A primary care approach to the adult patient with nodular thyroid disease
L. R. Petrone
Department of Family Medicine, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pa., USA.
Nodular thyroid disease can be defined as the presence of one or more
nodules in a thyroid gland of normal or increased size. To diagnose and
treat patients with nodular goiters cost-effectively is often challenging
because many thyroid illnesses present with a nodule; often the patient is
unaware of its presence. Although most thyroid nodules are benign, it is
occasionally difficult to exclude malignant neoplasm in an enlarged gland.
It is essential for the primary care physician to be comfortable with
examining and treating patients with thyroid nodules. A rational, stepwise
approach to the evaluation of nodular thyroid disease was developed.
