Advanced thyroid carcinoma: an experience of 385 cases.

AIMS: To report clinical outcomes of a large series of cases with advanced thyroid cancer. STUDY DESIGN: Three hundred and eighty-five patients at the UICC stages III and IV were selected for the study with thyroid cancer. RESULTS: Papillary carcinoma and sclerosing carcinoma have better survival than the Hürthle cell and insular types. Lymphatic metastasis does not appear to worsen the prognosis. All the tumour forms offer the chance of long survival. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical treatment is the primary treatment of thyroid carcinoma. The combined treatments of surgery, metabolic beam therapy, suppressive hormone therapy, radiotherapy and chemotherapy cure a high percentage of patients with the tumour at an advanced stage.     

Safety considerations for operating room personnel during hyperthermic intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy perfusion.

The new treatment strategy for Peritoneal Surface Malignancy combines a cytoreductive surgery and perioperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy. Cytoreduction removes all macroscopic tumor. Intraperitoneal chemotherapy avoids implantation of microscopic residual tumor cells on intra-abdominal surfaces when it is administered intraoperatively and/or early in the postoperative period. Delivering cytotoxic drugs directly into the peritoneal cavity maximizes dose intensity and minimizes systemic toxicity. Hyperthermia is selectively cytotoxic for malignant cells and potentiates the effect of chemotherapy. Implementation of this procedure makes the perioperative personnel to face a risk of exposure to cytotoxic agents. Furthermore, peritonectomies and electro-evaporation of tumor nodules are performed with high voltage electrocautery, generating a large amount of surgical smoke during several hours. Inhalation of these fumes may be also a risk for healthcare workers. In this article, we analyse in depth these new risks of the operating room personnel, we review the literature, and we give guidelines for secure performance of cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy, as well as for early postoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy administration. These new procedures are safe techniques for patients and healthcare workers provided adequate policies are adopted to avoid occupational exposure.     

Sex differences in the clinical presentation and management of airflow obstruction.

The aim of the present study was to explore differences in the clinical expression, clinical diagnoses and management of airway diseases in a primary-care setting. Patients aged >or=35 yrs who had ever smoked were enrolled when they presented for any reason to one of eight rural primary-care practices. Respiratory symptom questionnaires and spirometry were administered. In total, 1,034 patients had acceptable and reproducible spirometry, of whom 550 (53%) were males and 484 (47%) were females. Males smoked more than females (41.2 versus 29.2 pack-yrs) respectively, and were more likely to have a pre-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity <0.70 at 22.4 versus 11.8%, respectively. However, more females than males reported breathlessness (51.0 versus 42.8%, respectively), a prior diagnosis compatible with airflow obstruction and taking respiratory medications (23.4 versus 14.9%, respectively). In conclusion, the current results suggest that females are more likely than males to report breathlessness and be prescribed respiratory medications independent of differences in the severity of airflow obstruction.     

Hypoxic ventilatory response in successful extreme altitude climbers.

A very high ventilatory response to hypoxia is believed necessary to reach extreme altitude without oxygen. Alternatively, the excessive ventilation could be counterproductive by exhausting the ventilatory reserve early on. To test these alternatives, 11 elite climbers (2004 Everest-K2 Italian Expedition) were evaluated as follows: 1) at sea level, and 2) at 5,200 m, after 15 days of acclimatisation at altitude. Resting oxygen saturation, minute ventilation, breathing rate, hypoxic ventilatory response, maximal voluntary ventilation, ventilatory reserve (at oxygen saturation = 70%) and two indices of ventilatory efficiency were measured. Everest and K2 summits were reached 29 and 61 days, respectively, after the last measurement. Five climbers summited without oxygen, the other six did not, or succeeded with oxygen (two climbers). At sea level, all data were similar. At 5,200 m, the five summiters without oxygen showed lower resting minute ventilation, breathing rate and ventilatory response to hypoxia, and higher ventilatory reserve and ventilatory efficiency, compared to the other climbers. Thus, the more successful climbers had smaller responses to hypoxia during acclimatisation to 5,200 m, but, as a result, had greater available reserve for the summit. A less sensitive hypoxic response and a greater ventilatory efficiency might increase ventilatory reserve and allow sustainable ventilation in the extreme hypoxia at the summit.     

Combined transbronchial needle aspiration and positron emission tomography for mediastinal staging of NSCLC.

There are no data available combining transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) of mediastinal lymph nodes and positron emission tomography (PET) in the staging of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The aim of the current study was to determine if these two methods can enhance the negative predictive value of the individual modality alone, for a specific lymph node station, and if this integrated approach can reduce the number of mediastinoscopies. A total of 113 patients with enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes (> or = 1 cm), who underwent both TBNA and PET scanning, were included. In 51 patients, histopathology, confirmed by surgical lymph node dissection, was compared with PET results and TBNA. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy to detect malignant lymphadenopathy was 68 (13/19), 89 (119/134), 46 (13/28), 95 (119/125) and 86% (132/152) for PET, respectively; 54% (6/11), 100 (53/53), 100 (6/6), 91 (53/58) and 92% (59/64), respectively for TBNA; and 100 (11/11), 94 (50/53), 79 (11/14), 100 (50/50) and 95 (61/64) for combined TBNA and PET, respectively. Combination of transbronchial needle aspiration and positron emission tomography has the potential to allow adequate mediastinal staging of nonsmall cell lung cancer with enlarged lymph nodes in most patients without the need for mediastinoscopy.     

Report of a National Conference on Donation after Cardiac Death

A national conference on organ donation after cardiac death (DCD) was convened to expand the practice of DCD in the continuum of quality end-of-life care. This national conference affirmed the ethical propriety of DCD as not violating the dead donor rule. Further, by new developments not previously reported, the conference resolved controversy regarding the period of circulatory cessation that determines death and allows administration of pre-recovery pharmacologic agents, it established conditions of DCD eligibility, it presented current data regarding the successful transplantation of organs from DCD, it proposed a new framework of data reporting regarding ischemic events, it made specific recommendations to agencies and organizations to remove barriers to DCD, it brought guidance regarding organ allocation and the process of informed consent and it set an action plan to address media issues. When a consensual decision is made to withdraw life support by the attending physician and patient or by the attending physician and a family member or surrogate (particularly in an intensive care unit), a routine opportunity for DCD should be available to honor the deceased donor's wishes in every donor service area (DSA) of the United States.     

Caudate nucleus volume and cognitive performance: Are they related in childhood psychopathology?

BACKGROUND: Impaired neuropsychological test performance, especially on tests of executive function and attention, is often seen in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Structures involved in fronto-striatal circuitry, such as the caudate nucleus, may support these cognitive abilities. However, few studies have examined caudate volumes specifically in children with ASD, or correlated caudate volumes to cognitive ability. METHODS: Neuropsychological test scores and caudate volumes of children with ASD were compared to those of children with bipolar disorder (BD) and of typically developing (TD) children. The relationship between test performance and caudate volumes was analyzed. RESULTS: The ASD group displayed larger right and left caudate volumes, and modest executive deficits, compared to TD controls. While caudate volume inversely predicted performance on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test in all participants, it differentially predicted performance on measures of attention across the ASD, BD and TD groups. CONCLUSIONS: Larger caudate volumes were related to impaired problem solving. On a test of attention, larger left caudate volumes predicted increased impulsivity and more omission errors in the ASD group as compared to the TD group, however smaller volume predicted poorer discriminant responding as compared to the BD group.