5 research outputs found
Parathyroid hemangioma
Background: Hemangiomas are benign neoplasms of capillary proliferation that arise from a developmental anomaly where angioblastic mesenchyme fails to form canals. Most hemangiomas arise in the head and neck region, either superficially in the skin or deeper within endocrine organs such as the parotid gland. Parathyroid hemangiomas, however, are extremely rare, with only five cases previously reported in the literature. Case presentation: Herein, we present a case of a 68-year-old man with a hemangioma almost completely replacing the right upper parathyroid gland, grossly measuring 1.3 × 1.3 × 1.2 cm and weighing 700 mg, associated with primary hyperparathyroidism. Conclusions: Parathyroid gland enlargement due to vascular neoplasms such as hemangiomas can mimic, both clinically and radiographically, hyperplasias and/or adenomas. Surgeons need to be aware of the presence of this entity and should consider it in the differential diagnosis of hyperparathyroidism or parathyroid gland enlargement
Rectal endometriosis presenting as toxic megacolon
Background: The bowel is the most common site of extragenital endometriosis, with involvement of the locoregional sigmoid colon and anterior rectum seen most often. The clinical presentation varies depending on how soon patients seek medical care, thus requiring changes in management strategies. Endometriosis can cause a life-threatening surgical emergency with progressive obliteration of the bowel lumen leading to obstruction and late complications including toxic megacolon and transmural necrosis. Case presentation: We report the case of a 41-year-old woman presenting with an acute abdomen and complete large bowel obstruction complicated by sepsis and toxic megacolon. The patient underwent emergency total colectomy with ileostomy. Medical history was significant for chronic, vague, and episodic lower abdominal pain selfmedicated with herbal tea and laxatives. Pathologic examination demonstrated colonic endometriosis within the bowel wall as the cause of obstruction, ischemia, and transmural necrosis. Conclusions: Although a rare clinical entity, this case highlights two important points. First, it demonstrates the value of performing proper and complete clinical work up to rule out or in all possible causes of colonic obstruction, including intestinal endometriosis. Second, it suggests a potential benefit of a formalized multidisciplinary approach, including surgery, in the management of medically unresponsive endometriosis. In conclusion, this case shows that endometriosis can cause life-threatening colonic obstruction in women of childbearing age. Prompt early intervention is warranted, particularly when obstruction is only partial and ischemia has not supervened, to conceivably prevent the development of a toxic megacolon requiring colectomy and avoid late complications
An Unusual Case of Lower Extremity Clear Cell Hidradenocarcinoma
Hidradenocarcinoma (HC) is a rare malignant sweat gland tumor with metastatic potential primarily located in the head, neck, and trunk. We present an unusual case of a large lower extremity Clear Cell HC managed with surgical resection and adjuvant locoregional radiation after excluding lymph node involvement
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Understanding ThyroSeq v3 "Currently Negative" Results in Indeterminate Thyroid Aspirates: A Cytological, Histological, and Molecular Study
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Atypia of undetermined significance and ThyroSeq v3-positive call rates as quality control metrics for cytology laboratory performance
The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology (TBSRTC) recommends an upper limit of 10% for atypia of undetermined significance (AUS). Recent data suggest that this category might be overused when the rate of cases with molecular positive results is low. As a quality metric, the AUS and positive call rates for this facility's cytology laboratory and each cytopathologist (CP) were calculated.
A retrospective analysis of all thyroid cytology cases in a 4.5-year period was performed. Cases were stratified by TBSRTC, and molecular testing results were collected for indeterminate categories. The AUS rate was calculated for each CP and the laboratory. The molecular positive call rate (PCR) was calculated with and without the addition of currently negative to the positive results obtained from the ThyroSeq report.
A total of 7535 cases were classified as nondiagnostic, 7.6%; benign, 69%; AUS, 17.5%; follicular neoplasm/suspicious for follicular neoplasm, 1.4%; suspicious for malignancy, 0.7%; and malignant, 3.8%. The AUS rate for each CP ranged from 9.9% to 36.8%. The overall PCR was 24% (range, 13%-35.6% per CP). When including cases with currently negative results, the PCR increased to 35.5% for the cytology laboratory (range, 13%-42.6% per CP). Comparison analysis indicates a combination of overcalling benign cases and, less frequently, undercalling of higher TBSRTC category cases.
The AUS rate in the context of PCR is a useful metric to assess cytology laboratory and cytopathologists' performance. Continuous feedback on this metric could help improve the overall quality of reporting thyroid cytology