Nódulo tiroideo en el niño: A propósito de un caso

Abstract

Abstract Thyroid nodules are not a common pathology in the pediatric age, however, a high ratio of malignancy is found in comparision to that presenting in adults. According to the authors, this ratio is calculated between 2 and 50% and in most of the cases, surgery is considered to be the only treatment. We report the case of a 10 years old boy diagnosed of a thyroid nodule with benign prognosis. It was functionally euthyroid and a citology was done by means of a fine needle aspiration of moderated follicular proliferation. A right hemithyroidectomy was performed and the anatomopathologic analysis showed a follicular adenoma with a papillar hyperplasia. We have also introduced a brief examination of the epidemiology, clinic, diagnostic and treatment of the thyroid nodule in children, which being a rare pathology, requires a basic knowledge of some ideas for its handling. Among them, the fine needle aspiration is the most relevant technique with regard to other diagnostic methods such as ultrasound and gammagraphy, and the certainty that surgery is the best diagnostic and therapeutic method, in both benign and malignant pathologies.