The object of this study is to search the characteristics of children and adolescents with thyroid nodules and analyze our institutional experience in the management of thyroid nodules.The complaints of these patients, physical examination findings, diagnostic features, results of radiologic researches, choise of the most appropriate modality to these patients' thyroid nodule assessment, and the management of the pathology results were revealed.

Patients who applied to the pediatric endocrinology or oncology outpatient clinic of Ankara City Hospital with the diagnosis of thyroid nodule were examined. All patients who has pathology result as benign, atypia of undetermined significance/follicular lesion of undetermined significance (AUS/FLUS), follicular neoplasm/ suspicious for a follicular neoplasm (FN/SFN), suspicious for malignancy (SM), and malignant were searched.

A total of 130 patients presented with thyroid nodules. Female male ratio was 1,95:1. The youngest patient was 68 months old. At admission there was no goiter in 71.5% of the patients on physical examination. Of all patients 36% of them underwent fine needle aspiration biopsy and 8 of the 76 patients who underwent biopsy were diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer. One patient diagnosed with follicular thyroid cancer Patients that diagnosed cancer, 4.6% of them treated with radioactive iodine.

Although most pediatric thyroid nodules are benign, distinguishing benign from malignant lesions is crucial. Interdepartmental communication and competence are very important in the follow-up of patients with thyroid nodules. Because of an increased risk of cancer in the pediatric population, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for pediatrics need further research including multicenter studies to attain universal consensus regarding the diagnosis and management.