Management of Thyroid Nodules in Children

Estimates of the prevalence of thyroid nodules in children depend on the method of detection, ranging from 1 to 1.5% for detection by palpation to 3% for detection on ultrasound scans. Several risk factors are associated with a higher risk of developing thyroid nodules. These factors include puberty, iodine insufficiency, family history of thyroid disease, thyroid diseases, whether autoimmune (Hashimoto thyroiditis, Grave’s disease) or congenital (congenital hypothyroidism with organification defects), genetic syndromes (such as familial adenomatous polyposis, Carney’s complex or Cowden disease) and a history of exposure to radiation after medical treatment (before bone marrow transplantation or in patients with Hodgkin’s lymphoma) or through the environment [1]. Thyroid nodules occur in a broad range of thyroid disorders, including solitary nodule formation, multinodular goiter, chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis (Hashimoto disease) and Graves’disease. They may also reflect the formation of cysts in the thyroglossal duct.