Upper Eyelid Retraction in Graves' Ophthalmopathy: Our Surgical Experience on 153 Cases of Full-Thickness Anterior Blepharotomy with Mullerectomy.

BACKGROUND: We present our experience on 153 cases of full-thickness anterior blepharotomy with mullerectomy (FTABM) in the treatment of upper eyelid retraction (UER) related to Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO). METHODS: We included all the patients who underwent a graded FTABM between 1st January 2015 and 30th June 2020 for UER GO-related. The analysis included: pre-/post-operative conjunctival symptoms, epiphora, GO-Quality of Life Questionnaire (QoL), lagophthalmos, marginal reflex distance (MRD-1) index, eyelid symmetry within 1mm. The statistical analysis was designed to detect postoperative improvement in objective and subjective clinical features. Outcomes were analysed through Chi-squared test for dichotomous variables and through Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test for continuous variables. RESULTS: Of the 111 patients, 42 underwent a bilateral procedure, while 69 a monolateral. Conjunctival symptoms were reported in 32% of cases before surgery and in 12.4% after FTABM (p < 0.001). Epiphora was complained by 29.6% of patients preoperatively and in 12.4% postoperatively (p < 0.001). Preoperative lagophthalmos was found in 12.4% (mean value of 0.34 ± 0.76 mm) of eyelids, and in 2.6% (mean value 0.05 ± 0.19 mm) eyelids (p = not significant) postoperatively. Pre-operative GO-QoL was 24.9 ± 4.4 mm; while post-operative GO-QoL was 35.3 ± 5.5 mm (p < 0.001). The MRD-1 varied from 10.12 ± 2.1 mm preoperatively, to 4.3 ± 0.6 mm (p < 0.001) after surgery. Asymmetric palpebral fissure was noted in 94 (84.7%) patients before surgery and in 7 (6.3%) after the procedure (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: FTABM is an effective procedure to treat UER GO-related. The technique manages to prevent complications of UER and determine good aesthetics. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 . Level IV, therapeutic study.

Semi-quantification of pneumothorax volume by lung ultrasound.

BACKGROUND: Lung ultrasound (LUS) may accurately diagnose pneumothorax. However, there is uncertainty about its usefulness in the quantification of pneumothorax size. To determine the ability of LUS in the semi-quantification of pneumothorax volume, we compared the projection of the lung point (LP) with the pneumothorax volume measured by computerized tomography (CT) and the interpleural distance on chest radiography (CXR). METHODS: We performed LUS in patients with pneumothorax and all the LP located on the chest wall were compared to CXR and CT studies. The primary outcome of the study was the ability of LP to grade pneumothorax volumes measured by CT. The secondary outcome was the accuracy of LP to predict small and large pneumothorax according to the societal guidelines based on CXR reading. RESULTS: A total of 124 patients with pneumothorax were enrolled (76 spontaneous, 20 traumatic and 28 post-procedural). Ninety-four CXR and 58 CT were available for the analysis. An LP posterior to the mid axillary line corresponded to three different CXR criteria for large pneumothorax with sensitivity from 81.4 to 88.2 % and specificity from 64.7 to 72.6 %. The mid axillary line also represented the limit for predicting greater than 15 % of lung collapse when volume is measured at CT, with sensitivity 83.3 % and specificity 82.4 %. CONCLUSIONS: LUS-targeted assessment of LP was a useful predictor of pneumothorax volume in this research study setting. LUS reliably classified pneumothorax size when compared to criteria based on CXR reading, particularly the small sized pneumothorax. However, LUS greatly outperformed conventional CXR reading for a graded quantification of the percentage of lung collapse.

Prognostic role of neuroendocrine differentiation in prostate cancer, putting together the pieces of the puzzle.

Neuroendocrine (NE) differentiation is a common feature in prostate cancer (PC). The clinical significance of this phenomenon is controversial; however preclinical and clinical data are in favor of an association with poor prognosis and early onset of a castrate resistant status. NE PC cells do not proliferate, but they can stimulate the proliferation of the exocrine component through the production of paracrine growth factors. The same paracrine signals may favor the outgrowth of castrate adapted tumors through androgen receptor dependent or independent mechanisms. Noteworthy, NE differentiation in PC is not a stable phenotype, being stimulated by several agents including androgen deprivation therapy, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. The proportion of NE positive PC, therefore, is destined to increase during the natural history of the disease. This may complicate the assessment of the prognostic significance of this phenomenon. The majority of clinical studies have shown a significant correlation between NE differentiation and disease prognosis, confirming the preclinical rationale. In conclusion the NE phenotype is a prognostic parameter in PC. Whether this phenomenon is a pure prognostic factor or whether it can influence the prognosis by favoring the onset of a castrate resistance status is a matter of future research.