Search

This article discusses the use of US-guided hydrodissection and a low-cost indigenous retractor in transoral endoscopic thyroid surgery. The authors hypothesized that these modifications to the conventional technique would make the dissection easier. The study included 16 patients who underwent the modified procedure, and all patients had successful outcomes without any complications. The authors conclude that preoperative US-guided hydrodissection and the use of a low-cost indigenous muscle retractor are simple and effective techniques that facilitate transoral endoscopic thyroid surgery. [Extracted from the article]

The anesthetic management of a patient with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) for noncardiac surgery is challenging due to associated congestive heart failure, malignant dysrhythmias, sudden cardiac arrest, implanted rhythm devices, and thromboembolism. We report successful conduct of a case of DCM on cardiac resynchronization device with Cauda equina syndrome (CES) under general anesthesia in prone position. The anesthetic concerns specific to the pathophysiology of DCM are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to deferral of elective transplants and proactive pretransplant testing of the donor/recipient. The impact of these on living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) activity and outcome is not known. We performed LDLT only for sick patients or patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma in this period, with special COVID protocols. Patients undergoing LDLT counseling, evaluation, and transplant in the period March to June 2020 (group A) under COVID-19 restrictions and special protocols were included. LDLT activity and outcomes among these patients were compared with those in the same period in 2019 (group B). In the period March 15–June 10, we performed 39 and 23 (59%) LDLTs in 2019 and 2020, respectively. The adult patients with cirrhosis in group A (n = 20) had a significantly higher MELD score, 19.8 ± 7.0 versus 16.1 ± 5.6 in group B (n = 36), p = 0.034. Early recipient mortality was similar in 2019 (2/39) and 2020 (2/23). One of 23 post-transplant recipients, 3/71 recipients and donors during evaluation, and 8/125 healthcare workers (HCWs) developed COVID-19, all of whom recovered uneventfully. LDLT activity substantially reduced during the COVID era. The incidence and outcome of COVID-19 among the waiting or transplanted patients and HCWs were similar to those of the general population. The outcome after LDLT in the COVID era was similar to that in non-COVID times. These data suggest that LDLT may be extended to more stable patients with strict protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to review, assess and report on the studies that have evaluated selective alpha blockade (SAB) vs. non-selective alpha blockade (NSAB) therapy in patients undergoing surgery for pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGL). We performed a systematic search of electronic databases. A meta-analysis was conducted to examine the effectiveness of the two blockades. RevMan 5.3 was used for the meta-analysis. Of the eight articles that met the inclusion criteria, there was only one randomized control trial. Meta-analysis showed that there was no significant difference between the groups SAB and NSAB with regard to intra-operative systolic blood pressure (SBP) >160 mm Hg (relative risk (RR) 0.95 [95% CI 0.57, 1.56] P = 0·83) and intra-operative vasopressor requirement (RR 1.10 [95% CI 0.96, 1.26] P = 0·16). Meta-analysis revealed that there was a significant difference between the groups (SAB vs NSAB) with respect to post-operative vasopressor requirement (RR 1.66 [95% CI 1.0, 2.74] P = 0·05). There was no significant difference between the groups with respect to post-operative complications (RR 0.84 [95% CI 0.58, 1.22] P = 0·36). In conclusion, as patients blocked selectively may have a higher incidence of vasodilator requirement intra-operatively, NSAB offers some haemodynamic advantage over SAB. However, NSAB's real clinical benefit cannot be ascertained with the current studies as this difference did not result in any significant advantage over SAB with regard to morbidity or mortality., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2022 Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism.)

Background: Despite the benefits of focused parathyroidectomy (FPTx), few studies have questioned its durability with lower long-term cure rates than bilateral or conventional parathyroidectomy (CPTx). The objective of this study is to bring out the information on the type of surgical management versus cure rate, recurrence, and role of intra-operative parathyroid hormone (IOPTH) level monitoring of PHPT patients., Material and Methods: This was a retrospective study of all PHPT patients treated at our center based on operative approach (CPTx vs FPTx) or use of IOPTH. Treatment failure was divided into persistent or recurrent disease, based on documentation of hypercalcemia in combination with an inappropriate PTH within 6 months or more of surgery, respectively., Results: Overall, 50.78% patients underwent CPTx and 49.32% FPTx. 29 FPTx were converted to CPTx. Intention to treat analysis between CPTx and FPTx showed that the persistence rate was not statistically different at 2.54% and 4%, respectively ( P = 0.98). Furthermore, when the persistence rate was scrutinized by a treatment received (TR) instead of ITT analysis, the persistence rate was higher for the patients who underwent TR-CPTX than for the patients subjected to TR-FPTX (3.22% vs 1.08%) but not significant statistically. We further analyzed the outcome of FPTx with IOPTH ( n = 213) and FPTx without IOPTH ( n = 28). The outcome did not differ between two groups statistically., Conclusion: FPTx yields a similar success rate as compared to CPTx even in symptomatic PHPT patients and can be performed safely even without intra-opeartive adjunct IOPTH in selected patients., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2019 Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism.)