Microwave ablation vs. surgery for papillary thyroid carcinoma with minimal sonographic extrathyroid extension: a multicentre prospective study.

OBJECTIVES: Minimal extrathyroid extension (mETE) was removed from the TNM staging system. This study was designed prospectively to compare the safety and efficacy of microwave ablation (MWA) versus surgery for treating T1N0M0 papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTC) with sonographically detected mETE. METHODS: From December 2019 to April 2021, 198 patients with T1N0M0 mETE-PTCs evaluated by preoperative ultrasound from 10 hospitals were included. Ninety-two patients elected MWA, and 106 patients elected surgery for treatment. MWA was performed using extensive ablation with hydrodissection. Surgery consisted of lobectomy with ipsilateral central lymph node dissection (CLD), lobe and isthmus excision with ipsilateral CLD and total thyroidectomy with ipsilateral CLD. The rates of technical success, cost, oncologic outcomes, complications and quality of life of the two groups were assessed. RESULTS: The follow-up times for the MWA and surgery groups were 12.7 ± 4.1 and 12.6 ± 5.0 months, respectively. The technical success rate was 100% for both groups. Oncological outcomes of the two groups were similar during the follow-up (all p > 0.05). The MWA group had a shorter operation time, less blood loss and lower costs (all p < 0.001). Three complications (3.3%) were reported in the MWA group and 4 (3.8%) in the surgery group (p = 0.846). The surgery group had higher scores for scar problems and anxiety (p < 0.001 and p = 0.003, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Microwave ablation was comparable in the short term to surgery in terms of treatment safety and efficacy in selected patients with T1N0M0 mETE-PTC detected by ultrasound. KEY POINTS: • Microwave ablation is comparable to surgery in the safety and short-term efficacy for PTCs with sonographically detected mETE. • Thermal ablation is technically feasible for mETE-PTC treatment. • Patients with mETE-PTC have similar quality of life in the two groups, except for worse scar problems and anxiety in the surgery group.

Clinical applicability of monitoring pulmonary artery blood flow acceleration time variations in monitoring fetal pulmonary artery pressure.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, pulmonary artery blood flow acceleration time (AT) has been believed to be applicable in the examination of fetal lung development. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate the clinical significance of pulmonary artery blood flow AT as a parameter in monitoring of fetal pulmonary artery pressure. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 31 fetuses in midor late-term pregnancy with tricuspid regurgitation were set as the study group (congenital heart disease with a tricuspid regurgitation pressure difference of more than 20 mm Hg was excluded). A total of 68 normal fetuses in midor late-term pregnancy were selected as the control group (strictly screened for tricuspid regurgitation, congenital heart disease and other congenital diseases before inclusion). The average ATs of both groups were calculated. Correlations of pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) and AT, as well as the ratio of AT to right ventricular ejection time (ET) (AT/ET ratio) of both groups were investigated by 1-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). RESULTS: The average AT of the study group was significantly lower than that of the control group (p < 0.0001). In the study group, AT negatively correlated with PASP (r = -0.52; p < 0.01), AT/ET ratio negatively correlated with PASP (r = -0.52; p < 0.01) and both showed statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that fetuses in the study group showed lower ATs and AT/ET ratios than the control group. Acceleration times and AT/ET ratios decreased as PASP increased. Thus, AT and AT/ET ratio can be used clinically as new parameters for the qualitative and - to some extent - quantitative evaluation of fetal pulmonary artery pressure.

Outcome Assessments of Patients with Posttraumatic "Ultra-Time Vascular Injuries" of the Extremities.

The management of posttraumatic vascular injury that presents after 8 h, or "ultra-time vascular injury", is daunting, and inciting recognition of this injury is vital. We retrospectively analyzed 29 patients with ultra-time vascular injuries to determine the patients' demographic characteristics and identify the determinants for amputation and disability. The age distribution of the high-risk population was from 18 years to 40 years, which indicated that these patients had plenty of productive life remaining. Injuries to the lower limbs (79.31%) were over four times more common than injuries to the upper limbs (17.24%), and open and blunt injuries occurred most commonly. The overall rate of limb salvage was 82.76% (24/29) and limb function is excellent in 45.83% (11/24) of the patients. The remaining patients experienced different degrees of disability in their limbs, which was determined by the anatomic location of the injury, and the presence of a combined arterial and venous injury, nerve injury, and complex soft tissue injury, as well as the occurrence of compartment syndrome. Hence, we recommend limb-salvage treatment for patients with traumatic ultra-time vascular injuries, particularly for those aged between 18 years and 40 years. Furthermore, we encourage the development of limb-salvage techniques for ultra-time vascular injuries.