Abstract: Objective To investigate the application value of ultrasound strain elastography in the diagnosis of benign thyroid nodules with fibrosis. Methods A total of 155 benign thyroid nodules confirmed by pathology were selected.Ultrasound strain elastography was performed before operation. According to the pathological results, they were divided into fibrosis group (n=125) and non-fibrosis group (n=30). The ratio of strain was compared between the two groups. The sensitivity and specificity of the strain ratio in the diagnosis of benign thyroid nodules with fibrosis were calculated by using pathological results as the gold standard. Results The strain ratio was significantly higher in the fibrosis group [3.14 (1.14,7.05)] than that in the non-fibrosis group [1.41 (1.02, 2.35), P＜0.05]. The ROC curve showed that the stain ratio＞2.62 may indicate the presence of fibrosis in the benign thyroid nodule. The area under the curve of the strain ratio was 0.664 (0.548,0.780), the sensitivity was 56.7%, and the specificity was 77.6%. Conclusion The strain ratio of ultrasound elastography has a certain value in the diagnosis of benign thyroid nodules with fibrosis.

Key words: elasticity imaging techniques, thyroid nodule, sensitivity and specificity, strain ratio, fibrosis