EFFECTIVENESS OF ANETHUM GRAVEOLENS L. ON ANTIOXIDANT STATUS, THYROID FUNCTION AND HISTOPATHOLOGY.

CONTEXT: Anethum graveolens L. is used in the treatment of numerous diseases. But there is limited data about the Anethum graveolens efficiency in thyroid tissue. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to assess the functional and histopathological changes in thyroid tissues from rats treated with Anethum graveolens L. extract. DESIGN: This is an experimental animal study and duration of the study was 30 days. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Twenty-eight female Wistar Albino rats were divided into four equal groups. A gavage of Anethum graveolens L. extract at 0, 50, 150 and 300 mg/kg/day doses were given to the rats with 1 mL 0.9% NaCl, respectively, for 30 days. Blood was taken at day 0, 15 and 30. fT3, fT4, TSH values and antioxidant efficiency were observed. Also the thyroidectomy tissue was assessed histopathologically. RESULTS: There is no difference observed in the fT3, fT4 and TSH values of groups 1, 2 and 3 at day 1, 15 and 30 (p>0.05); however, in group 4, TSH value decreased on days 15 and 30 when compared to day 1 and the other groups (p<0.05). Also the hypertrophy and thyroid follicular cell hyperplasia were significantly increased in group 4 (p<0.05). There is no difference in antioxidant efficiency in any of the groups (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Anethum graveolens L. extract is effective on both the function and the histology of thyroid tissue but it has no effect on antioxidant status.

The diagnostic ability of core needle biopsy in nodular thyroid disease.

INTRODUCTION Non-diagnostic results of fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) remain an important limitation of this technqiue. The aim of our study was to evaluate the results of core needle biopsy (CNB) of thyroid nodules and its effectiveness in non-diagnostic FNAB cases. METHODS CNBs were performed in 1,000 patients (154 male, 846 female; mean age: 50.2 years, range: 18-86 years) with a spring loaded 20G needle. Of these, 143 had initially had FNABs that were insufficient for evaluation. The CNB reports were reviewed. Patients with suspicious or malignant CNB results underwent total thyroidectomy. RESULTS When considering all 1,000 CNBs, the non-diagnostic rate was 1.5% (15/1,000). However, when the first 100 cases were eliminated as a learning curve, this reduced to 0.9% (8/900). Of the 143 cases with initial FNABs that were non-diagnostic, 0.7% (1/143) were also non-diagnostic on CNB. Twelve patients underwent surgery because of malignant CNB reports and all of these cases were confirmed as malignant by the postoperative pathology specimen results (100% accuracy). There were no major complications although three self-limiting minor complications were observed. CONCLUSIONS CNB is a safe and accurate method. It is more diagnostic than FNAB for nodular thyroid disease.

WHAT SHOULD BE THE APPROACH TO MODERATE HYPOCALCAEMIA IN THE EARLY PERIOD FOLLOWING TOTAL THYROIDECTOMY?

CONTEXT: It is unclear whether treatment is necessary for transient moderate hypocalcaemia occurring after total thyroidectomy; if it is present, it is unclear which treatment modality should be preferred. OBJECTIVE: To investigate both the necessity and effectiveness of different treatment approaches of oral and/or intravenous calcium treatment in patients with transient, postoperative, moderate hypocalcaemia. DESIGN: This is a case control study made between June 2014 and June 2015. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Forty-five patients who had serum calcium levels 6 hours after total thyroidectomy between 7.5-8 mg/dL were divided into three equal groups: an oral calcium administration group, an intravenous calcium administration group and a no-treatment group. Serum calcium and parathyroid hormone levels were measured preoperatively and on postoperative days 1, 2, 5 and 10. RESULTS: For post-thyroidectomy patients with serum calcium 7.5-8 mg/dL in the early postoperative period, no significant difference in serum calcium or parathyroid hormone was detected between groups. CONCLUSIONS: Follow-up without treatment seems to be the most effective approach for moderate hypocalcaemia occurring in the early period following total thyroidectomy; this suggests that intravenous treatment should be avoided.