American Thyroid Association (ATA) Guidelines Taskforce on Thyroid Nodules and Differentiated Thyroid Cancer.

Revised American Thyroid Association management guidelines for patients with thyroid nodules and differentiated thyroid cancer. Thyroid 2009;19:1167-214.

It is our pleasure to present the official Italian translation of the 2009 American Thyroid Association management guidelines for patients with thyroid nodules and differentiated thyroid cancer. The original English version of this document (published in 2009) provides the most up-to-date, evidence-based guide to clinical practice in this field. Each of the recommendations is rooted in an extensive, critical review of the literature in this field by a 11-member task force of experts from the United States, as well as two renowned endocrinologists from Europe, Drs. Martin Schlumberger (France) and Furio Pacini (Italy). As a result of their contributions, the new ATA Guidelines also reflect the important and sometimes differing viewpoints of European endocrinology. The goal of our translation is to both extend and enhance access to this valuable resource by Italian health-care professionals working in this field. Not only those who feel that they have a limited command of the English language, but also even the more experienced readers of English will find this translation a useful tool for exploring the highly important, finer shades of meaning contained in the guidelines. Our ultimate aim is to foster the diffusion in our country of common protocols for the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of thyroid disease, approaches based on scrupulously reviewed, carefully weighed scientific evidence. It is our sincere hope that our efforts will spark similar initiatives in other countries as well (and not only within the European Union). In today’s world, where patients, physicians, and researchers are increasingly on the move, widespread familiarity with these guidelines and active attempts to apply the recommendations they contain cannot help but improve our ability to offer high-quality, cost-effective care to our patients.

Sebastiano Filetti, MD

Rome, Italy

TO READ THE GUIDELINES AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT IN ITALIAN, PLEASE OPEN THE PDFs BELOW.

Ringraziamento della American Thyroid Association (ATA) ai traduttori (PDF File, 80.3 KB)

Linee Guida dell’American Thyroid Association sulla Gestione dei Pazienti con Noduli Tiroidei e Carcinoma Differenziato della Tiroide (PDF File, 1.01 MB)

American Thyroid Association (ATA) Acknowledgement to the Translators

The American Thyroid Association (ATA) wishes to acknowledge the contributions of ATA members Sebastiano Filetti, MD (University of Roma La Sapienza, Rome, Italy), Giuseppe Costante, MD (University of Catanzaro “Magna Græcia”, Catanzaro, Italy), Cosimo Durante, MD (University of Roma La Sapienza, Rome, Italy), and Furio Pacini, M.D. (The University of Siena, Siena, Italy) who have contributed their time and expertise to the translation of the Linee Guida dell’American Thyroid Association sulla Gestione dei Pazienti con Noduli Tiroidei e Carcinoma Differenziato della Tiroide from the original English Revised American Thyroid Association management guidelines for patients with thyroid nodules and differentiated thyroid cancer published by the American Thyroid Association (ATA) Guidelines Taskforce on Thyroid Nodules and Differentiated Thyroid Cancer in THYROID 2009; 19:1167-1214 with corrections published in THYROID 2010; 20:674-675.

The Translators efforts are aimed to facilitate understanding of the guidelines and their rationale to Italian physicians not well acquainted with English language. The document is being presented as it was received by the ATA without additional review or proofreading. The ATA extends deep appreciation to the translators.

ATA Guidelines Disclaimer

The American Thyroid Association develops Clinical Practice Guidelines to provide guidance and recommendations for particular practice areas concerning thyroid disease and thyroid cancer. The Guidelines are not inclusive of all proper approaches or methods, or exclusive of others. The Guidelines do not establish a standard of care and specific outcomes are not guaranteed. Treatment decisions must be made based on the independent judgment of health care providers and each patient’s individual circumstances. A guideline is not intended to take the place of physician judgment in diagnosing and treatment of particular patients.

The ATA develops guidelines based on the evidence available in the literature and the expert opinion of the task force in the recent timeframe of the publication of the guidelines. Management issues have not been and cannot be comprehensively addressed in randomized trials; therefore, the evidence cannot be comprehensive. Guidelines cannot always account for individual variation among patients. Guidelines cannot be considered inclusive of all proper methods of care or exclusive of other treatments reasonably directed at obtaining the same results.

Therefore, the American Thyroid Association considers adherence to this guideline to be voluntary, with the ultimate determination regarding its application to be made by the treating physician and health care professionals with the full consideration of the individual patient’s clinical history and physical status. In addition, the guideline concerns the therapeutic interventions used in clinical practice and do not pertain to clinical trials. Clinical trials are a separate matter, designed to research new and novel therapies, and the guidelines are not necessarily relevant to their purpose. Guideline development includes an identification of areas for future study and research, indicating the focus for future investigational therapy; based on the findings reviewed and synthesized from the latest literature.