Thyroid Nodules and Cancer
Recommendations regarding thyroid nodules and cancer during pregnancy are also expected to remain largely similar to those in the 2017 guidelines, with the exception of an emphasis on simply considering how the patient would normally be managed outside of pregnancy.
For instance, regarding the question of whether treatment can be withheld for 9 months during pregnancy. “A lot of times, the answer is yes,” Korevaar said.
Other topics that will be largely unchanged include issues of universal screening, definitions of normal and abnormal TSH and free T4 reference ranges and isolated hypothyroxinemia.
Steps Forward in Improving Updates, Readability
In addition to recommendation updates, the new guidelines are being revised to better reflect more recent evidence-based developments and user-friendliness.
“We have now made the step to a more systematic and replicable methodology to ensure for easier updates with a shorter interval,” Korevaar told this news organization.
“Furthermore, since 2006, the ATA guideline documents have followed a question-and-answer format, lacked recommendation tables and had none or only a few graphic illustrations,” he added.
“We are now further developing the typical outline of the guidelines to improve the readability and dissemination of the guideline document.”
Korevaar’s disclosures include lectureship fees from IBSA, Merck, and Berlin Chemie.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.