Effect of surgeon volume on pediatric thyroid surgery outcomes: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric thyroidectomy has been identified as a surgical procedure that may benefit from concentrating cases to high-volume surgeons. This systematic review aimed to address the definition of "high-volume surgeon" for pediatric thyroidectomy and to examine the relationship between surgeon volume and outcomes. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science, ClinicalTrials.gov, and OpenGrey databases were searched for through February 2020 for studies which reported on pediatric thyroidectomy and specified surgeon volume and surgical outcomes. RESULTS: Ten studies, encompassing 6430 patients, were included in the review. Five single-center retrospective studies reported only on high-volume surgeons, one single center retrospective study reported on only low-volume surgeons, and four national database studies (2 cross sectional, 2 retrospective reviews) reported outcomes for both high-volume and low-volume surgeons. Majority of patients underwent total thyroidectomy (54.9%); common indications for surgery were malignancy (41.7%) and hyperthyroidism/thyroiditis (40.5%). Rates of transient hypocalcemia (11.4% - 74.2%), transient recurrent laryngeal nerve injury (0% - 9.7%), and bleeding (0.5% - 4.3%) varied across studies. Definitions for high-volume pediatric thyroid surgeons ranged from ≥9 annual pediatric thyroid operations to >200 annual thyroid operations (with >30 pediatric cases). Four studies reported significantly better outcomes, including lower post-operative complications and shorter length of hospital stay, for patients treated by high-volume surgeons. CONCLUSIONS: Despite significant variation in caseloads to define volume, pediatric thyroid patients have generally better outcomes when operated on by higher volume surgeons. Concentration thyroidectomy cases to a smaller cohort of surgeons within pediatric practices may confer improved outcomes. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses; Level IV.

Safety of maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing in individuals with sickle cell disease: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the safety of maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) in individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD). Maximal CPET using gas exchange analysis is the gold standard for measuring cardiopulmonary fitness in the laboratory, yet its safety in the SCD population is unclear. DESIGN: Systematic review. DATA SOURCES: Systematic search of Medline (PubMed), EMBASE, Cochrane, ClinicalTrials.gov and professional society websites for all published studies and abstracts through December 2020. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES: Two reviewers independently extracted data of interest from studies that assessed safety outcomes of maximal CPET in children and adults with SCD. A modified version of the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess for risk of bias in studies included. RESULTS: In total, 24 studies met inclusion/exclusion criteria. Adverse events were reported separately or as part of study results in 36 (3.8%) of 939 participants with SCD undergoing maximal CPET in studies included. Most adverse events were related to transient ischaemic changes on ECG monitoring or oxygen desaturation during testing, which did not result in arrhythmias or other complications. Only 4 (0.43%) of 939 participants experienced pain events due to maximal CPET. CONCLUSION: Maximal CPET appears to be a safe testing modality in children and adults with SCD and can be used to better understand the physiological basis of reduced exercise capacity and guide exercise prescription in this population. Some studies did not focus on reporting adverse events related to exercise testing or failed to mention safety monitoring, which contributed to risk of bias.