Improving diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of nodular goitre

摘要

When asked to assemble a broad range of competent specialists to highlight pertinent aspects of benign goitre, this was undoubtedly because simple goitre, an enlarged thyroid in an euthyroid individual, which is not caused by thyroid malignancy or autoimmunity, remains a considerable socio-economic challenge in many countries. Much is known about goitre epidemiology, as highlighted with veneration for historic aspects by Carle et al. in this issue of Best Practice and Research Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. The change in definition of goitre, which is increasingly based on diagnostic imaging complicated comparison with older studies and vastly increased the number of individuals with goitre and morphological findings. This has lead to an increase in individuals warranting further investigations. The rising incidence of papillary thyroid micro-carcinomas is just one consequence of this change in behaviour.