital, Nashua, NH, USA

    Robert A. Levine

  3. Florida State University, College of Medicine, Tallahassee, FL, USA

    Mark A. Lupo

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Levine, R.A. (2018). Doppler Ultrasound. In: Duick, D., Levine, R., Lupo, M. (eds) Thyroid and Parathyroid Ultrasound and Ultrasound-Guided FNA . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67238-0_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67238-0_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-67237-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-67238-0

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