Ultrasound Parameters Can Accurately Predict the Risk of Malignancy in Patients with "Indeterminate TIR3b" Cytology Nodules: A Prospective Study.

The increase in the incidence of thyroid nodules with cytological findings of TIR3b requires the identification of predictive factors of malignancy. We prospectively evaluated 2160 patients from January 2018 to June 2022 and enrolled 103 patients with indeterminate cytology TIR3b nodules who underwent total (73 patients) and hemi-thyroidectomy (30 patients). Among them, 61 had a histological diagnosis of malignancy (30 classic papillary thyroid carcinoma, 19 had follicular papillary thyroid carcinoma variant, 3 had Hurtle cell carcinoma and 9 had follicular thyroid carcinoma), while 42 had a benign histology. Clinical, ultrasonographic and cytological characteristics were recorded. In addition, BRAF mutation was analysed. Patients with a histological diagnosis of malignancy had a higher frequency of nodule diameter ≤11 mm (p = 0.002), hypoechogenicity (p < 0.001), irregular borders (p < 0.001), peri- and intralesional vascular flows (p = 0.004) and microcalcifications (p = 0.001) compared to patients with benign histology. In contrast, patients with benign histology had more frequent nodules with a halo sign (p = 0.012) compared to patients with histological diagnosis of malignancy. No significant differences were found in BRAF mutation between the two groups. Our study suggests that the combination of ultrasonographic and cytological data could be more accurate and reliable than cytology alone in identifying those patients with TIR3b cytology and a histology of malignancy to be referred for thyroidectomy, thus reducing the number of patients undergoing thyroidectomy for benign thyroid disease.

Hepatic incidentaloma: An asymptomatic ectopic thyroid tissue.

An ectopic thyroid is a form of thyroid dysgenesis in which the entire thyroid gland or parts of it may be located in another part of the body than the usual place. The most frequent location is the base of the tongue. Although most cases are asymptomatic, symptoms related to tumor size and its relationship with surrounding tissues, hormonal dysfunction, and seldom malignancy may also occur. Here, we describe the case of an asymptomatic woman who was thyroidectomized 19 years previously for a toxic goiter and treated with conventional L-thyroxine therapy, until we enacted a progressive reduction of dosage of the replacement therapy. Incidentally, because of occasional abdomen discomfort, she was hospitalized in our Division of Endocrinology as there was ultrasound evidence of a large mass in the liver dislocating and imprinting the choledochal duct in the pre-pancreatic site, the gallbladder, and the cystic duct, which could not be dissociated from the contiguous hepatic parenchyma and was in very close proximity to the second duodenal portion and the head of the pancreas. Imaging techniques, such as TC, MR, TC/PET, and 131I scintigraphy, confirmed the large lesion with a diameter on the axial plane of about 8 × 5.5 cm and a cranio-caudal extension of about 6 cm. The impossibility of surgical debulking and/or radiometabolic 131I therapy, in the absence of compression symptoms, led to the multidisciplinary decision of a clinical and instrumental follow-up of this rare lesion.

Long-term outcomes of conventional and novel steroid replacement therapy on bone health in primary adrenal insufficiency.

Steroids affect bone health causing osteoporosis and fractures. The study aims to compare dual-release hydrocortisone (DR-HC) and conventional steroids on bone metabolism in patients with primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI). Thirty-five patients with PAI on conventional steroids (group A) and 35 patients switched to DR-HC (group B), consecutively referred at our hospital, were evaluated at baseline and after 18, 36 and 60 months of treatment. After 60 months of follow-up, patients in group A had a significant increase in body mass index (p = 0.004) and waist circumference (WC) (p = 0.026) and a significant decrease in osteocalcin (p = 0.002), bone alkaline phosphatase (p = 0.029), lumbar spine bone mass density (BMD) T and Z scores (p < 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively) and vertebral fractures rate (p = 0.021) than baseline. By contrast, patients in group B had a significant decrease in WC (p = 0.047) and increase in bone alkaline phosphatase (p = 0.019), lumbar spine BMD T score (p = 0.032), femoral neck BMD T and Z scores (p = 0.023 and p = 0.036, respectively) than baseline. Long-term conventional steroid replacement therapy is associated with a decrease in BMD, notably at lumbar spine, and increase in vertebral fractures rate. By contrast, DR-HC treatment is associated with improvement of BMD.