Present Status of Thyroid Ablation in Europe: An International Survey among the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE) Members

Aim: To evaluate the effective spread of image-guided thermal ablation in thyroid gland and to characterize its current perceptions among European interventional radiologists. Materials and methods: A questionnaire with 29 multiple choice questions about thyroid ablation was sent as an E-blast to 4752 CIRSE members. Only those who completed the survey in all its parts were included in the study. Results: 242/4752 (5.09%) participants (212 males and 30 females) completed and submitted the survey. A total of 160 subjects (66.1%) were familiar with any image-guided thermal ablations, but only 63 (26% of total population) usually perform thermal ablation for thyroid gland. Only 19.5% of the interviewed sample treats micropapillary thyroid tumours and the vast majority routinely uses radiofrequency ablation (84.4%). Conclusion: There is a significant mismatch between thyroid ablation as reported by the literature and the relatively low percentage of interventional radiology actively performing such procedure in Europe. A considerable effort is required by the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe to fill this lack.