Treatment efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided percutaneous bipolar radiofrequency ablation for benign thyroid nodules

Objective: To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided percutaneous bipolar radio-frequency ablation (BRFA) of benign thyroid nodules by comparison with a matched untreated control group. Methods: The therapeutic efficacy and safety in 35 patients who were subjected to a single session of ultrasound-guided percutaneous BRFA (Group A) for benign thyroid nodules were compared with those in 35 untreated patients (Group B) with benign nodules. The benign nature of all the nodules was confirmed by ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB), and all the patients had normal thyroid functions. BRFA was performed with a bipolar electrode (CelonProSurge 150-T20) with an output power of 20 W. Nodule volume, thyroid function and clinical symptoms of all the patients were compared before treatment and during follow-up. Results: In Group A, the BRFA procedures were completed with a mean time of 10.02 +/- 3.30 min (range, 5.47-16.03min) and with a mean total energy deposition of 10.747 +/- 3704 J (range, 5510-17.770 J). The procedures were tolerated well in all the patients without causing any major complications. At the 6-month follow-up, all of the nodule volume decreased significantly (from 8.81 +/- 8.66 to 1.59 +/- 1.55 ml, p < 0.001) in Group A, whereas the nodule volume increased from 6.90 +/- 3.77 to 7.87 +/- 3.95 ml in Group B (p < 0.001). All (100%) the 35 nodules in Group A had volume reduction ratios (VRRs) of >50%, among which 3 (8.57%) had VRRs >90%. In Group A, the clinical symptoms of the patients who had symptoms before BRFA disappeared, whereas in Group B, the patients had no resolution of clinical symptoms at the 6-month follow-up. Conclusion: Ultrasound-guided percutaneous BRFA seems to be an effective and safe method for the treatment of benign thyroid nodules. It may gain a wide use in clinical practice. Advances in knowledge: Based on the comparable efficacy and clinical symptoms between the BRFA and untreated groups, the technique of BRFA can be used as an effective and safe method for the treatment of benign thyroid nodules.