"Well, you also found out thyroid nodules? I also found out. "
This kind of dialogue appears more and more frequently in people's daily life. Physical examination of thyroid nodules seems to have become a kind of "popular" and "popular" in the mainland of China. Many people find that they don't feel discomfort or related symptoms at ordinary times, but they still find thyroid nodules in physical examination. Because they don't know the reasons behind this and the harm degree of thyroid nodules, they will inevitably be nervous and afraid that they are on a dangerous cliff.
In fact, thyroid nodule refers to a mass in the thyroid gland, which is a lesion separated from thyroid parenchyma found by imaging or physical examination. Nowadays, more and more people find thyroid nodules in physical examination, which is closely related to the continuous development of B-ultrasound technology. Before high-resolution B-ultrasound was not popular, few people were detected thyroid nodules, which was not the real low incidence, but the thyroid nodules cleverly escaped our investigation and lurked in us.
Therefore, with the development of B-ultrasound technology, it is helpful for us to find those truly harmful nodules and deal with them in time. After we found thyroid nodules in the physical examination, as long as we improve the examination and make clear the nature, and deal with the symptoms, there is no need to be overly nervous.
Nodules can be divided into benign and malignant. Generally, benign nodules may be caused by inflammatory diseases such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis or endocrine problems such as insufficient iodine intake, while malignant nodules are generally various types of thyroid cancer.
Benign thyroid nodules are generally caused by diseases such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis or other reasons, such as hypothyroidism, lack of iodine intake, benign thyroid adenoma, etc. The stress of modern life is too great, which leads to endocrine disorders. In addition, the endocrine hormone changes in women due to menstrual cycle, pregnancy, menopause, etc. lead to a higher prevalence rate of thyroid nodules in women than men.
Another 5%~ 10% of thyroid nodules are malignant, and malignant nodules are various types of thyroid cancer, among which papillary carcinoma accounts for 85%~90%. The exact cause of the disease is not completely clear, only related to the history of extracervical radiation in childhood and a small number of genetic factors.
Generally speaking, thyroid nodules have no symptoms, and only when there is internal bleeding or excessive growth, the nodules grow rapidly and are found. Most nodules are found in routine physical examinations. For benign nodules, the most important thing is to make clear the cause, such as checking thyroid function, making clear whether there is hypothyroidism or iodine deficiency, so as to carry out symptomatic treatment such as thyroxine supplementation, and the nodules may disappear on their own. If the nodule grows too fast, it is necessary to confirm whether there is internal bleeding, etc. When the nodule is too large to compress the trachea or esophagus, it is necessary to perform surgical resection to ensure normal life.
At present, surgery combined with postoperative radioactive iodine therapy and TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) inhibition therapy is the most effective treatment for malignant nodules, that is, thyroid cancer. Among them, the most common thyroid cancer is papillary cancer. Through standardized surgical treatment and timely follow-up, patients can achieve the same life expectancy as normal people.
Thyroxine plays an important role in developing children and adolescents. Due to the needs of physical growth, the secretion of thyroxine in children and adolescents is higher than that in adults. Therefore, in order to meet the needs of growth and development, thyroid follicular cells may proliferate to a certain extent, which may lead to the appearance of nodules. If children or teenagers find thyroid nodules, they don't have to be overly nervous. After perfecting the examination and clarifying the cause, they can listen to the symptomatic treatment of professional doctors.
The common calcification in the report of B-ultrasound is usually caused by bleeding, fibrosis or the blood supply of malignant nodules growing too fast to meet their needs. Generally speaking, small punctate calcification has certain value for the diagnosis of papillary carcinoma, and other types of calcification can not completely distinguish benign from malignant nodules. The current domestic guidelines recommend that the pathological examination results of fine needle aspiration are the most valuable criteria for preoperative differentiation of thyroid nodules, so for patients with unclear etiology of nodules and greater psychological pressure, puncture examination can be performed to find out the nature of nodules.
Patients with thyroid nodules should pay attention to the balance of iodine intake in diet. An epidemiological survey on the prevalence of thyroid nodules among residents with high iodine intake in coastal areas showed that there was a certain correlation between excessive iodine intake and the prevalence of thyroid nodules. For a country like China that promotes salt iodization, thyroid nodules caused by iodine deficiency are relatively rare. Therefore, for patients with thyroid nodules in China, we should pay attention to the balanced intake of iodine, especially for residents who eat more seafood in coastal areas, and control the consumption of seafood and kelp with more iodine, not too much.
For growing children and adolescents, it is unnecessary to deliberately eat non-iodized salt. China's relevant regulations on the amount of iodized salt also follow the international recommended standards that are friendly to human health, and there is no need to worry that normal consumption of iodized salt will lead to thyroid nodules. Of course, for patients with hyperthyroidism, the intake of iodized salt must be controlled, and even non-iodized salt should be eaten. Generally speaking, avoiding iodine deficiency or excessive intake of iodine is of certain significance for preventing thyroid nodules.