Management of PET diagnosed thyroid incidentalomas in British Columbia Canada: Critical importance of the PET report

BackgroundPET diagnosed thyroid incidentalomas (TI) should undergo prompt evaluation due to a high risk of underlying malignancy. Our study reviewed physician management of PET diagnosed TIs in British Columbia (BC), Canada.MethodsAll PET reports from BC between 2011 and 2014 were reviewed. Clinical and demographic data was obtained for TI patients through chart review and mail out surveys to physicians. Statistical analysis was performed to identify factors associated with further TI investigation.Results4.7% PET scans diagnosed TIs in 5.3% of patients. 9.8% of diffuse and 46.1% of focal TI cases underwent ultrasound ± biopsy. PET scan report characteristics were significantly associated with further TI investigation (p-value <0.05).ConclusionsPatients with PET diagnosed TIs are being under-investigated in BC and PET scan report related factors were found to be significantly associated with undergoing further TI workup.