Management of gastrointestinal complaints in differentiated thyroid cancer patients treated with (131)I: comparison of the efficacy of pantoprazole, metoclopramide, and ondansetron - a randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: To compare safety and efficacy of pantoprazol , metoclopramide, ondansetron, as compared to placebo, in controlling gastrointestinal (GI) complaints of thyroid cancer patients treated with I-131these patients. DESIGN: Four-armed, parallel group, single blind, randomized controlled clinical trial, setting: A university hospital, registration: database for clinical trials IRCT2013061713705N1. PATIENTS: 85 patients with differentiated thyroid cancer who received 131I. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Postradioiodine nausea and vomiting within three days of therapy (primary endpoint); occurrence of adverse reaction. RESULTS: The patients' characteristics were similar within the study groups. Among the study variables, age, sex, administered dosage, history of previous GI complaints, and history of hyperemesis gravidarum in female patients were not statistically different among the groups (p > 0.05). The results revealed that only ondansetron shows a therapeutic benefit over the placebo in controlling nausea (p < 0.05); however, it does not prevent vomiting (p > 0.05). The other two drugs, pantoprazole and metoclopramide, did not control nausea (p > 0.05) or vomiting (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study may demonstrate that the therapeutic dose of ondansetron could be an effective prophylactic agent in controlling GI complaints in differential thyroid carcinoma (DTC) patients following RAI therapy; however, these preliminary findings should be validated in larger studies.

Differentiated thyroid carcinoma: comparison of histopathologic characteristics, clinical course, and outcome between young children and adolescents.

Differentiated thyroid carcinoma is rare in patients younger than 21 years, especially in children, but it is associated with a greater risk of metastases and recurrence. The aim of our study was to compare the characteristics, clinical course, and outcome of the disease between young children (≤16 years) and adolescents (17-21 years). We reviewed the medical records of 62 young children and adolescents (47 females, 15 males, ≤21 years) with DTC who were diagnosed between 1990 and 2010 and admitted for radioiodine therapy, and compared the histopathologic features, amount and session(s) of radioiodine administration, and outcome in both groups. Young children presented with larger tumor size, more aggressive pathological features, higher incidence of locoregional and distant metastasis, and needed more admissions, and higher amounts of radioiodine for treatment. While there were more disease-free patients at the end of follow-up in the adolescents, the number of patients with stable or progressive disease was higher in younger group. Based on the results of our study, we support the more aggressive approach to DTC treatment in young children, including total thyroidectomy along with more extensive cervical lymph node dissection, L-T4 therapy in suppressive doses, and multiple sessions of postsurgical radioiodine therapy as necessitated.

Entonox for labor pain: a randomized placebo controlled trial.

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of nitrous oxide on pain of labor contractions and on maternal SaO2. The patients were randomized to receive either a pre-prepared mixture of 50% nitrous oxide and oxygen or 50% oxygen by a coin. Study drugs started as early as the onset of pain with each contraction. The patient herself administered gases via a facemask connected to the uni-directional valve which enables the patients to breathe fresh gas in each inspiration. The gas administration was continued to the end of contraction pain at which the patient breathed the room air. Variables such as SaO2, blood pressure, pain and side effects were recorded. 534 ASA I and II parturients, aged from 16 to 35 years, scheduled for elective labor from September 2004 to 2006 were evaluated. Four patients were lost from the study. The mean age of patients was 25.5+/-4.3 years. During the first three measurements, the SaO2 was significantly higher in control group. In addition, the mean arterial pressure was comparable between groups except two first measurements in which the control group was higher. All the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) values were significantly lower in nitrous oxide group. There were no significant differences in 1st and 5th min apgar scores between groups. All of the side effects were significantly higher among patients in nitrous oxide. In conclusion, our data indicate that using nitrous oxide 50% provides significant pain relief. Nonetheless, it is associated with few side effects, nitrous oxide can be quickly implemented during advanced painful labor.