A new paradigm in low-risk papillary microcarcinoma: active surveillance.

Classical papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) is a variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) known to have excellent prognosis. It has a mortality of 0.3%, even in the presence of distance metastasis. The latest American Thyroid Association guidelines state that although lobectomy is acceptable, active surveillance can be considered in the appropriate setting. We present the case of a 37-year-old female with a history of PTMC who underwent surgical management consisting of a total thyroidectomy. Although she has remained disease-free, her quality of life has been greatly affected by the sequelae of this procedure. This case serves as an excellent example of how first-line surgical treatment may result more harmful than the disease itself. LEARNING POINTS: Papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) has an excellent prognosis with a mortality of less than 1% even with the presence of distant metastases.Active surveillance is a reasonable management approach for appropriately selected patients.Patients should be thoroughly oriented about the risks and benefits of active surveillance vs immediate surgical treatment. This discussion should include the sequelae of surgery and potential impact on quality of life, especially in the younger population.More studies are needed for stratification of PTMC behavior to determine if conservative management is adequate for all patients with this specific disease variant.

Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: Ectopic Malignancy versus Metastatic Disease.

Papillary thyroid carcinoma frequently metastasizes to regional lymph nodes. However, cervical lymph node metastasis as a sole manifestation of occult papillary thyroid carcinoma is rarely observed. Ectopic thyroid is an uncommon condition defined as the presence of thyroid tissue at a site other than pretracheal area. Approximately 1-3% of all ectopic thyroid tissue is located in the lateral neck. This entity may represent the only functional thyroid tissue in the body. Malignant transformation of ectopic thyroid is uncommon; but even rarer is the development of papillary carcinoma on it. We present a case of a 33-year-old man with an incidental lateral neck mass diagnosed after a motor vehicle accident. Total thyroidectomy and lymph node resection were completed without evidence of papillary thyroid carcinoma. Malignant transformation of heterotopic thyroid tissue was the final diagnosis. The possibility of an ectopic thyroid cancer should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a pathological mass in the neck. The uniqueness of this case strives in the rarity that the thyroid gland was free of malignancy, despite ectopic tissue being positive for thyroid carcinoma. Management strategies, including performance of total thyroidectomy, neck dissection, and treatment with radioiodine, should be based on individualized risk assessment.

Rapidly growing thyroid mass in an immunocompromised young male adult.

We describe a 20-year-old man diagnosed with a myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), admitted to our hospital due to pancytopenia and fever of undetermined origin after myelosuppression with chemotherapy. Disseminated aspergillosis (DIA) was suspected when he developed skin and lung involvement. A rapidly growing mass was detected on the left neck area, during hospitalization. A thyroid ultrasound reported a 3.7 × 2.5 × 2.9 cm oval heterogeneous structure, suggestive of an abscess versus a hematoma. Fine needle aspiration of the thyroid revealed invasion of aspergillosis. Fungal thyroiditis is a rare occurrence. Thyroid fungal infection is difficult to diagnose; for this reason it is rarely diagnosed antemortem. To our knowledge, this is the 10th case reported in the literature in an adult where the diagnosis of fungal invasion to the thyroid was able to be corroborated antemortem by fine needle aspiration biopsy.

Diabetic myonecrosis: an atypical presentation.

Diabetic myonecrosis is a frequently unrecognized complication of longstanding and poorly controlled diabetes mellitus. The clinical presentation is swelling, pain, and tenderness of the involved muscle, most commonly the thigh muscles. Management consists of conservative measures including analgesia and rest. Short-term prognosis is good, but long-term prognosis is poor with most patients dying within 5 years. Failure to properly identify this condition will expose the patient to aggressive measures that could result in increased morbidity. To our knowledge this is the first case reported in which there was involvement of multiple muscle groups including upper and lower limbs.

The cardiology and endocrinology connection between amiodarone and thyrotoxicosis: case report and review of the literature.

Amiodarone is used in a large number of cardiac conditions. Amiodarone-induced thyroid dysfunction has been reported to affect up to 20% of users. Amiodarone can lead to both amiodarone-induced hypothyroidism (AIH) and less commonly amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis (AIT). There are two main forms of AIT. Type 1 AIT, a form of io-dine-induced hyperthyroidism, and type 2, a drug-induced destructive thyroiditis. Type 1 AIT develops on individuals with underlying thyroid disease. Treatment of Type 1 AIT includes the use of antithyroid drugs and discontinuation of amiodarone. Type 2 AIT is commonly self-limiting in nature. In this article wedescribe a patient with Amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis discussing its clinical features and medical therapeutic approach.

Overview of thyroid physiology: an essential for understanding familial euthyroid multinodular goiter.

Nontoxic goiter is a diffuse or nodular enlargement of the thyroid gland that does not result from an inflammatory or neoplastic process and is not associated with abnormal thyroid function. Familial forms of goiter in areas not known to feature iodine deficiency are much less common. However, not all individuals in the same iodine deficiency region develop goiter and iodine supplementation does not prevent goiter development in all treated individuals. The etiology of euthyroid goiter is still incompletely understood. It is assumed that the development of goiter depends on various interactions between genetic and environmental factors. We present an overview on the thyroid physiology, which is important for a better understanding of Familial Euthyroid Multinodular Goiter.

The coexistence of an intrasellar adenoma, lymphocytic hypophysitis, and primary pituitary lymphoma in a patient with acromegaly.

The concomitant presence of three histopathologically different entities in the pituitary gland is a rare occurrence. Most publications identify at least two distinct pathologies, mainly, a pituitary adenoma coexisting with a second intrasellar lesion. We present a case of a 71-year-old female referred for evaluation and treatment of acromegaly. Questioning revealed she was experiencing facial palsy, visual disturbances, and syncopal spells for several weeks. When laboratory evaluation showed elevated somatomedin (IGF-I) levels and an oral glucose tolerance test failed to demonstrate any suppression of her growth hormone (GH) values, an MRI of the pituitary revealed a sellar mass. A presumptive diagnosis of pituitary adenoma was established. The patient underwent transsphenoidal resection of the sellar mass, which proved to be a large B-cell lymphoma (Stage I-E) associated with areas of adenoma and lymphocytic hypophysitis.

Late on set congenital adrenal hyperplasia in a Puerto Rican Family: hormonal and HLA typing

Una familia que comprende un período de dos generaciones fue evaluada y el diagnóstico de hiperplasia adrenal congénita de surgimiento tardío confirmado. El caso testigo con la variante atenuada de hiperplasia adrenal congénita presentó con hirsutismo y acné. Sus padres y el hermano menor estaban asintomáticos (variante críptica) mientras que el otro hermano demostró no tener la enfermedad. La respuesta hormonal de los miembros de la familia a Cortrosyn (ACTH) se describe y la importancia de esta prueba para confirmar el estado heterozigótico es enfatizado. La tipicación del antígeno de histocompatibilidad (HLA) en la familia demostró la presencia de B14 el antígeno más comunmente asociado a las mutaciones menos severas de hiperplasia adrenal congénita de surgimiento tardio

Fine-needle aspiration of the thyroid: cyto-pathologic correlation

Cuarenta y tres pacientes con nódulos sólidos- "frios" del tiroides fueron sometidos a aspiraciones con aguja fina. Se obtuvo material adecuado en todos los pacientes. Las muestras se tiñeron con el método de Papanicolaou y se clasificaron en cinco grupos de acuerdo al grado de cambios atípicos observados. Todos los pacientes fueron sometidos a cirugía independiente de hallazgos "benignos" o "malignos". La correlación patológica demostró una sensibilidad para la prueba de 93% y una especificidad de 79%