Volume-Outcome Associations for Parathyroid Surgery in England: Analysis of an Administrative Data Set for the Getting It Right First Time Program.

Importance: Previous studies have suggested an association between surgical volume and patient outcomes for parathyroid surgery. However, most previous studies are relatively small and the literature is dominated by studies form the US, which might not be readily generalizable to other settings. Objective: To investigate volume-outcome associations for parathyroid surgery in England. Design, Setting, and Participants: Cohort study that included all National Health Service hospital trusts in England with secondary analysis of administrative data using International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). Participants included all adult, elective hospital admissions for parathyroid surgery without a diagnosis of multiple endocrine neoplasia, parathyroid cancer, or kidney disease over a 5-year period (April 2014-March 2019 inclusive). Exposures: The number of procedures conducted in the year prior to the index procedure by each surgeon and each hospital trust. Main Outcomes and Measures: Repeat parathyroid surgery within 1 year of the index procedure. Results: This study included data for 17 494 participants who underwent parathyroidectomies conducted across 125 hospital trusts. The median (IQR) age of patients was 62 (53-71) years, and 13 826 were female (79.0%). Across the period, the number of surgeons conducting parathyroid surgery changed little (280 in 2014-2015 and 2018-2019), although the number of procedures conducted rose from 3331 to 3848 per annum. Repeat parathyroid surgery at 1 year was significantly associated with surgeon volume (odds ratio [OR], 0.99; 95% CI, 0.98-0.99), but not trust volume, in the previous 12 months. Extended length of stay (OR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.98-0.99), hypoparathyroidism/calcium disorder (OR, 1.0; 95% CI, 0.99-1.0), and postprocedural complications (OR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.99-1.0) were also associated with lower surgeon volume. Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study, higher surgeon annual volume was associated with decreased rates of repeat parathyroid surgery. A minimum volume threshold of 20 procedures per annum should improve patient outcomes, although possible negative effects on access to services should be monitored.

Retained port connectors after central venous port removal.

We report three cases where the connector/sleeve, which helps fix the flexible catheter section to a port injection chamber, was inadvertently left in scar tissue during port removal. Concerned patients presented months later with a palpable subcutaneous nodule, near the port site. The nodules were variably imaged with plain X-rays, mammography or ultrasound with the diagnosis correctly made by a surgeon familiar with devices. Two connectors were removed, and one was left in place following discussions with the patient. Prevention, recognition and management of this problem are discussed.

The volume and outcome relationship for thyroidectomy in England.

PURPOSE: The delivery of surgical care in England has seen a momentum towards centralisation within larger volume hospitals and surgical teams. The aim of this study was to investigate outcomes in England in relationship to hospital and surgeon annual volumes for total thyroidectomy. METHODS: Data were extracted from the Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) database for England. A 6-year period (April 2012-March 2018 inclusive) for all adult admissions for thyroidectomy was used in the analysis. The primary outcome measure used was a length of hospital stay greater than 2 days or an emergency readmission within 30 days following surgery. This was used as a proxy for surgical complications. A multilevel modelling strategy was used to adjust for hierarchy and potentially confounding. RESULTS: Data for 22,823 total thyroidectomies across 144 hospital trusts were used for analysis. For total thyroidectomy, larger volume surgeons had reduced levels of post-surgical complications; length of stay > 2 and > 4 days; emergency readmission at 30 days; and hypoparathyroidism, vocal cord palsy, stridor, and tracheostomy at 1-year post-surgery. Larger hospital volume was associated with lower levels of emergency readmission at 30 days and hypoparathyroidism at 1 year. CONCLUSIONS: There is significant correlation between surgeon volume and clinical outcome for total thyroidectomy. The relationship was approximately linear, and a low-volume threshold could not be defined.

The calpain system is associated with survival of breast cancer patients with large but operable inflammatory and non-inflammatory tumours treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

The calpains are a family of intracellular cysteine proteases that function in a variety of important cellular functions, including cell signalling, motility, apoptosis and survival. In early invasive breast cancer expression of calpain-1, calpain-2 and their inhibitor, calpastatin, have been associated with clinical outcome and clinicopathological factors.The expression of calpain-1, calpain-2 and calpastatin was determined using immunohistochemistry on core biopsy samples, in a cohort of large but operable inflammatory and non-inflammatory primary breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Information on treatment and prognostic variables together with long-term clinical follow-up was available for these patients. Diagnostic pre-chemotherapy core biopsy samples and surgically excised specimens were available for analysis.Expression of calpastatin, calpain-1 or calpain-2 in the core biopsies was not associated with breast cancer specific survival in the total patient cohort; however, in patients with non-inflammatory breast cancer, high calpastatin expression was significantly associated with adverse breast cancer-specific survival (P=0.035), as was low calpain-2 expression (P=0.031). Low calpastatin expression was significantly associated with adverse breast cancer-specific survival of the inflammatory breast cancer patients (P=0.020), as was low calpain-1 expression (P=0.003).In conclusion, high calpain-2 and low calpastatin expression is associated with improved breast cancer-specific survival in non-inflammatory large but operable primary breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. In inflammatory cases, high calpain-1 and high calpastatin expression is associated with improved breast cancer-specific survival. Determining the expression of these proteins may be of clinical relevance. Further validation, in multi-centre cohorts of breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, is warranted.

Effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on breast cancer phenotype, ER/PR and HER2 expression - Implications for the practising oncologist.

PURPOSE: To assess the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) on breast cancer characteristics, hormone receptors and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) expression and whether testing should be repeated on residual tumours. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients with primary operable breast cancer who received NACT at a single United Kingdom tertiary referral centre were included. Tumour type, grade (including details of mitotic grade, tubule formation and pleomorphism), oestrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and HER2 status were compared between pre-treatment and post-treatment residual samples using tissue microarrays. A control group of paired core and excision tumours from patients who did not receive NACT was also assessed. RESULTS: Two hundred forty-six cases and 113 controls were included. Pathological complete response (path CR) was achieved in 21.5% of patients. In those patients failing to achieve a path CR, a change in the histological type was noted in 29 out of 178 cases (16.3%, p<0.001) with increase in the lobular and metaplastic types. Downgrading occurred in 28.8%, due to significant reduction in mitotic rate and prominent tubule formation. A change in ER/PR/HER2 status occurred in 12%, 14.5% and 7.1% of cases, respectively, predominantly as a switch from negative to positive status for ER and from positive to negative status for HER2. Further alterations in expression levels were also noted. Minimal changes in the low ER/PR expressors and the HER2 2+ tumours were found in the control group. CONCLUSION: Significant changes in tumour morphology, grade, hormone receptors and HER2 status occur following NACT. We recommend testing on residual invasive carcinoma. A switch from negative to positive status warrants offering endocrine/trastuzumab-based therapy to this group of patients.

Palpable ductal carcinoma in situ: analysis of radiological and histological features of a large series with 5-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Palpable pure DCIS is a rare entity that presents differently than screen-detected DCIS. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical, radiological, and pathological characteristics and management of pDCIS in a retrospective cohort of patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients diagnosed with pDCIS from January 1999 to December 2011 were identified from an electronic patient database and were included in this study. RESULTS: During this period, 669 cases of DCIS were diagnosed and 62 (9.3%) were pDCIS (mean age, 56.9 ± 15.1 years). The most common finding on ultrasound was mass in 43 patients (75%) and only 18 (33%) cases had calcification on mammography. The lesion was mammographically occult in 20 patients (37%). Ultrasound was more sensitive and delineated the pDCIS in 45 (80%) cases. Mean size of the pDCIS was 36.9 ± 30.4 mm and most were high grade (n = 42; 68%) and associated with comedo necrosis in 36 (59%). Most were oestrogen receptor (ER)-positive (n = 34; 62%), however 21 patients (38%) were ER-negative. Breast conservation was attempted in 30 patients (48%), however, because of involved margins further therapeutic surgery was needed in 10 patients (33%). Axillary surgery (sentinel lymph node biopsy or axillary nodal sampling) was performed in 34 patients (55%) and no lymph node metastasis was identified. During a medial follow-up of 60 months, 1 patient has developed a mastectomy scar recurrence and the rest remain disease-free. CONCLUSION: Palpable DCIS is often occult on conventional radiological imaging and is generally associated with aggressive pathological features. Hence, careful individualized surgical planning through a multidisciplinary meeting is necessary for their management.

Atypical Presentation of Riedel's Thyroiditis: Multifocal Nodular Fibrosis and Resolution with Levothyroxine.

BACKGROUND: Riedel's thyroiditis is characterised by chronic inflammatory invasive fibrosclerosis of the thyroid gland, surrounding structures, and extrathyroidal fibrosis. We present a case of Riedel's thyroiditis associated with nodular fibrosis of the lungs and liver. CASE: A 40-year-old woman presented with a 3-month history of neck swelling, difficulty swallowing and breathlessness on exertion. Core biopsy of the goitre revealed dense fibrous tissue with mixed chronic inflammatory cells. A staging computed tomography scan revealed a large thyroid mass encasing the oesophagus and compressing the trachea, multiple bilateral pulmonary nodules with no evidence of lymphadenopathy, and multiple suspicious nodular lesions in the liver. A thorascopic biopsy of a lung lesion in its entirety revealed a hyalinising lung lesion with no evidence of malignancy. Following the introduction of levothyroxine replacement, symptomatic improvement occurred in parallel with improvements in imaging. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first description of Riedel's thyroiditis presenting with nodular extrathyroidal fibrosis, and which showed resolution following institution of levothyroxine.

Management of palpable but radiologically occult breast abnormalities.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the utility of palpation-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology (pgFNAC) in the context of clinically palpable but radiologically occult breast abnormalities in this era of digital mammography and high sensitivity ultrasound. METHODS: Women undergoing pgFNAC from January 2005 to December 2007 were identified from the histopathology database and correlated with clinical and radiological findings recorded prospectively in electronic patient records. RESULTS: 142 cases matching our selection criteria were identified with a mean age of 43 (SD ±13.7) years; 83 patients had focal lumps and 59 had non-focal lumpiness. In the latter, pgFNAC showed C1 cytology in 45 (76.3%), C2 in 13 (22%) and C3 in 1 (1.7%) patient. In 83 patients with a focal discrete lump, pgFNAC revealed C1 cytology in 65 (78.3%), C2 in 14 (16.9%), and 2 patients each had C3 and C4 cytology. Core biopsy was undertaken in the latter 4 patients, invasive cancer was found in 1 patient each with C3 and C4 cytology and benign pathology in the rest. To date, none of the patients discharged has developed pre-malignant or malignant lesions in the ipsilateral breast. CONCLUSION: In patients presenting with clinically palpable but radiologically occult breast abnormality, pgFNAC can identify those who need further investigation or who can be safely discharged.

Culture, attitude and knowledge about breast cancer and preventive measures: a qualitative study of South Asian breast cancer patients in the UK.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the influence of culture and beliefs about breast cancer, and its implications on preventive health behaviour among South Asian people in the UK. METHODS: Using a qualitative approach, 24 South Asian breast cancer patients and their significant others were interviewed. RESULTS: Most patients were unfamiliar with the subject of cancer; they expressed lack of knowledge of cancer as a disease and its symptoms. They identified a painless lump in the breast as sign of abnormality, but not cancer. They also did not know any non-lump breast symptoms. Over half participated in breast screening after encouragement from daughters or relatives. Most did not practise breast self-examination. Perceptions of cancer and health behaviour were influenced by cultural beliefs. Common themes were cancer is a taboo subject and cancer is a stigma. Patients also expressed misunderstandings about the cause of cancer. Cancer in the family had ramifications on children' s marriage prospects and may cause marital breakdown. Terminology used also caused communication problems with healthcare professionals and within the family: the use of ' chest' to substitute ' breast' changed the meaning of the message conveyed. CONCLUSIONS: Cultural beliefs and practices accentuate difficulties in understanding breast cancer, breast screening and breast self-examination, and can prevent South Asian women from adopting preventive health practices.

Alcohol hand abuse: a cross-sectional survey of skin complaints and usage patterns at a large UK teaching hospital.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether the regular use of alcohol hand gel was having a detrimental effect on hands of healthcare professionals and, if so, to what extent. The study also aimed to establish a link between individuals who felt their hands were suffering from persistent exposure to the gel and those who actively avoided using the gel. DESIGN: A short descriptive questionnaire was distributed to healthcare professionals and those working within clinical areas within one trust (two teaching hospitals). SETTING: Staff that worked or had duties within clinical areas that necessitated the use of alcohol hand gel. PARTICIPANTS: The survey was sent via email to all staff on the email database. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: To determine the number of staff that developed new onset skin conditions since the introduction of alcohol hand gel and of what proportion of this number actively or considered avoiding the hand gel. RESULTS: Questionnaires were returned for analysis by 399 respondents. Eighty-eight percent of respondents felt that they had developed new onset skin conditions as a consequence of maintaining hand hygiene protocols. Nurses were the highest users of the hand gel, but interestingly were also the highest group to avoid or consider avoiding the hand gel (52% compared with 28%, 26% and 44% in the doctors, secretaries and healthcare assistants groups, respectively) .Thus indicating more frequent use may cause increased problems. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that 88% of respondents stated that they had new-onset skin problems, of which half-felt that alcohol gel was the main contributing factor. There was a detrimental effect on compliance with alcohol gel hand hygiene protocols in this group. This reflects the real life difficulties of staff in their endeavour to reduce hospital-acquired infections. Action is needed to improve the compliance with such a simple task and ensure that all is done to reduce nosocomial infection and reduce the potential financial burden.

Breast conservation surgery: state of the art.

Breast conservation surgery is available to the vast majority of women with breast cancer. The combination of neoadjuvant therapies and oncoplastic surgical techniques allows even large tumours to be managed with a breast-conserving approach. The relationship between breast size and the volume of tissue to be excised determines the need for volume displacement or replacement. Such an approach can also be used in the management of carefully selected cases of multifocal or multicentric breast cancer. The role of novel techniques, such as endoscopic breast surgery and radiofrequency ablation, is yet to be precisely defined.

Changes in and predictors of length of stay in hospital after surgery for breast cancer between 1997/98 and 2004/05 in two regions of England: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Decreases in length of stay (LOS) in hospital after breast cancer surgery can be partly attributed to the change to less radical surgery, but many other factors are operating at the patient, surgeon and hospital levels. This study aimed to describe the changes in and predictors of length of stay (LOS) in hospital after surgery for breast cancer between 1997/98 and 2004/05 in two regions of England. METHODS: Cases of female invasive breast cancer diagnosed in two English cancer registry regions were linked to Hospital Episode Statistics data for the period 1st April 1997 to 31st March 2005. A subset of records where women underwent mastectomy or breast conserving surgery (BCS) was extracted (n = 44,877). Variations in LOS over the study period were investigated. A multilevel model with patients clustered within surgical teams and NHS Trusts was used to examine associations between LOS and a range of factors. RESULTS: Over the study period the proportion of women having a mastectomy reduced from 58% to 52%. The proportion varied from 14% to 80% according to NHS Trust. LOS decreased by 21% from 1997/98 to 2004/05 (LOSratio = 0.79, 95%CI 0.77-0.80). BCS was associated with 33% shorter hospital stays compared to mastectomy (LOSratio = 0.67, 95%CI 0.66-0.68). Older age, advanced disease, presence of comorbidities, lymph node excision and reconstructive surgery were associated with increased LOS. Significant variation remained amongst Trusts and surgical teams. CONCLUSION: The number of days spent in hospital after breast cancer surgery has continued to decline for several decades. The change from mastectomy to BCS accounts for only 9% of the overall decrease in LOS. Other explanations include the adoption of new techniques and practices, such as sentinel lymph node biopsy and early discharge. This study has identified wide variation in practice with substantial cost implications for the NHS. Further work is required to explain this variation.

Video-assisted mediastinoscopy (VAM) for surgical resection of ectopic parathyroid adenoma.

BACKGROUND: Ectopic mediastinal parathyroid adenomas or hyperplasia account for up to 25% of primary hyperparathyroidism (HPT). Two percent of them are not accessible by standard cervical surgical approaches. Surgical resection has traditionally been performed via median sternotomy or thoracotomy and more recently, via video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). We present our experience with the novel use of Video-Assisted Mediastinoscopy (VAM) for resection of ectopic mediastinal parathyroid glands. CASE PRESENTATION: 4 patients underwent VAM for removal of an ectopic intramediastinal parathyroid gland. All of them had at least one previous unsuccessful neck exploration.In all cases histology confirmed complete resection of ectopic parathyroid glands (3 parathyroid adenomas and one parathyroid hyperplasia). Two of the patients required a partial sternal split to facilitate exploration. CONCLUSION: The cervical approach for resection of ectopic parathyroid adenomas is frequently unsuccessful. Previously, the standard surgical approach in such cases was sternotomy and exploration of the mediastinum. Recently, a number of less invasive modalities have been introduced. We found that VAM has several advantages. It has a short theatre time does not require a complex anaesthetic and is performed with the patient in classic supine position utilising often a previous cervical scar with good cosmetic results. It offers a short hospital stay; it is cost effective with minimal use of fancy and pricy consumables with a comfortable incision and no violation of the pleural space. Additionally the use of digital Video imaging has increased the sensitivity of the mediastinoscopy and has added safety and confidence in performing a detailed mediastinal exploration with an additional great training value as well.

Appendicectomy: who performs it, when and how?

A comparative review of changing patterns between 1997 and 2002 of who performs appendicectomy and a snapshot of the surgical approaches in use. It also indicates the stage at which competency in appendicectomy may be achieved by contemporary trainees in surgery and anaesthesia.

Inguinofemoral hernia: accuracy of sonography in patients with indeterminate clinical features.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to investigate the accuracy of sonography in patients with symptoms suggestive of a hernia and normal or equivocal clinical examination findings. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Fifty-nine consecutive patients (47 men, 12 women; median age, 51 years; range, 19-82 years) were enrolled in a prospective study of sonography and herniography for investigation of inguinofemoral pain. All patients were referred with a history suggestive of hernia but with equivocal clinical features by three experienced surgeons. All patients underwent sonography and herniography examinations performed by experienced radiologists blinded to clinical details. The imaging variables recorded for each side were normal (including posterior inguinal wall bulging), hernia (indirect, direct, femoral, and abdominal wall), or nondiagnostic. The percentage of exact agreement, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated for sonography and herniography and were compared with surgery when performed; then all sides for sonography were compared with herniography. RESULTS: Surgery was performed in 18 patients (31%) on 21 sides and found hernia (n = 20) and patulous posterior inguinal wall (with no hernia) (n = 1). Compared with surgery, the results of sonography versus herniography, respectively, were exact agreement (91% vs 71%), sensitivity (95% vs 70%), specificity (100% vs 100%), PPV (100% vs 100%), and NPV (50% vs 14%). The sensitivity of sonography was significantly higher than that of herniography (McNemar test, p = 0.025). Both techniques had one false-negative in the same patient. Herniography had five additional false-negatives identified as hernias at sonography and surgery. Compared with herniography as the reference, the sonography findings were in exact agreement in 91% (107/118) of the cases; and sensitivity was 90% (19/21); specificity, 91% (88/97); PPV, 68% (19/28); and NPV, 98% (88/90). CONCLUSION: Sonography is an accurate technique for the detection of inguinofemoral hernias in patients with clinically equivocal findings.

Oestrogen receptor beta: what it means for patients with breast cancer.

Oestrogen receptor (ER) alpha is a well established prognostic marker in breast cancer, and all patients who are ER alpha positive receive tamoxifen as adjuvant endocrine therapy. Although ER alpha predicts a favourable disease outcome, the usefulness of ER beta as a clinical prognostic marker remains to be defined. Here, we outline the history of both ERs and discuss the implications ER beta has to patients with breast cancer.

Reduced expression of oestrogen receptor beta in invasive breast cancer and its re-expression using DNA methyl transferase inhibitors in a cell line model.

To gain insights into the possible role of oestrogen receptor (ER) beta in breast carcinogenesis, immunohistochemical analysis of ER beta was performed on 512 breast specimens encompassing normal (n = 138), pure ductal carcinoma in situ (n = 16), invasive cancers (n = 319), lymph node metastases (n = 31), and recurrences (n = 8). Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to investigate the methylation status of the ER beta gene in the ER beta negative breast cancer cell lines SkBr3 and MDA-MB-435. A gradual reduction in, but not a complete loss of, ER beta expression was observed during the transition from normal and pre-invasive lesions to invasive cancers, where ER beta was lost in 21% of cases. This was more pronounced in invasive ductal than in lobular carcinomas, a significantly higher proportion of which were ER beta-positive (74% compared with 91%, respectively, p = 0.0004). Examination of paired primary cancers with their axillary lymph node metastases showed that if ER beta was present in the primary tumour, it persisted in the metastasis. Treatment of ER beta-negative cell lines with DNA methyl transferase inhibitors restored ER beta expression, providing experimental evidence that silencing of ER beta in breast carcinomas could be due to promoter hypermethylation. These results suggest that loss of ER beta expression is one of the hallmarks of breast carcinogenesis and that it may be a reversible process involving methylation.