Conclusion: Sonography-guided OK-432 sclerotherapy is effective and safe, and offers a useful alternative treatment for benign thyroid cysts in selected patients.
Objective: To review the results of sonography guided OK-432 sclerotherapy for benign thyroid cysts.
Patients and methods: The details of 20 patients who registered at our institute from December 2002 through August 2006, with recurrent cystic thyroid nodules after two or more aspirations, and who were cytologically negative for malignancy, were reviewed. All cases received OK-432 injections at a concentration of 0.05 mg/ml with sonography. When treatment results were unsatisfactory, the procedure was repeated up to three times at approximately 4 week intervals (mean number, 2.05).
Results: Five of the 20 cases were excluded for various reasons. Eleven of the remaining 15 cases (73.3%) showed good responses (<10 mm in diameter), whereas the other 4 patients showed poor responses. All patients tolerated the therapy well, and no significant morbidity or complication occurred among patients treated by OK-432 sclerotherapy.