Diagnostic Significance of Detecting Serum Anti-thyroglobulin in Thyroid Nodules

Objective To investigate the diagnostic significance of detecting serum anti-thyroglobulin (anti-TgAb) in thyroid nodules. Methods The level of serum anti-TgAb was detected by chemiluminescence immunoassay in 176 patients with thyroid nodules,including 69 patients with thyroid carcinoma (TC),40 patients with thyroid adenoma (TA),55 patients with nodular goiter (NG),and 12 patients with Hashimoto disease (HD) according to postoperative pathology. The differences in median level of serum anti-TgAb and the number of patients in whom the anti-TgAb level was beyond the normal range were analyzed. Results Both the level of serum anti-TgAb and the number of patients in whom the level of anti-TgAb was higher than 102 IU/ml in patients with HD were significantly higher than those in patients with TC,TA,and NG (all P 0.05). The number of patients in whom the level of anti-TgAb was higher than 102 IU/ml in patients with TC was also significantly more than that in patients with TA and NG (95% CI 1.25-26.43,P 0.05; 95% CI 2.09-127.33,P 0.05). Conclusion The elevated level of serum anti-TgAb is often found in HD patients. The higher the level of serum anti-TgAb is,the more likely the diagnosis of HD is established. Besides HD,the level of serum anti-TgAb 3 times more than the normal value often exists in TC. The moderately elevated level of serum anti-TgAb is not the contraindication to surgery of thyroid nodules.