Status and influencing factors of physician trust in patients with thyroid micropapillary carcinoma converted from follow-up to surgical treatment

LIU Jie; HAN Peng; SUI Fang; YAN Jinfeng; ZHOU Cuiping

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1002-266X.2025.12.016

Abstract：Objective To understand the current status of physician trust among patients with papillary thyroid mi-crocarcinoma(PTMC)who were converted from follow-up to surgical treatment,and to analyze its influencing factors.Methods A total of 140 patients with PTMC who were converted from follow-up to surgical treatment were selected for the study.These patients were diagnosed with PTMC before hospitalization,and met the disease progression criteria during monitoring and underwent surgical treatment.The postoperative pathology confirmed papillary thyroid carcinoma.The Wake Forest Physician Trust Scale(WF-PTS)was used to evaluate the patients'trust in their physicians.Questionnaires were used to collect patients'general sociodemographic data,treatment-related information,the degree of fear of disease progression[Chinese version of the Fear of Progression Questionnaire-Short Form(FoP-Q-SF)],and the situation of treat-ment decision-making conflicts[Chinese version of the Decision Conflict Scale(DCS)].Multiple linear regression analy-sis was conducted to analyze the influencing factors of the level of trust in physicians.Results The WF-PTS score of this group of patients was(29.36±5.16)points,which was at a medium level.The results of univariate analysis showed that previous hospitalization experience,preoperative follow-up time,presence or absence of lymph node metastasis,surgical method,and postoperative complications were factors influencing the level of trust in physicians(all P<0.05).The level of trust in physicians of PTMC patients who were converted from follow-up to surgery was negatively correlated with the de-gree of fear of disease progression and the level of treatment decision conflict(r=-0.718 and-0.710,respectively;all P<0.05).Taking the WF-PTS score as the dependent variable and previous hospitalization experience,preoperative follow-up time,presence or absence of lymph node metastasis,surgical method,postoperative complications,FoP-Q-SF score,and DCS score as independent variables,multiple linear regression analysis was conducted using the stepwise method.The results showed that FoP-Q-SF score,DCS score,presence or absence of lymph node metastasis,and postoperative complications were independent influencing factors of the level of trust in physicians of PTMC patients who were converted from follow-up to surgery(all P<0.05).Conclusions The physician trust level of PTMC patients converted from follow-up to surgical treatment needs further improvement.The FoP-Q-SF score,DCS score,presence or absence of lymph node metastasis,and whether there are postoperative complications are independent influencing factors of physician trust in PTMC patients converted from follow-up to surgical treatment.