Recent Trends in the Clinicopathological Features of Thyroid Nodules in Pediatric Patients: A Single Tertiary Center Experience over 25 Years

Table 4

Clinicopathological features of the pediatric patients with thyroid nodules according to the period of diagnosis.

	1990 to 1995 (n = 42)		1996 to 2000 (n = 50)		2001 to 2005 (n = 40)		2006 to 2010 (n = 38)		2011 to 2014 (n = 45)		value
Age, years (mean, SD)	15	±3.624	15	±3.138	15	±3.342	15	±2.857	15	±3.078	0.218
Age groups											0.892
0–10	4	9.5%	8	16.0%	4	10.0%	3	7.9%	5	11.1%
11–15	17	40.5%	16	32.0%	12	30.0%	16	42.1%	18	40.0%
16–18	21	50.0%	26	52.0%	24	60.0%	19	50.0%	22	48.9%
Sex											0.149
Females	35	83.3%	35	70.0%	35	87.5%	32	84.2%	31	68.9%
Males	9	21.4%	15	30.0%	5	12.5%	6	15.8%	14	31.1%
Chief complaint leading to hospital admission								0.061
Incidentaloma	0		1	2.0%	3	7.5%	6	15.8%	11	24.4%
Anterior neck palpable mass	37	88.1%	42	84.0%	33	82.5%	26	68.4%	27	60.0%
Lateral neck palpable mass	1	2.4%	2	4.0%	0		2	5.3%	2	4.4%
Neck discomfort	0		0		0		2	5.3%	1	2.2%
Hoarseness	0		1	2.0%	0		0		1	2.2%
Dyspnea	1	2.4%	0		1	2.5%	0		1	2.2%
Unknown	3	7.1%	4	8.0%	3	7.5%	2	5.3%	2	4.4%
Fine needle aspiration at admission									≤0.00
Yes	17	40.5%	36	72.0%	31	77.5%	36	94.7%	41	91.1%
No	25	59.5%	14	28.0%	9	22.5%	2	5.3%	4	8.9%
Initial cytology											≤0.00
Nondiagnostic or unsatisfactory	0		1	2.8%	0		0		0
Benign	7	41.2%	6	16.7%	4	12.9%	3	8.3%	3	7.3%
Atypia of undetermined significance or follicular lesion of undetermined significance	1	5.9%	1	2.8%	6	19.4%	2	5.6%	5	12.2%
Follicular neoplasm or suspicion of follicular neoplasm	2	11.8%	8	22.2%	2	6.5%	2	5.6%	3	7.3%
Suspicion of malignancy	2	11.8%	2	5.6%	1	3.2%	2	5.6%	4	9.8%
Malignant	5	29.4%	16	44.4%	18	58.1%	27	75.0%	26	63.4%
Others (schwannoma and abscess)	0		2	5.6%	0		0		0
Final pathology after thyroidectomy											≤0.00
Benign	32	76.2%	24	48.0%	16	40.0%	5	13.2%	10	22.2%
Graves’ disease (diffuse hyperplasia)	13	40.6%	12	50.0%	7	43.8%	1	20.0%	4	40.0%
Adenomatous goiter/nodular hyperplasia	13	40.6%	5	20.8%	3	18.8%	3	60.0%	2	20.0%
Hashimoto thyroiditis	1	3.1%	1	4.2%	0		0		0
Follicular adenoma	5	15.6%	2	8.3%	6	37.5%	1	20.0%	4	40.0%
Hurthle cell adenoma	0		2	8.3%	0		0		0
Other (schwannoma and abscess)	0		2	8.3%	0		0		0
Malignant	10	23.8%	27	54.0%	24	60.0%	33	86.8%	35	77.8%
Papillary thyroid cancer	8	80.0%	20	74.1%	20	83.3%	28	84.8%	29	82.9%
Follicular thyroid cancer	2	20.0%	4	14.8%	4	16.7%	5	15.2%	6	17.1%
Papillary and follicular thyroid cancer	0		1	3.7%	0		0		0
Tumor size by pathology after thyroidectomy (cm)	2.5	(1.2–4.0)	2.5	(1.0–6.5)	3.0	(1.0–6.0)	2.5	(0.5–6.0)	2.6	(0.4–8.0)	0.849