Cardiovascular Risk and Metabolic Syndrome Characteristics in Patients with Nonfunctional Pituitary Macroadenoma

Context. An elevated incidence of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been reported in patients with nonfunctional pituitary macroadenoma (NFPMA). There is no information about metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk in patients with NFPMA in our population. Objective. Analyze the metabolic syndrome (MetS) components and estimate cardiovascular risk in patients with NFPMA. Design and Setting. Retrospective study, at the tertiary care center. Patients and Methods. 71 patients with NFPMA treated according to a preestablished multimodal protocol. Main Outcome Measures. Prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity, and cardiovascular risk and its relationship with the clinical and biochemical characteristics. Results. The prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and obesity at diagnosis was 30%, 27%, 48%, and 85% and did not change upon the last visit. The prevalence of MetS changes from 54 to 48% (p=0.001). NFPMA patients showed a significant increase risk for high total cholesterol (SMR 1.68, 95% CI 1.28–2.17, p=0.001) and diabetes (SMR 3.19, 95% CI 2.19–4.49, p=0.01). According to Globorisk, the male gender was an evidence of high CVD before (81% versus 18%, p=0.01) and after (72% versus 28%, p=0.01) multimodal treatment. Conclusion. A high prevalence of cardiovascular and metabolic disease and a high cardiovascular risk were evidenced in patients with NFPMA, especially in men. Risk factors such as the personal history of hypertension and dyslipidemia could explain the foregoing, so the control and treatment of metabolic parameters and cardiovascular risk should be an integral part of the follow-up of these patients

Symptomatic Primary Hyperparathyroidism as a Risk Factor for Differentiated Thyroid Cancer

Background. The primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is a common disease for the endocrinologist. The concomitant thyroid disease and differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) appear to be more frequent in patients with PHPT than in the general population. The aim of this study was to characterize patients with symptomatic PHPT with and without DTC and analyze frequency and risk factors. Methods. We consecutively studied patients with symptomatic PHPT diagnosed and treated at our center between 2013 and 2015. Patients with subclinical and syndromic forms of PHPT were excluded. Clinical and biochemical characteristics of patients with and without DTC were compared and risk factors were determined. All patients were studied with thyroid ultrasound and thyroid gammagraphy with TC-MIBI. Two expert surgeons performed all the surgical procedures. Results. In 59 patients included, we found 12 cases of PTC (20.3%). The final histopathological report of the PTC was 7 cases of follicular variant, 2 cases of oncocytic variant, 2 cases of classic variant, and 1 case of columnar cells variant of PTC. Patients with thyroid cancer were older than patients without thyroid cancer (62 ± 9.5 versus 52 ± 15.8, p = 0.03). Higher preoperative levels of iPTH were associated with PTC (p=0.03) [OR 5.16 (95% CI: 1.08-24.7)]. Conclusion. PTC is frequent in patients with symptomatic PHPT. Thyroid nodules in patients with symptomatic PHPT must be studied before parathyroidectomy. In symptomatic PHPT, higher level concentration of parathormone (PTH) was associated with higher risk of DTC

Evaluation of a quality improvement intervention to reduce anastomotic leak following right colectomy (EAGLE): pragmatic, batched stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial in 64 countries

Background Anastomotic leak affects 8 per cent of patients after right colectomy with a 10-fold increased risk of postoperative death. The EAGLE study aimed to develop and test whether an international, standardized quality improvement intervention could reduce anastomotic leaks. Methods The internationally intended protocol, iteratively co-developed by a multistage Delphi process, comprised an online educational module introducing risk stratification, an intraoperative checklist, and harmonized surgical techniques. Clusters (hospital teams) were randomized to one of three arms with varied sequences of intervention/data collection by a derived stepped-wedge batch design (at least 18 hospital teams per batch). Patients were blinded to the study allocation. Low- and middle-income country enrolment was encouraged. The primary outcome (assessed by intention to treat) was anastomotic leak rate, and subgroup analyses by module completion (at least 80 per cent of surgeons, high engagement; less than 50 per cent, low engagement) were preplanned. Results A total 355 hospital teams registered, with 332 from 64 countries (39.2 per cent low and middle income) included in the final analysis. The online modules were completed by half of the surgeons (2143 of 4411). The primary analysis included 3039 of the 3268 patients recruited (206 patients had no anastomosis and 23 were lost to follow-up), with anastomotic leaks arising before and after the intervention in 10.1 and 9.6 per cent respectively (adjusted OR 0.87, 95 per cent c.i. 0.59 to 1.30; P = 0.498). The proportion of surgeons completing the educational modules was an influence: the leak rate decreased from 12.2 per cent (61 of 500) before intervention to 5.1 per cent (24 of 473) after intervention in high-engagement centres (adjusted OR 0.36, 0.20 to 0.64; P < 0.001), but this was not observed in low-engagement hospitals (8.3 per cent (59 of 714) and 13.8 per cent (61 of 443) respectively; adjusted OR 2.09, 1.31 to 3.31). Conclusion Completion of globally available digital training by engaged teams can alter anastomotic leak rates. Registration number: NCT04270721 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov)