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. 2017 Jun 5;130(11):1361-1370.
doi: 10.4103/0366-6999.206347.

Complications Following Radiofrequency Ablation of Benign Thyroid Nodules: A Systematic Review

Jin-Fen Wang  1 , Tao Wu  1 , Kun-Peng Hu  2 , Wen Xu  3 , Bo-Wen Zheng  1 , Ge Tong  1 , Zhi-Cheng Yao  2 , Bo Liu  2 , Jie Ren  1
Affiliations

Complications Following Radiofrequency Ablation of Benign Thyroid Nodules: A Systematic Review

Jin-Fen Wang et al. Chin Med J (Engl). .

Abstract

Objective: This systematic review examined whether radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a safe treatment modality for benign thyroid nodules (BTNs).

Data sources: PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library database were searched for articles that (a) targeted human beings and (b) had a study population with BTNs that were confirmed by fine-needle aspiration cytology and/or core needle biopsy.

Study selection: Thirty-two studies relating to 3409 patients were included in this systematic review.

Results: Based on literatures, no deaths were associated with the procedure, serious complications were rare, and RFA appears to be a safe and well-tolerated treatment modality. However, a broad spectrum of complications offers insights into some undesirable complications, such as track needle seeding and Horner syndrome.

Conclusions: RFA appears to be a safe and well-tolerated treatment modality for BTNs. More research is needed to characterize the complications of RFA for thyroid nodules.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of studies identified, included, and excluded.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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