Impact of ultrasound angiography combined with fine needle aspiration for the diagnosis of thyroid nodules

BACKGROUND: This study aims to systematically investigate the impact of ultrasound angiography (UA) combined with fine needle aspiration (FNA) for the diagnosis of thyroid nodules (TNs). METHODS: The following electronic databases will be searched: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. We will search them from their inceptions to the present without language limitations. We will consider all case–controlled studies on investigating the impact of diagnosis UA combined FNA for TNs. We will apply Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies tool to assess methodological quality for all eligible studies. RESULTS: In this study, outcomes consist of sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and diagnostic odds ratio. All these outcomes will be analyzed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of UA combined with FNA for TNs. CONCLUSION: This study will provide evidence of the diagnostic accuracy of UA combined with FNA for TNs. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42019138884.