COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a decrease in the number of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in most ENT departments. We performed a survey among ENT specialists in Croatia aiming to assess how ...the pandemic influenced their practice, and consequently the patient diagnosis and treatment. The majority of the 123 participants who completed the survey stated that there was a delay in diagnosis and treatment of ENT diseases, which they expected to have negative effects on patient outcomes. Since the pandemic is still ongoing, there is the need for improvement at different levels of the healthcare system to minimize the consequences of the pandemic in non-COVID patients.
Postoperative chyle leak is a rare but serious complication of head and neck surgery. Chyle leak can lead to a systemic metabolic imbalance, a prolonged wound healing and longer hospital stay. Early ...identification and treatment are crucial for good surgical outcome. The diagnosis can be made intraoperatively or in the early postoperative period. Various treatment options described in the literature can be divided into conservative and surgical modalities. Currently, there is no evidence that any approach is superior to the other due to relatively small number of studies describing chyle leak management. There are no official guidelines for the treatment of postoperative chyle leak. The aim of this article is to present the therapeutic possibilities and to offer an algorithm for chyle leak management.
Uvod: Primarni hiperparatireoidizam liječi se kirurški. Opseg i uspješnost operacije ovise o točnosti prepoznavanja lokalizacije patološki promijenjene žlijezde dijagnostičkim pretragama prije ...operacije te o intraoperativnoj potvrdi uklanjanja izvora povišene koncentracije PTH. Materijali i metode: Učinjena je retrospektivna analiza bolesnika s dijagnozom primarnog hiperparatireoidizma liječenih u Klinici za tumore u periodu od 2012. do 2019. Godine. Uključena su 54 bolesnika s dijagnozom primarnog hiperparatireoidizma, jedna bolesnica operirana je dva puta. Raspon normalnih koncentracija intaktnog PTH je 15 – 65 pg/mL, a ukupnog kalcija 2,14 – 2,53 mmol/L. Preoperativna koncentracija PTH mjerena je nakon uvoda u opću anesteziju. Intraoperativna koncentracija PTH mjerena je 15 minuta nakon vađenja žlijezde koju smo smatrali zahvaćenom. Kriterij uspješno učinjene operacije bio je pad koncentracije PTH veći od 50% u odnosu na početnu vrijednost. U slučaju izostanka pada koncentracije PTH, prema odluci kirurga, a ovisno o intraoperativnoj situaciji, operacija je produljena traženjem zahvaćene žlijezde, te ponavljanim mjerenjem. Rezultati: Prosječna koncentracija PTH prije operacije bila je 117,4 (39,6 – 305,4) pg/mL, a ukupnog kalcija 2,75 (2,45 – 3,15) mmol/L. Prosječna koncentracija intraoperativnog PTH bila je 35,6 (8,1 – 198,6) pg/mL. Intraoperativne vrijednosti bile su 67,6% manje u odnosu na preoperativne. Kod 44
bolesnika bilo je dovoljno jedno intraoperativno mjerenje koncentracije PTH, dok je kod 11 bolesnika bilo potrebno više mjerenja. Prosječna koncentracija ukupnog kalcija šest mjeseci nakon operacije bila je 2,39 (1,96 – 2,7) mmol/L. Primjenom intraoperativnog određivanja PTH postignuta je uspješnost operacije kod 53 bolesnika (98,14%). Određivanje intraoperativnog pada koncentracije PTH ima visoku osjetljivost 88,7% i pozitivnu prediktivnu vrijednost 97,9%. Zaključak: Intraoperativna potvrda pada koncentracije PTH povećava uspjeh kirurškog
liječenja primarnog hiperparatireoidizma, posebno u skupini bolesnika s multiglandularnom bolesti. Zaključak je temeljen na skupini bolesnika kod kojih je bilo potrebno više od jednog određivanja intraoperativnog PTH.
Papillary thyroid cancer is one of the cancers with favorable prognosis, although the long-term recurrence rate in the paratracheal region is reported to be as high as 30%. The use of
I is considered ...to be a reliable treatment option for lymph node metastases in the paratracheal region. According to the majority of internationally accepted guidelines, it is not recommended to perform central node dissection (CND) routinely. Total thyroidectomy (TT) remains an adequate treatment for these patients. According to many studies, CND is associated with higher rates of hypoparathyroidism. However, CND improves staging.
We performed a retrospective study. We included 248 patients treated for papillary thyroid cancer during a 20-year period. Data were collected on patient (age, sex) and tumor (size, focality) characteristics, presence of metastases in the central neck compartment, incidence of postoperative hypoparathyroidism, and locoregional failure. We divided patients into two groups based on pathological analysis: those without positive lymph nodes (N0) and those with positive paratracheal lymph nodes (N1). We compared patient and tumor characteristics and risk of recurrence between the two groups.
There were 39.5% patients with central neck metastases in our series. In the central neck dissection specimen, 5.5 nodes were found on average. Hypoparathyroidism was found in 23.4% of patients and remained permanent in 3.2% of patients. Female and older patients had a lower chance of central compartment metastases, as did patients with smaller and unifocal tumors. Recurrence risk was doubled for the N1 group. All tested differences between the groups reached statistical significance.
In our hands, CND was a safe and effective surgical procedure. It improved staging and postsurgical management. Efforts should be made to improve the preoperative work-up in order to more accurately identify high-risk patients.
The aim of this study was to compare the incidence of postoperative hypoparathyroidism in two groups of patients who were treated for differentiated thyroid cancer.
A retrospective analysis of 179 ...patients who were treated for differentiated thyroid cancer in our institution from January 2011 until December 2018 was performed. Only patients initially treated with total thyroidectomy and those who did not have preoperatively confirmed central compartment and lateral neck lymph node metastases were included in this study. Two main groups of patients were analysed. The patients who were treated with total thyroidectomy and elective central compartment lymph node dissection simultaneously were included in the first group. The patients who were treated only with total thyroidectomy were included in the second group. The rate of transitory and persistent postoperative hypoparathyroidism was compared between the two groups.
A total of 117 patients (65.4%) underwent total thyroidectomy and elective central compartment lymph node dissection simultaneously (TT + CCLNd group). The remaining 62 patients (34.6%) underwent total thyroidectomy only (TT group). A total of 22.6% patients in the TT group developed postoperative hypoparathyroidism compared with 25.6% in the TT + CCLNd group. The rate of persistent hypoparathyroidism in the TT and TT + CCLNd groups was 3.2% and 6.0%, respectively. The difference in the rate of transient and persistent postoperative hypoparathyroidism was not statistically significant between the two groups. Within the TT + CCLNd group, 82.9% of patients underwent ipsilateral paratracheal lymph node dissection and 17.1% underwent bilateral paratracheal lymph node dissection. The rate of postoperative hypoparathyroidism was analysed in those two subgroups of patients and did not prove to be statistically significant.
While its impact on the local recurrence rate is still controversial, elective central compartment lymph node dissection could be a great tool for selection of patients who could profit from adjuvant radioiodine treatment. On the other hand, central compartment lymph node dissection could potentially increase the risk of hypoparathyroidism due to involuntary injury to parathyroid glands and/or their blood supply. Our study did not find a statistically significant difference regarding postoperative hypoparathyroidism between patients who underwent central compartment lymph node dissection compared with patients who underwent total thyroidectomy only. Our data are not in accordance with some of the previously published studies.
Our results demonstrated that elective central compartment lymph node dissection is a safe procedure and does not significantly increase the risk of postoperative hypoparathyroidism when it is performed simultaneously with total thyroidectomy.
Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is debilitating condition comprising inflammation of the mucosa of the nasal and paranasal sinuses, requiring conservative and often surgical treatment. Functional ...endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) is a CRS treatment during which a microbiological diagnostic procedure may be conducted. Preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis is administrated before FESS. When indicated, the administered empiric antibiotic therapy must cover most common causing microbial agents. The aims of this study were to identify microbial pathogens isolated from sinonasal cavities in patients undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery, to determine bacterial antibiotic susceptibility patterns and compare them with guidelines for treatment and perioperative prophylactic use of antimicrobial agents. A retrospective cohort study on 456 samples collected between 2016 and 2019 was conducted at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and the Department of Microbiology, Parasitology and Hospital Infections in the Clinical University Centre Sestre milordnice, Zagreb. The most common isolated pathogens were Peptostreptococcus spp., Propionibacterium spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas spp., Fusobacterium spp. and Haemophilus influenzae. According to antibiotic susceptibility patterns, empiric antibiotic treatment with amoxicillin-clavulanic acid was appropriate. Due to high rates of antibiotic resistance of anaerobic bacterial isolates to metronidazole, it cannot be recommended in empirical antibiotic treatment or preoperative surgical antibiotic prophylaxis.
The aim was to determine immunohistochemical expression of NEDD9 protein in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and the possible relation of its expression with primary tumor size (T), ...regional lymph node status (N), stage of disease (TNM) and survival period. A total of 131 patients with primary tumor localization in the area of oropharynx, hypopharynx and larynx, monitored for at least 5 years after initial surgical treatment were analyzed. The study included 128 male and three female patients, median age 62.0 (range 53.0-68.0) years. Of these, 105 (95%) patients showed positive NEDD9 expressed by dyed cytoplasm. There were no significant differences in NEDD9 expression according to TNM tumor status. Patients with positive NEDD9 expression had a significantly higher median (IQR) survival time 51.0 (15.0-60.0) months as compared to 22.5 (9.0-55.0) months in patients with negative NEDD9 expression (p=0.048). NEDD9 negative expression, controlled for the influence of other variables included in the Cox’s proportional hazards model, had a significant hazard ratio (HR) of 2.10 (95% CI: 1.23-3.58; p=0.006). The results of our study showed that NEDD9 expression might be an independent prognostic marker in patients with HNSCC regarding data on overall survival and mortality.
Postoperativna limforeja je rijetka, ali ozbiljna komplikacija operacija u području glave i vrata. Limforeja može dovesti
do sistemskog metaboličkog poremećaja, produženog cijeljenja rane i ...produljenog bolničkog liječenja. Rano prepoznavanje
i liječenje temelj su dobrog kirurškog ishoda. Dijagnoza se može postaviti tijekom operacije ili u ranom postoperativnom
periodu. Različite metode liječenja opisane u literaturi možemo podijeliti u konzervativne i kirurške. Trenutno nema dokaza
da je i jedan pristup bolji od drugog radi malog broja studija koje opisuju zbrinjavanje ove kirurške komplikacije. Ne postoje
službene smjernice za liječenje limforeje nakon operacije. Cilj ovog rada je prikazati terapijske mogućnosti i predložiti algoritam
za zbrinjavanje bolesnika s limforejom.
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