Prevalence or thyroid nodules with high frequency (13 Mhz) ultrasound examination

Objectives: The prevalence of thyroid nodules in a healthy population is high: a finnish study in healthy middle-aged women showed abnormalities of the thyroid gland during ultrasound examination in 35,6%, in the german Papillon study thyroid nodules were found in 33% of the normal population, here a nationwide ultrasound screening was performed with 5,0 to 7,5MHz scanners. Methods: 682 consecutive patients who presented for a preventive health check up underwent an ultrasound screening of the thyroid gland (Siemens Acuson Antares, 13MHz-linear scanner, B-mode and Power mode) and measurement of the basal TSH val…