Diagnostic Accuracy of Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DW-MRI) in Differentiating Benign and Malignant Thyroid Nodule

Objective: To determine diagnostic accuracy of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) in differentiating benign and malignant thyroid nodule keeping histopathology as gold standard. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Settings: Radiology Department, Allied Hospital, Faisalabad Pakistan Duration: 24th June 2021 to 23rd December 2021. Methodology: From total 145 patients with palpable thyroid nodule on clinical examination of size >5mm and duration >3 months of age 25-65 years of either gender was included. DW-MRI was performed on all patients and correlated with histopathology report. Results: From 145 patients, 55.86% were from 25 to 45 years. Majority (57.93%) females. Overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and diagnostic accuracy of DW-MRI in was 94.29%, 90.61%, 90.41%, 94.44% and 92.41% respectively. Conclusion: Findings of this study indicate that DW-MRI is a non-invasive modality that exhibits high accuracy in distinguishing malignant from benign thyroid lesions.