Which Ultrasound Characteristics Predict Lymphatic Spread of Papillary Thyroid Cancer?

INTRODUCTION: The 2015 American Thyroid Association guidelines recommend lymph node mapping US in patients with definitive cytological evidence of thyroid cancer. Suspicious lymph node features on imaging including enlarged size (>1 cm in any dimension), architectural distortion, loss of fatty hilum, and microcalcifications often prompt evaluation with fine needle aspiration. There is no universally agreed upon model for determining which ultrasound characteristics most strongly correlate with metastatic disease. METHODS: A retrospective review of patients with confirmed papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) undergoing lymph node mapping ultrasound from 2013 to 2019 was performed. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value were calculated for each individual ultrasound characteristic as well as for characteristic combinations. RESULTS: Data from 119 lymph nodes were included. Malignant lymph nodes were more likely to be enlarged (71% versus 61%, P < 0.001) and to have each individual suspicious feature. Loss of fatty hilum had the highest sensitivity (89%) but was not specific (19%) for metastatic disease. Architectural distortion was found to have the highest specificity (87%). A combination of the four features was found to have higher specificity (97%) and PPV (88%) than any individual feature or combination of two/three features. CONCLUSIONS: A combination of four sonographic features correlates with metastatic PTC to lymph nodes and has the highest specificity and PPV for malignancy. A risk stratification model based on these features may lead to better classification of ultrasound findings in PTC patients with concern for nodal metastases.

Association of Medicaid expansion with access to thyroidectomy for benign disease at high-volume centers.

BACKGROUND: Insurance-based disparities in access to thyroidectomy are well established. Patients undergoing thyroidectomy by high-volume surgeons have fewer complications and better postoperative outcomes. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association of Medicaid expansion with access to high-volume centers for thyroidectomy for benign disease. METHODS: The Vizient Clinical Data Base was queried for adult operations for benign thyroid disease from 2010 to 2019. Centers were sorted by volume into quartiles. Difference-in-difference analysis evaluated changes in insurance populations in expansion and non-expansion states after Medicaid expansion. Odds of patients undergoing operations in the 4 volume quartiles after stratifying by insurance and Medicaid expansion status were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 82,602 patients underwent operations at 364 centers. Expansion states increased Medicaid coverage in all volume quartiles compared to non-expansion states after Medicaid expansion (Q1, +4.87%, Q2, +5.35%, Q3, +8.57%, Q4, +4.62%, P < .002 for all). After Medicaid expansion, Medicaid patients had higher odds of undergoing operation at lower volume hospitals compared to the highest volume centers in both expansion states (Q1, ref, Q2, 1.82, Q3, 1.76, Q4, 1.67, P < .001) and non-expansion states (Q1, ref, Q2, 1.54, Q3, 2.04, Q4, 1.44, P < .001). Privately insured patients were most likely to undergo their operation at the highest volume centers in all states (E: Q1, ref, Q2, 0.78, Q3, 0.74, Q4, 0.66, P < .001; NE: Q1, ref, Q2, 0.89, Q3, 0.58, Q4, 0.85, P < .001). CONCLUSION: Medicaid expansion increased Medicaid coverage in expansion states, but Medicaid patients in both expansion and non-expansion states were less likely to be operated on at the highest volume centers compared to privately insured patients. Persistent barriers to accessing high-volume care still exists for Medicaid patients.

Operative trends for pancreatic and hepatic malignancies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted routine health care, including many elective and non-cancer operations in the United States. Most hepato-pancreato-biliary malignancy patients require outpatient imaging, tissue sampling, and staging, and many undergo neoadjuvant therapy before operative intervention. The aims of this study were to evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on hepato-pancreato-biliary oncologic operations and to determine whether trends in neoadjuvant therapy were altered by the pandemic. METHODS: Adult patients in the United States undergoing oncologic operations for pancreatic, primary and secondary hepatic malignancies, with or without neoadjuvant therapy, were extracted from the Vizient Clinical Data Base. Control chart analysis was used to plot trends over time and to determine whether changes were statistically significant. Wilcoxon rank-sum tests also compared monthly operative volume from pre-pandemic (12 month) and pandemic (28 months) periods. RESULTS: A total of 36,553 patients were identified over 40 months. Mean monthly pancreatic oncologic operations were unaffected by the pandemic (P = .257). Operations for pancreatic oncologic operations with prior neoadjuvant therapy increased throughout the pandemic (P = .002). Oncologic operations for primary and secondary hepatic malignancies were significantly reduced for 4 and 2 months, respectively, at the beginning of the pandemic but returned to their pre-pandemic baseline within 4 months (P = .169 and P = .598). CONCLUSION: Pancreatic operation volumes for cancer did not change, but pancreatic operations after neoadjuvant therapy continued to increase during the pandemic. Operations for hepatic malignancy were transiently disrupted but quickly normalized. These observations suggest that surgery for hepato-pancreato-biliary malignancies was prioritized during the pandemic.

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on endocrine operations in the United States.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the United States (US) healthcare system. Endocrine operations are predominantly elective and were likely affected. Therefore, our aim was to determine the effect of the pandemic on endocrine operations. STUDY DESIGN: The Vizient Clinical Data Base® was examined for cases from 1/2019-12/2022 using ICD10 and CPT codes for thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal operations. Control chart analysis identified trends in operative volume. Negative binomial regression was utilized to analyze demographic trends. RESULTS: Monthly volumes for all operations from 515 hospitals decreased at the beginning of 2020, except for operations for adrenal malignancy. Inpatient operations (Thyroid -17.1%, Parathyroid -20.9%, p â€‹< â€‹0.001 for both) experienced more significant and longer lasting disruptions than outpatient operations (Thyroid -2.6%, p â€‹= â€‹0.883, Parathyroid -9.1%, p â€‹= â€‹0.098). CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted endocrine operations across the US. While all adrenal operations and outpatient thyroid and parathyroid operations have returned to pre-pandemic levels, inpatient operations for thyroid and parathyroid remain decreased.

Does Hospital Operative Volume Influence the Outcomes of Patients After Heated Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy for Peritoneal Carcinomatosis?

BACKGROUND: For some cancer operations, center volume is associated with improved patient outcomes. Whether this association is true for cytoreductive surgery/heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS/HIPEC) is unclear. Given the rapidly expanding use of CRS/HIPEC, the aim of this analysis was to determine whether a volume-outcome relationship exists for this strategy. METHODS: The Vizient Clinical Database® was queried for CRS/HIPEC cases from January 2020 through December 2022. Low-, medium-, and high-volume designations were made by sorting hospitals by case volume and creating equal tertiles based on total number of cases. Analysis was performed via one-way ANOVA with post-hoc Tukey test, as indicated. RESULTS: In the 36-month study period, 5165 cases were identified across 149 hospitals. Low- (n = 113), medium- (n = 25), and high-volume (n = 11) centers performed a median of 4, 21, and 47 cases per annum, respectively. Most cases were performed for appendiceal (39.3%) followed by gynecologic neoplasms (20.4%). Groups were similar with respect to age, gender, race, comorbidities, and histology. Low-volume centers were more likely to utilize the ICU post-operatively (59.6% vs. 40.5% vs. 36.3%; p = 0.02). No differences were observed in morbidity (9.4% vs. 7.1% vs. 9.0%, p = 0.71), mortality (0.9% vs. 0.6% vs. 0.7%, p = 0.93), length of stay (9.3 vs. 9.4 vs. 10 days, p = 0.83), 30-day readmissions (5.6% vs. 5.6% vs. 5.6%, p = 1.0), or total cost among groups. CONCLUSIONS: No association was found between CRS/HIPEC hospital volume and post-operative outcomes. These data suggest that in academic medical centers with HIPEC programs, outcomes for commonly treated cancers are not associated with hospital volume.

Malpractice litigation after thyroid surgery: What factors favor surgeons?

BACKGROUND: Litigation impacts physicians financially, reputationally, and professionally. Although thyroid surgery has favorable patient outcomes, litigation persists. We aimed to characterize malpractice claims after thyroidectomy and investigate which factors favor physicians. METHODS: We queried the Westlaw legal database using the terms "thyroidectomy" and "medical malpractice" to identify malpractice cases brought against surgeons from 1949 to 2022. We collected and analyzed demographic; clinical; surgical; and legal data, including year, cause for initiating litigation, verdict, state where the lawsuit was brought, and the state's tort reform status. RESULTS: Of the 68 cases included, medical negligence was the most common cause of action, followed by failure to provide adequate informed consent. The most common inciting surgical event was recurrent laryngeal nerve injury (n = 34, 50%). Surgeons prevailed more often overall (n = 53, 77.9%) and in 11 (91.7%) of the 12 cases treated at academic institutions. The 3 endocrine surgery fellowship-trained surgeons all prevailed in their cases. Of the 15 cases in which patients prevailed, 12 (80%) of which were decided by a jury, the median damages awarded were $569,668 (interquartile range $341,146-$2,594,050). In the 53 cases won by surgeons, 26 were jury decisions (49.1%). Surgeons prevailed in 87.5% of cases brought in the 24 states with tort reform and in 72.7% in the 44 states without tort reform. CONCLUSION: Non-jury cases and operations done at academic institutions appear to favor decisions for the defendant. Although not statistically significant, all endocrine surgery fellowship-trained defendants won. Where tort reforms are in place, surgeons tend to prevail.

COVID-19 Effect on Surgery for Gastrointestinal Malignancies: Have Operative Volumes Recovered?

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 disrupted elective operations, cancer screening, and routine medical care while simultaneously overwhelming hospital staff and supplies. Operations for gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies rely on endoscopic screening, staging, and neoadjuvant therapy (NAT), each of which was disrupted by the pandemic. The aim was to evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the US national rates of gastrointestinal oncologic operations. METHODS: The Vizient Clinical Data Base® was queried for oncologic operations for esophageal, gastric, and colorectal malignancies with and without NAT from March 2019 to March 2022. Control chart analysis examined operative volume over time while Wilcoxon rank sum tests were used to compare mean monthly volume before and during the pandemic. RESULTS: A total of 95,912 patients were identified over 36 months; 5.8% esophageal, 6.3% gastric, 77.5% colonic, and 10.4% rectal operations. Esophageal operative volume decreased for 9 months during the pandemic and was significantly lower during than before the pandemic (p=0.002). Gastric operations decreased for 10 months early in the pandemic, but rebounded so that after 2 years volumes were unchanged (p=0.49). Colonic operations experienced a sharp decrease for 4 months at the beginning of the pandemic, but volumes quickly increased and overall were unchanged (p=0.29). Rectal operations decreased for 13 months and were significantly lower during than before the pandemic (p=0.018). Oncologic operations for patients receiving NAT varied. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 significantly disrupted the volume of gastrointestinal oncologic operations in the USA. Esophageal and rectal oncologic operations experienced prolonged and significant reductions while gastric and colonic oncologic operations transiently decreased but rebounded during the pandemic.

The Impact of Surgical Boot Camp on Medical Student Confidence and Imposter Syndrome.

INTRODUCTION: Transitioning from medical student to surgical intern is accompanied by increased responsibility, stress, and clinical burden. This environment lends itself to imposter syndrome (IS), a psychological condition grounded in self-doubt causing fear of being discovered as fraud despite adequate abilities. We hypothesized a 2-week surgical boot camp for fourth year medical students would improve confidence in technical skills/knowledge and IS. METHODS: Thirty medical students matching into surgical specialties completed the boot-camp in February 2020. Presurveys/postsurveys assessed confidence levels using a 1-5 Likert scale regarding 32 technical skills and knowledge points. The Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS) assessed IS, where increasing scores correlate to greater IS. RESULTS: Median (interquartile range [IQR]) subject age was 27 y (26, 28), 20 (66.7%) were male, and 21 (70%) were Caucasian. Of the 30 students, 23 (76.7%) had a break in training with a median [IQR] of 2 [1, 3] y outside of medicine. Confidence scores were significantly improved in all five assessment categories (P < 0.05); however, there was no change in CIPS in median [IQR] presurveys versus postsurveys (65.5 [52, 75] versus 64 [52, 75], P = 0.70). Females had higher mean (standard deviation) pre-CIPS than males (68.4 [15.2] versus 61.6 [14.9], P = 0.02). There was no strong correlation between age and CIPS in the presurvey (Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient [SRCC]: 0.29, P = 0.19) or postsurvey (SRCC: 0.31, P = 0.10). While subjects who worked outside of medicine had a stronger relationship with IS (SRCC: 0.37, P = 0.05), multivariable regression analysis did not reveal any significant differences. CONCLUSIONS: We advocate for surgical boot-camp training courses to improve trainee skill and confidence. As IS is not improved by boot camp, additional research is needed to identify opportunities to improve IS among surgical trainees.

Association of Medicaid expansion of the Affordable Care Act with operations for benign endocrine surgical disease.

•Background: The Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion increased insurance coverage and access to care for endocrine cancers, though impact on benign endocrine disease is unknown. •Methods: Patients undergoing operations for benign thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal disease were collected from the Vizient® Clinical Data Base from 2009 to 2016 and grouped by state Medicaid expansion status in January 2014. Insurance coverage was analyzed by difference-in-differences analysis, and logistic regression evaluated odds of operation by insurance status. •Results: 134,242 patients were included. Medicaid coverage in expansion states increased for all operations (Adj-DD 5.78%, p < 0.001) with decreases in uninsured and private insurance. Medicaid patients had increased odds of undergoing thyroid operations (OR 1.56, p < 0.001) and decreased odds of parathyroid (OR 0.68, p < 0.001) or adrenal operations (OR 0.70, p < 0.001) versus private insurance. •Conclusion: Medicaid expansion increased insurance coverage for benign endocrine disease, however, barriers remain for Medicaid patients with parathyroid and adrenal disease.

Using S. cerevisiae as a Model System to Investigate V. cholerae VopX-Host Cell Protein Interactions and Phenotypes.

Most pathogenic, non-O1/non-O139 serogroup Vibrio cholerae strains cause diarrheal disease in the absence of cholera toxin. Instead, many use Type 3 Secretion System (T3SS) mediated mechanisms to disrupt host cell homeostasis. We identified a T3SS effector protein, VopX, which is translocated into mammalian cells during in vitro co-culture. In a S. cerevisiae model system, we found that expression of VopX resulted in a severe growth defect that was partially suppressed by a deletion of RLM1, encoding the terminal transcriptional regulator of the Cell Wall Integrity MAP kinase (CWI) regulated pathway. Growth of yeast cells in the presence of sorbitol also suppressed the defect, supporting a role for VopX in destabilizing the cell wall. Expression of VopX activated expression of ß-galactosidase from an RLM1-reponsive element reporter fusion, but failed to do so in cells lacking MAP kinases upstream of Rlm1. The results suggest that VopX inhibits cell growth by stimulating the CWI pathway through Rlm1. Rlm1 is an ortholog of mammalian MEF2 transcription factors that are proposed to regulate cell differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis. The collective findings suggest that VopX contributes to disease by activating MAP kinase cascades that elicit changes in cellular transcriptional programs.

Analysis of non-typeable Haemophilous influenzae VapC1 mutations reveals structural features required for toxicity and flexibility in the active site.

Bacteria have evolved mechanisms that allow them to survive in the face of a variety of stresses including nutrient deprivation, antibiotic challenge and engulfment by predator cells. A switch to dormancy represents one strategy that reduces energy utilization and can render cells resistant to compounds that kill growing bacteria. These persister cells pose a problem during treatment of infections with antibiotics, and dormancy mechanisms may contribute to latent infections. Many bacteria encode toxin-antitoxin (TA) gene pairs that play an important role in dormancy and the formation of persisters. VapBC gene pairs comprise the largest of the Type II TA systems in bacteria and they produce a VapC ribonuclease toxin whose activity is inhibited by the VapB antitoxin. Despite the importance of VapBC TA pairs in dormancy and persister formation, little information exists on the structural features of VapC proteins required for their toxic function in vivo. Studies reported here identified 17 single mutations that disrupt the function of VapC1 from non-typeable H. influenzae in vivo. 3-D modeling suggests that side chains affected by many of these mutations sit near the active site of the toxin protein. Phylogenetic comparisons and secondary mutagenesis indicate that VapC1 toxicity requires an alternative active site motif found in many proteobacteria. Expression of the antitoxin VapB1 counteracts the activity of VapC1 mutants partially defective for toxicity, indicating that the antitoxin binds these mutant proteins in vivo. These findings identify critical chemical features required for the biological function of VapC toxins and PIN-domain proteins.