Thyroid disorders and steroid receptor proteins

65 patients with various thyroid disorders were studied for estrogen and progesterone receptor binding proteins. Two-thirds of all patients with both benign and malignant disease demonstrated positive protein receptor assays. No differences were seen among disease processes, sex, or age. While the therapeutic implications of this random association between steroid receptors and thyroid disorders are unknown, the authors recommend that patients with thyroid malignancies be studied for estrogen and progesterone receptor binding proteins and potential inhibitory or therapeutic steroid responses.     

Tracheomalacia from compressing goiter: management after thyroidectomy

Tracheomalacia may result from prolonged compression by expanding goiter, particularly within the confines of the thoracic inlet. Constriction of the upper airway by the growing goiter may be indication for operation, but the residual problem of tracheomalacia after thyroidectomy is a life-threatening postoperative complication. Examples of postoperative tracheomalacia in patients with neglected goiters endemic in the third world or recurrent goiter with airway compromise in a western medical center referral practice are described for development of management methods. Two patients with lethal postthyroidectomy tracheomalacia led me to anticipate this complication in certain identifiable high-risk patients in my own practice, and the cases of five patients are described for whom several techniques of tracheal support were attempted. One patient, for whom staged tracheoplasty was planned, opted for tracheostomy, whereas four patients have had adequate tracheal airways restored by extrinsic support. One was treated by subtotal thyroidectomy with tracheal suspension; one by staged thyroid reductions; two were treated by creation of extrinsic tracheal neo-rings constructed of surgical wire and vascular prostheses. The patient with the most dramatic airway impairment from the most extensive tracheomalacia experienced very satisfactory airway security. A second patient was also supported by the prosthetic rings but extruded one of them, possibly because of tracheostomy contamination. Until tracheal replacement or better tolerated prosthetic or biologic supports are devised, tracheomalacia will remain a vexing problem complicating thyroidectomy for long-standing or recurrent airway-compressing goiter.     

Prednisolone versus dexamethasone in croup: a randomised equivalence trial.

BACKGROUND: Croup remains a common respiratory problem presenting to emergency departments. A single oral treatment of oral dexamethasone results in improved outcome. Prednisolone has similar pharmacokinetic properties and has a significant advantage in that it is commercially available in liquid preparations. OBJECTIVE: To ascertain whether a single oral dose of prednisolone was equivalent to a single oral dose of dexamethasone (matched for potency) in children with mild to moderate croup. DESIGN: A double blind, randomised, controlled equivalence trial. SETTING: Tertiary paediatric emergency department. Patients: 133 children aged 3 to 142 months presenting with mild to moderate croup. INTERVENTIONS: Children received either a single oral dose of dexamethasone 0.15 mg/kg or single oral dose of prednisolone 1 mg/kg. Outcome: The main outcome measure was unscheduled re-presentation to medical care as determined by telephone follow up at 7 to 10 days. Croup score, adrenaline (epinephrine) use, time spent in the emergency department, and duration of croup and viral symptoms were secondary outcome measures. RESULTS: Children treated with prednisolone were more likely to re-present: 19 of 65 children (29%) reattended medical care compared with 5 of 68 (7%) from the dexamethasone group. The confidence intervals around this 22% difference in outcome were 8% to 35%, outside the 0% to 7.5% range of equivalence. There were no significant differences in other outcome measures. CONCLUSION: A single oral dose of prednisolone is less effective than a single oral dose of dexamethasone in reducing unscheduled re-presentation to medical care in children with mild to moderate croup.     

Intraoperative cytologic evaluation of lipid in the diagnosis of parathyroid adenoma

Analysis of intraoperative air-dried imprints or smears of 20 cases of parathyroid adenoma revealed that the cells of the parathyroid adenomas did not contain extra- or intracellular lipid, but the cytologic material from accompanying normal or atrophic parathyroid glands had large amounts of intracellular lipid and variable amounts of extracellular lipid. Thus, rapid intraoperative cytologic preparation is not only effective in determining whether the specimen is parathyroid or not, but also in specifying the nature of the individual parathyroid glands. These observations again confirm that intraoperative cytologic evaluation of parathyroid tissue is an effective and important pathologic consultation method during parathyroid exploration.     

Intraoperative imprints for the identification of parathyroid tissue

Parathyroid exploration involves identification of all accessible parathyroid glands and the distinguishing of normal and pathologic parathyroid glands. Close collaboration of the surgeon and the surgical pathologist is characterized by courtesy and efficiency with special techniques by each that facilitate accuracy and speed, particularly at the conclusion of the surgical exploration when the biopsy specimens have been passed to the pathologist on a "parathyroid map" and the patient remains anesthetized. Parathyroid imprint by touch preparation technique allowed cytologic examination in less than 1 minute per specimen, with ready identification of the presence or absence of parathyroid tissue. Pathologic diagnoses were also possible on abnormal parathyroid glands when the parathyroid imprint was used as a screening procedure to select specimens for frozen section. Accuracy and speed were excellent as used in this series of parathyroid surgical pathology consultations. Intraoperative imprint confirmation of parathyroid tissue is suggested as an improvement in pathologic consultation during parathyroid exploration.     

The association between sidewalk length and walking for different purposes in established neighborhoods

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Walking in neighborhood environments is undertaken for different purposes including for transportation and leisure. We examined whether sidewalk availability was associated with participation in, and minutes of neighborhood-based walking for transportation (NWT) and recreation (NWR) after controlling for neighborhood self-selection. METHOD: Baseline survey data from respondents (n=1813) who participated in the RESIDential Environment (RESIDE) project (Perth, Western Australia) were used. Respondents were recruited based on their plans to move to another neighborhood in the following year. Usual weekly neighborhood-based walking, residential preferences, walking attitudes, and demographics were measured. Characteristics of the respondent's baseline neighborhood were measured including transportation-related walkability and sidewalk length. A Heckman two-stage modeling approach (multivariate Probit regression for walking participation, followed by a sample selection-bias corrected OLS regression for walking minutes) estimated the relative contribution of sidewalk length to NWT and NWR. RESULTS: After adjustment, neighborhood sidewalk length and walkability were positively associated with a 2.97 and 2.16 percentage point increase in the probability of NWT participation, respectively. For each 10km increase in sidewalk length, NWT increased by 5.38 min/wk and overall neighborhood-based walking increased by 5.26 min/wk. Neighborhood walkability was not associated with NWT or NWR minutes. Moreover, sidewalk length was not associated with NWR minutes. CONCLUSION: Sidewalk availability in established neighborhoods may be differentially associated with walking for different purposes. Our findings suggest that large investments in sidewalk construction alone would yield small increases in walking.