Clinical and Economic Evaluation of Ultrasound-Guided Radiofrequency Ablation vs. Parathyroidectomy for Patients with Primary Hyperparathyroidism: A Cohort Study.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: To compare the clinical and economic effects of ultrasound (US)-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) with parathyroidectomy (PTX) for primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: From April 2014 to April 2021, 123 PHPT patients who received US-guided RFA or PTX were studied. Propensity score (PS) matching was used to balance the baseline data of the two groups. The rates of cure, recurrent and persistent PHPT, and complications were compared. A Chinese healthcare system perspective cost minimization analysis was conducted. RESULTS: After PS matching, 37 patient pairs (1:1) were created for the two groups. Follow-up was 27.2 ± 10.6 months and 28.8 ± 16.1 months for the RFA and PTX groups, respectively. At the last follow-up, there was no evidence of differences regarding clinical cure rate between the two groups (RFA vs. PTX, 91.9% vs. 94.6%, p = 1.000). Recurrent PHPT did not develop in any patient. One patient in each group had persistent PHPT. The incidence of complications and side effects, except postoperative pain (RFA vs. PTX, 16.2% vs. 40.5%, p = 0.020), were no significant difference between the two groups (all, p > 0.05). The incremental cost was -$284.00; thus, RFA was more cost-effective. For patients with employee medical insurance or resident medical insurance, the incremental costs (RFA vs. PTX) were -$391.94 and -$49.43, respectively. CONCLUSION: There were no significant differences in efficacy and safety between RFA and PTX. As the incremental cost for RFA compared with PTX was negative, RFA may be used as a more cost-effective nonsurgical treatment alternative for PHPT.

Efficacy and Safety of Ultrasound-Guided Radiofrequency Ablation for Primary Hyperparathyroidism: A Prospective Study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and safety of ultrasound (US)-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective study enrolled 39 participants (14 male, 25 female; mean age, 59.5 ± 15.3 [range, 18-87] years) between September 1, 2018, and January 31, 2021. All participants had parathyroid lesions causing PHPT, proven biochemically and through imaging. The imaging features of the PHPT nodules, including the shape, margin, size, composition, and location, were evaluated before treatment. Serum intact parathyroid hormone, calcium, and phosphorus levels; parathyroid nodule volume; and PHPT-related symptoms were recorded before and after treatment. We calculated the technical success, biochemical cure, and clinical cure rates for these patients. Complications were evaluated during and after the ablation. RESULTS: Complete ablation was achieved in 38 of the 39 nodules in the 39 enrolled participants. All the patients were treated in one session. The technical success rate was 97.4% (38/39). The mean follow-up duration was 13.2 ± 4.6 (range, 6.0-24.9) months. At 6 and 12 months post-RFA, the biochemical cure rates were 82.1% (32/39) and 84.4% (27/32), respectively, and the clinical cure rates were 100% (39/39) and 96.9% (31/32), respectively. Only 2.6% (1/39) of the patients had recurrent PHPT. At 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after technically successful RFA, 44.7% (17/38), 34.3% (12/35), 15.8% (6/38), and 12.5% (4/32) of participants, respectively, had elevated eucalcemic parathyroid hormone levels. Recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis occurred in 5.1% (2/39) of the patients, who recovered spontaneously within 1-3 months. CONCLUSION: US-guided RFA was effective and safe for PHPT patients. RFA may be an alternative treatment tool for patients who cannot tolerate or refuse to undergo surgery.

Efficacy of Ultrasound-guided Radiofrequency Ablation of Parathyroid Hyperplasia: Single Session vs. Two-Session for Effect on Hypocalcemia.

To evaluate safety and efficacy of one- vs. two-session radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of parathyroid hyperplasia for patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) and to compare the outcome of both methods on hypocalcemia. Patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism underwent ultrasound guided RFA of parathyroid hyperplasia. Patients were alternately assigned to either group 1 (n = 28) with RFA of all 4 glands in one session or group 2 (n = 28) with RFA of 2 glands in a first session and other 2 glands in a second session. Serum parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcium, phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) values were measured at a series of time points after RFA. RFA parameters, including operation duration and ablation time and hospitalization length and cost, were compared between the two groups. Mean PTH decreased in group 1 from 1865.18 ± 828.93 pg/ml to 145.72 ± 119.27 pg/ml at 1 day after RFA and in group 2 from 2256.64 ± 1021.72 pg/ml to 1388.13 ± 890.15 pg/ml at 1 day after first RFA and to 137.26 ± 107.12 pg/ml at 1 day after second RFA. Group 1's calcium level decreased to 1.79 ± 0.31 mmol/L at day 1 after RFA and group 2 decreased to 1.89 ± 0.26 mmol/L at day 1 after second session RFA (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that hypocalcemia was related to serum ALP. Patients with ALP ≥ 566 U/L had lower calcium compared to patients with ALP < 566 U/L up to a month after RFA (P < 0.05). Group 1's RFA time and hospitalization were shorter and had lower cost compared with Group 2. US-guided RFA of parathyroid hyperplasia is a safe and effective method for treating secondary hyperparathyroidism. Single-session RFA was more cost-effective and resulted in a shorter hospital stay compared to two sessions. However, patients with two-session RFA had less hypocalcemia, especially those with high ALP.

Author Correction: Diagnostic value of ultrasound features and sex of fetuses in female patients with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

Diagnostic value of ultrasound features and sex of fetuses in female patients with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma.

Little work has been done on the prediction of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma in female patients who have given birth to children, which may be different from other people. We performed a retrospective review of female patients who underwent thyroidectomy, aiming at identifying special predictors of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma in female patients who have given birth to children. Univariate analysis was used to identify potential covariates for the prediction of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors and construct a regression model based on a training cohort (246 patients) and then the regression model was validated using an independent cohort (80 patients). We found that having not more than one boy, taller-than-wide shape, poorly defined margin, marked hypoechogenicity, and microcalcification were independent risk factors for the papillary thyroid microcarcinoma in multivariate analyses. The combined predictive formula had a high predictive effect for papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (AUC = 0.938 for training cohort and 0.929 for validation cohort, respectively). The combined predictive formula has clinical value in the prognosis of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma and it may be simple and effective to ask fertility condition of patients to increase the US diagnosis accuracy of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma.