Authored by John W. Gianini, MD
Thyroid nodules are extremely common leading to costly imaging and interventions to evaluate many lesions that ultimately prove benign. Even smaller malignant nodules frequently demonstrate an indolent or nonaggressive behavior. As a result, the American College of Radiology (ACR) formed a committee to develop management guidelines for thyroid nodules discovered on imaging studies. The guideline framework was based on the successful breast classification system (BI-RADS) and was therefore named Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System or TI-RADS. The ACR TI-RADS system has been shown to:
Improve consistency and standardization of reporting.
Reduce the number of unnecessary follow-up imaging studies.
Reduce thyroid nodules biopsies with improved accuracy.
For more information on ACR TI-RADS please refer to the references below or visit the ACR TI-RADS website at https://www.acr.org/Clinical-Resources/Reporting-and-Data-Systems/TI-RADS.
References:
Tessler FN, Middleton WD, Grant EG, et al. ACR Thyroid Imaging, Reporting and Data System (TI-RADS): White Paper of the ACR TI-RADS Committee. Journal American College Radiology 2017; 14:587-595. (view reference)
Hoang JK, Middleton WD, Farjat AE, et al. Reduction in Thyroid Nodule Biopsies and Improved Accuracy with American College of Radiology Thyroid Imaging and Data System. Radiology April 2018. 287(1): 185-193.