Guidelines Published for Clinical Practice for the Diagnosis and Management of Thyroid Nodules

A consortium of various endocrine experts, including the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), Associazione Medici Endocrinologi, and the European Thyroid Association have published their joint Guidelines for Clinical Practice for the Diagnosis and Management of Thyroid Nodules. The guidelines, which are available in PDF form online at the AACE website, cover diagnosis and treatment of thyroid nodules and nodular thyroid disease.

The guidelines discuss how a history and physical exam should be done, causes of thyroid nodules, factors suggesting an increased risk that nodules are malignant (thyroid cancer), fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy, other imaging tests including ultrasonography, classifications of biopsy results, treatments including radioiodine (RAI), percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) and thermal ablation, among other options.

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_{Source: Hossein Gharib, MD, MACP, MACE et. al. "Medical Guidelines for Clinical Practice for the Diagnosis and Management of Thyroid Nodules are systematically," AACE/AME/ETA Guidelines, Endocr Pract. 2006 Jan-Feb;12(1):63-102. PDF Online}

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