Objective To explore the correlation factors and clinical significance of lymph node metastasis in right recurrent laryngeal nerve of thyroid papillary carcinoma (PTC).Methods Ninty-eight consecutive patients with PTC who were underwent total thyroidectomy with routine central lymph node dissection in the Second People's Hospital of Hefei from January 2015 to August 2017 were analyzed.The right paratracheal lymph nodes in the central compartment lymph nodes were divided into the level Ⅵ-A (anterior) and level Ⅵ-B (posterior,that was lymph node posterior to recurrent laryngeal nerve) compartments by recurrent laryngeal nerve.The lymph node metastasis of Ⅵ-B area during central compartment lymph node dissection was analyzed.We drew the receiver-operating characteristic curve (ROC) for right neck Ⅵ-A number of lymph node metastasis,and calculated the area under the curve (AUC) and Youden index.Results Among 98 cases,16 cases occurred Ⅵ-B district lymph node metastasis (16.33％).Single factor analysis results showed that lymph node metastasis in Ⅵ-B area of PTC patients were related to the tumor size (x2 =12.864,P ＜0.001),tumor capsular invasion (x2 =16.354,P ＜ 0.001),the right neck Ⅵ-A area lymph node metastasis (x2 =16.065,P ＜ 0.001),tumor number (x2 =15.593,P ＜ 0.001) and neck lymph node metastasis (x2 =21.098,P ＜0.001),but they were not related to the patients' gender,age and lesion location (all P ＞ 0.05).Lymph node metastasis in Ⅵ-B area of PTC patients were related to the number of right neck Ⅵ-A area lymph node metastasis.When the number of right neck Ⅵ-A metastatic lymph nodes was 2.5,the sensitivity and specificity were 70.60％ and 70.00％ respectively,AUC was 0.754,and Youden index was 0.406.Conclusion For patients with PTC,primary tumor diameter ＞ 1 cm,tumor extracapsular invasion,Ⅵ-A area lymph node metastasis,multiple tumor and lateral cervical lymph node metastasis were the predictive factors for the lymph node metastasis in Ⅵ-B area.When the number of right neck Ⅵ-A area metastatic lymph nodes was greater than 3,we should dissect Ⅵ-B area.

Objective: To understand the economic burden caused by hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) in Xi’an, in order to provide scientific basis for government departments to allocate health resources rationally. Methods: New cases of HFMD were selected randomly from designated hospitals in city and district level in Xi’an, 2018, Direct and indirect economic costs of patients caused by HFMD were collected using a questionnaire survey, hospital charging system inquiry as well as follow-up survey. Factors affecting the economic burden of HFMD were analyzed. Results: A total of 438 mild as well as 60 severe cases were surveyed, with the overall medical insurance participation rate of 89.76%(447/498). The median of per capita direct economic burden of mild and severe cases were 635 and 7 972 yuan respectively, and the median of per capita indirect economic burden of mild and severe cases were 130 and 233 yuan respectively, in Xi’an. The overall economic burden attributable to HFMD was 23.1 million yuan in Xi’an 2018, in which the direct economic burden was 19.3 million yuan, indirect economic burden was 3.8 million yuan. Multiple Logistic regression analysis showed that the approach of diagnosis, type of cases, days of treatment and type of pathogen had significant influence on the economic burden of HFMD(P<0.05). Conclusion The economic burden of HFMD was heavy in Xi’an. Controling and reducing the incidence rate, as well as increasing the medical insurance coverage and reimbursement rate would lighten the economic burden caused by HFMD effectively.

Objective To evaluate the intraoperative identification of ectopic parathyroid tissue in the central neck region using autofluorescence point-spectral analysis(AFPSA)combined with immune colloidal gold technique(ICGT),for guiding total parathyroidectomy(TPTX)or clean parathyroidectomy(CPTX)in the management of secondary hyperparathyroidism(SHPT).Methods Retrospectively collected and compared the clinical data of 64 patients with SHPT from October 2019 to June 2023.In the observation group,TPTX was performed as the initial procedure in 36 cases,followed by sampling of suspicious targets using AFPSA in the central neck area and subsequent detection through ICGT.CPTX was then conducted if a positive result was obtained.On the other hand,the control group consisted of 28 cases where only TPTX was performed without any additional tests during surgery.The surgical data,parathyroid hormone(PTH)levels,blood calcium levels,blood phosphorus levels,alkaline phosphatase(ALP)levels,regression of clinical symptoms,changes in parathyroid function and occurrence of hypocalcemia were compared between these two groups.Results In the observation group,there were 9 cases of AFPSA-ICGT positivity,including 2 left-sided cases,4 right-sided cases,and 3 thymic cases;among these posi-tive cases,there were a total of 10 locations with mildly hyperplastic or nonhyperplastic microscopic parathyroid tissue.The difference in the number of total parathyroid glands removed(including ectopic)between the two groups was statistically significant(P<0.05).At both 3 and 6 months postoperatively,ALP levels in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group(P<0.01 and P<0.001 respectively);at 6 months postoperatively,differences in PTH and blood phosphorus levels between the two groups were also statistically significant(P<0.05 and P<0.001 respectively).Joint bone pain and skin itching recurred in some patients within the control group at six months after surgery(P<0.05),whereas recurrence of SHPT was less frequent within the observation group compared to controls(P<0.05);however,no statistically significant differences were observed regarding postoperative hypoparathyroidism or hyperparathyroidism as well as hypocalcemia between either groups.Conclusion The AFPSA-ICGT intraoperative test can be utilized to guide surgery for SHPT,enabling accurate and efficient identification as well as safe targeting of parathyroid tissues that may not exhibit obvious hyperplasia in the central cervical region.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the patterns of recurrence and the related factors in patients with pT3N0M0 thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) after two-field esophagectomy.

METHODSFrom Jan 2008 to Dec 2009, 208 patients with stage pT3N0M0(2002, UICC) thoracic ESCC were treated with two-field esophagectomy in our hospital. There were 138 males and 70 females, and the median age was 60 years old (range 33-78). There were 33 patients in the upper-, 134 in the middle-, and 41 in the lower-thoracic esophagus, with a median length of lesion of 5 cm. There were 32 patients with no-, 78 with mild- and 98 patients with severe adhesions at surgery. The median number of dissected lymph nodes was 9 (range 1-27). 98 patients were treated with surgery alone and 110 with postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. The statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS 13.0 software.

RESULTSThe follow-up was ended on July 2013. In the total group of 208 patients, the total recurrence rate was 41.8% (87/208). Among them, 52 patients had locoregional recurrence (LR), 15 had distant metastasis (DM) and 20 patients had both local recurrence and distant metastasis. 40.2% (35/87) of all recurrences were found within one year after operation, 67.8% (59/87) within 2 years, 86.2% (75/87) within 3 years, and 100% (87/87) within 4 years. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate was 83.0%, 62.8% and 56.3%, respectively. The overall locoregional recurrence rate was 34.6% (72/208), among them, 9 cases had recurrence in the cervix (all were supraclavicular lymph node metastasis), 66 cases in the mediastinum and 4 cases had para-aortic lymph node metastasis. 83.3% (60/72) of the locoregional recurrence was located in the carinal region or upper area. The 1-, 3-, 5-year locoregional recurrence rate was 15.6%, 32.2%, and 36.8%, respectively, and the median time of recurrence was 15.5 months. The overall distant metastasis (DM) rate was 16.8% (35/208). The 1-, 3-, and 5-year DM rate was 4.4%, 15.3%, and 20.1%, respectively, and the median time of DM was 24 months. The most common site of DM was the lung and bone. The univariate analysis showed that age and tumor site were associated with PFS, tumor site and small lymph node in the mediastinum (diamter <1 cm) before surgery were related with LR (P<0.05 for all), and tumor site, histological differentiation and LR were related with distant metastasis after surgery (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that the tumor site was an independent prognostic factor affecting the progression-free survival and locoregional recurrence (P<0.05), and histological differentiation and LR were independent factors associated with distant metastasis (P<0.05 for all).

CONCLUSIONSThe recurrence rate is very high in patients with pT3N0M0 thoracic ESCC after surgery, and most of them occur within 3 years after operation. Locoregional recurrence occurs more frequently and shortly than distant metastasis, and most of LR is located in the carinal region or upper-mediastinum. LR rate in upper-thoracic ESCC is very high, therefore, postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) is strongly suggested. LR rate in middle thoracic ESCC is also rather high and PORT is suggested. LR occur much less in the lower-thoracic ESCC, thus, PORT is not suggested routinely. Patients with poorly differentiated ESCC and LR have a high rate of distant metastasis.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; drug therapy ; pathology ; surgery ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Disease-Free Survival ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology ; surgery ; Esophagectomy ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Mediastinum ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neck ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; pathology ; Neoplasm Staging ; Postoperative Period