Gray-scale and color Doppler ultrasonographic manifestations of papillary thyroid carcinoma: analysis of 51 cases

The purpose of this study is to assess the specific ultrasonic characteristics of papillary thyroid carcinoma and to determine the relative frequency of various patterns of papillary carcinoma on gray-scale ultrasonography (US) and color Doppler ultrasonography (CDU).

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed US features in 51 patients with confirmed papillary thyroid carcinoma. The features were analyzed based on tumor size, echogenicity, echotexture, boundary, margin, shape, and calcification pattern on gray-scale US imaging, and on patterns of vascularity on CDU. We obtained the relative frequency of features and classified these features into three categories: common (≥50% of lesions), less common (>10% but <50%), and uncommon (≤10%). Individual differences and combinations of features were also analyzed.

Results

In total, 67 nodules were enrolled in our study. The sizes of 76% of nodular lesions were <20.0 mm. Common US features of papillary carcinoma included: a homogeneous hypoechoic solid picture; a poorly defined boundary; an irregular margin; the absence of halo; the absence of calcifications or microcalcifications; and mixed perinodular and intranodular blood flow patterns. Less common features included: a heterogeneous hypoechoic or very hypoechoic picture; microcalcifications; a well-defined boundary; a regular margin; a halo with uneven thickness or an incomplete halo; and a taller-than-wide shape. Uncommon features included: an isoechoic picture; solid with cystic components; coarse calcifications; mixed coarse calcifications and microcalcifications; “inferno”-type blood flow; and absence of blood flow. On average, each nodule had 4.9 US features considered common, 1.8 US features considered less common, and 0.4 US feature considered uncommon. Features such as predominantly cystic composition, hyperechoic texture, and hypoechoic halo with even thickness were never found in our study. The top two common manifestations of papillary carcinoma were solid architecture and mixed perinodular and intranodular blood flow signals.

Conclusion

All lesions in our series had a predominantly solid characteristic on gray-scale US.     

Cardiac beriberi among illegal mainland Chinese immigrants

The most common symptoms of chronic beriberi due to thiamine deficiency include dyspnoea, fatigue, leg oedema, lower extremity weakness and numbness. When collapsed peripheral circulation, metabolic acidosis, or shock are present, the disease has advanced from chronic beriberi to pernicious or fulminating beriberi heart failure (Shoshin beriberi). We report two patients with fulminating beriberi; both of whom had been incarcerated at a detention centre for 5 months before hospitalization. A prolonged monotonous diet, low in thiamine, was a major risk factor in both patients. Thiamine deficiency should be considered for any patient with symptoms and signs compatible with beriberi.     

Epidemiology and molecular characterization of Streptococcus pyogenes recovered from scarlet fever patients in central Taiwan from 1996 to 1999

One hundred seventy-nine Streptococcus pyogenes isolates recovered from scarlet fever patients from 1996 to 1999 in central Taiwan were characterized by emm, Vir, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing methods. The protocols for Vir and PFGE typing were standardized. A database of the DNA fingerprints for the isolates was established. Nine emm or emm-like genes, 19 Vir patterns, and 26 SmaI PFGE patterns were detected among the isolates. Among the three typing methods, PFGE was the most discriminatory. However, it could not completely replace Vir typing because some isolates with identical PFGE patterns could be further differentiated into several Vir patterns. The prevalent emm types were emm4 (n = 81 isolates [45%]), emm12 (n = 64 [36%]), emm1 (n = 14 [8%]), and emm22 (n = 13 [7%]). Some emm type isolates could be further differentiated into several emm-Vir-PFGE genotypes; however, only one genotype in each emm group was usually predominant. DNA from nine isolates was resistant to SmaI digestion. Further PFGE analysis with SgrAI showed that the SmaI digestion-resistant strains could be derived from indigenous strains by horizontal transfer of exogenous genetic material. The emergence of the new strains could have resulted in an increase in scarlet fever cases in central Taiwan since 2000. The emm sequences, Vir, and PFGE pattern database will serve as a basis for information for the long-term evolutionary study of local S. pyogenes strains.     

Renal Transplantation: Relationship between Hospital/Surgeon Volume and Postoperative Severe Sepsis/Graft-Failure. A Nationwide Population-Based Study

Background and objects: We explored the relationship between hospital/surgeon volume and postoperative severe sepsis/graft-failure (including death).Methods: The Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database claims data for all patients with end-stage renal disease patients who underwent kidney transplantation between January 1, 1999, and December 31, 2007, were reviewed. Surgeons and hospitals were categorized into two groups based on their patient volume. The two primary outcomes were severe sepsis and graft failure (including death). The logistical regressions were done to compute the Odds ratios (OR) of outcomes after adjusting for possible confounding factors. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to calculate the cumulative survival rates of graft failure after kidney transplantation during follow-up (1999-2008).Results: The risk of developing severe sepsis in a hospital in which surgeons do little renal transplantation was significant (odds ratio [OR]; p = 0.0115): 1.65 times (95% CI: 1.12-2.42) higher than for a hospital in which surgeons do many. The same trend was true for hospitals with a low volume of renal transplantations (OR = 2.39; 95% CI: 1.62-3.52; p < 0.0001). The likelihood of a graft failure (including death) within one year for the low-volume surgeon group was 3.1 times higher than for the high-volume surgeon group (p < 0.0001); the trend was similar for hospital volume. Female patients had a lower risk than did male patients, and patients ≥ 55 years old and those with a higher Charlson comorbidity index score, had a higher risk of severe sepsis.Conclusions: We conclude that the risk of severe sepsis and graft failure (including death) is higher for patients treated in hospitals and by surgeons with a low volume of renal transplantations. Therefore, the health authorities should consider exporting best practices through educational outreach and regulation and then providing transparent information for public best interest.     

Comparison of 7-day and repeated 24-h recall of type 2 diabetes

Purpose  

Patient reporting of type 2 diabetes symptoms in a questionnaire with a 7-day recall period was expected to be different from symptom reports using a 7-day diary with repeated 24-h recall based on cognitive theory of memory processes and prior literature. This study compared these two types of recall in patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2D).     

Prevalence of cluster headache in the Republic of Georgia: results of a population-based study and methodological considerations

We present a study of the general-population prevalence of cluster headache in the Republic of Georgia and discuss the advantages and challenges of different methodological approaches. In a community-based survey, specially trained medical residents visited 500 adjacent households in the capital city, Tbilisi, and 300 households in the eastern rural area of Kakheti. They interviewed all ( n  = 1145) biologically unrelated adult occupants using a previously validated questionnaire. The household responses rates were 92% in Tbilisi and 100% in Kakheti. The survey identified 32 persons with possible cluster headache, who were then personally interviewed by one of two headache-experienced neurologists. Cluster headache was confirmed in one subject. The prevalence of cluster headache was therefore estimated to be 87/100 000 (95% confidence interval < 258/100 000). We used a conservative approach, which has an obvious advantage of high-quality data collection, but is very demanding of manpower and time.