General or Local Anaesthesia in One-Day Thyroid Surgery-Does It Matter?

Objective: We aimed to determine the safety and feasibility of general anaesthesia (GA) compared with local anaesthesia + Monitored Anaesthesia Care (LA+MAC) for One-Day Thyroid Surgery (ODTS); to assess patient and operator satisfaction with either of the anesthetic approaches.Material and Methods: We reviewed prospectively 130 patients who underwent ODTS from 2008 to 2011. 64 patients were operated on under GA and 62 - under LA+MAC. All variables of patient demographic characteristics, duration and type of operation, postoperative complications, difficulty in airway management and postoperative opiate consumption were recorded and analyzed.Results: There is no difference in respect to length of stay, discharge time and major/minor complications rate between two groups, but in the LA+MAC group, pain appears earlier and is more severe (56min; VAS 6, 5) than in GA patients (223 min; VAS 1, 5; p<0.001). Patient satisfaction was similar but the operator preference was greater for GA.Conclusion: In experienced hands LA with MAC for Thyroidectomy is a safe and wise choice, but GA is even more so

Association of biochemical and clinical parameters with parathyroid adenoma weight. Turkish-Bulgarian endocrine and breast surgery study group, hyperparathyroidism registry study

Background: Primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) caused by a single benign parathyroid adenoma is a common endocrine disorder that is affected by regional differences. Living in different geographical regions reveals differences in the laboratory results and pathological findings, but studies on this subject are not sufficient. The article focuses on biochemical and pathological effects of geographical differences in parathyroid adenoma. In addition, the present study seeks to elaborate on treatment methods and effectiveness of screening in geographical area of Bulgaria and Turkey. Method: In this prospective study, 159 patients were included from 16 centres. Demographic characteristics, symptoms, biochemical markers and pathologic characteristics were analysed and compared between 8 different regions. Results: Patients from Turkish Black Sea had the highest median serum calcium (Ca) level, whereas patients from Eastern Turkey had the lowest median serum phosphorus (P) level. On the other hand, there was no significant difference between Ca, parathormone (PTH) and P levels according to regions. Patients from Eastern Turkey had the highest adenoma weight, while patients from Bulgaria had the lowest adenoma weight. The weight of adenoma showed statistically significant differences between regions (p < 0.001). There was a correlation between adenoma weight and serum PTH level (p = 0.05) and Ca level (p = 0.035). Conclusion: This study has provided a deeper insight into the effect of the regional differences upon clinicopathological changing and biochemical values of pHTP patients with adenoma. Awareness of regional differences will assist in biochemical screening and treatment of this patient group. (c) 2021 Asian Surgical Association and Taiwan Robotic Surgery Association. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Regional Clinical and Biochemical Differences among Patients with Primary Hyperparathyroidism

Background: Environmental habitat may play a role in clinical disparities of primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) patients. Aims: To compare preoperative clinical symptoms and associated conditions and surgical findings in patients with pHPT, living in different geographical regions from the Black Sea, Mediterranean and Anatolia regions. Study Design: Retrospective, clinical-based multi-centric study of 694 patients with pHPT. Methods: Patients from 23 centers and 8 different geographical regions were included. Data related to baseline demographics, clinical, pathologic and treatment characteristics of 8 regions were collected and included age, gender, residential data, symptoms, history of fracture, existence of brown tumor, serum total Ca and p levels, serum parathormone (PTH) levels, serum 25-OH vitamin D levels, bone mineral density, size of the resected abnormal parathyroid gland(s), histology, as well as the presence of ectopia, presence of dual adenoma, and multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN)- or familial-related disease. Results: The median age was 54. Asymptomatic patient rate was 25%. The median PTH level was 232 pg/mL and serum total Ca was 11.4 mg/dL. Eighty-seven percent of patients had an adenoma and 90% of these had a single adenoma. Hyperplasia was detected in 79 patients and cancer in 9 patients. The median adenoma size was 16 mm. Significant parameters differing between regions were preoperative symptoms, serum Ca and p levels, and adenoma size. All patients from South-East Anatolia were symptomatic, while the lowest p values were reported from East Anatolia and the largest adenoma size, as well as highest Ca levels, were from Bulgaria. Conclusion: Habitat conditions vary between geographical regions. This affects the clinicopathological features of patients with pHP

Management of endocrine surgical disorders during COVID-19 pandemic: expert opinion for non-surgical options

Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented conditions for overall health care systems by restricting resources for non-COVID-19 patients. As the burden of the disease escalates, routine elective surgeries are being cancelled. The aim of this paper was to provide a guideline for management of endocrine surgical disorders during a pandemic. Methods We used Delphi method with a nine-scale Likert scale on two rounds of voting involving 64 experienced eminent surgeons and endocrinologists who had the necessary experience to provide insight on endocrine disorder management. All voting was done by email using a standard questionnaire. Results Overall, 37 recommendations were voted on. In two rounds, all recommendations reached an agreement and were either endorsed or rejected. Endorsed statements include dietary change in primary hyperparathyroidism, Cinacalcet treatment in secondary hyperparathyroidism, alpha-blocker administration for pheochromocytoma, methimazole +/- beta-blocker combination for Graves' disease, and follow-up for fine-needle aspiration results of thyroid nodules indicated as Bethesda 3-4 cytological results and papillary microcarcinoma. Conclusion This survey summarizes expert opinion for the management of endocrine surgical conditions during unprecedented times when access to surgical treatment is severely disrupted. The statements are not applicable in circumstances in which surgical treatment is possible