Alexander Reinisch

Education in thyroid surgery: a matched-pair analysis comparing residents and board-certified surgeons

PurposeResident participation in operative procedures is mandatory in educational residency programs but remains controversial, especially in the context of patient safety. This study compared the surgical quality and outcomes of thyroidectomies performed by surgical residents (RESs) and board-certified surgeons (BCSs).MethodsThis retrospective matched-pair study included patients undergoing thyroidectomies for multinodular goiter, Grave’s disease and early-stage thyroid cancer that were performed by a RES with BCS supervision between 2006 and 2014. The intraoperative and postoperative course, complication rates and handling of the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) and parathyroid glands were analyzed.ResultsIn total, 112 thyroidectomies that were performed by a RES fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were matched 1:1 with BCS patients. We included 88 hemithyroidectomies, 80 subtotal thyroidectomies and 56 total thyroidectomies. No significant differences in the handling of the RLN or parathyroid glands, the rates of postoperative RLN palsies or the rates of hypocalcaemia were found. No intraoperative complications led to the replacement of the RES as the surgeon-in-charge. Three RES and two BCS patients experienced postoperative haemorrhages (p = 0.205), and three surgical site infections (p = 1.000) occurred in each group. The mean operative time and the length of stay did not differ significantly between the two groups.ConclusionsMajor aspects of patient safety in thyroid surgery are not affected by resident participation. Thyroidectomies performed by RES are not significantly longer and reveal no differences in length of stay or complication rates. The economic burden of resident involvement is modest.

Deep Vein Thrombosis of the Upper Extremity: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) arises with an incidence of about 1 per 1000 persons per year; 4-10% of all DVTs are located in an upper extremity (DVT-UE). DVT-UE can lead to complications such as post-thrombotic syndrome and pulmonary embolism and carries a high mortality. METHODS This review is based on pertinent literature, published from January 1980 to May 2016, that was retrieved by a systematic search, employing the PRISMA criteria, carried out in four databases: PubMed (n = 749), EMBASE (n = 789), SciSearch (n = 0), and the Cochrane Library (n = 12). Guidelines were included in the search. RESULTS DVT-UE arises mainly in patients with severe underlying diseases, especially cancer (odds ratio [OR] 18.1; 95% confidence interval [9.4; 35.1]). The insertion of venous catheters-particularly central venous catheters-also elevates the risk of DVT-UE. Its clinical manifestations are nonspecific. Diagnostic algorithms are of little use, but ultrasonography is very helpful in diagnosis. DVT-UE is treated by anticoagulation, with heparin at first and then with oral anticoagulants. Direct oral anticoagulants are now being increasingly used. The thrombus is often not totally eradicated. Anticoagulation is generally continued as maintenance treatment for 3-6 months. Interventional techniques can be used for special indications. Patients with DVT-UE have a high mortality, though they often die of their underlying diseases rather than of the DVT-UE or its complications. CONCLUSION DVT of the upper extremity is becoming increasingly common, though still much less common than DVT of the lower extremity. The treatment of choice is anticoagulation, which is given analogously to that given for DVT of the lower extremity.

Guideline Compliance in Surgery for Thyroid Nodules – A Retrospective Study

Diagnostic guidelines for thyroid nodules focus on malignancy risk assessment to avoid unnecessary diagnostic operations. These guidelines recommend a combination of tests in form of a diagnostic algorithm. The present study analyzed the recommended algorithm and its implementation by different medical professionals. Preoperative diagnostic procedures, laboratory tests and histopathological findings of patients who underwent thyroid surgery between 2006 and 2013 were analyzed. The results were stratified by the assignation by specialized endocrinologists (ENP), general practitioners (GP) or Goethe-University Hospital Frankfurt (UKF). 677 patients were enrolled, of these 62% were assigned by UKF, 18.5% by an ENP and 19.5% by a GP. Ultrasonography rate was significantly higher in UKF (97.6%) compared to patients assigned by GP (90.9%, p<0.0001). Rates for fine-needle aspiration cytology ranged between 47.6% in UKF and 23.2% in ENP (p<0.0001). In over 93% of the patients an analysis of thyroid-stimulating hormone and triiodothyronine/thyroxin was realized. The overall malignancy rate was 11.82%. The malignancy rate was significantly higher if a FNA biopsy was performed (16.35 vs. 8.94%; p=0.0048). A higher malignancy rate could only be seen if the preoperative diagnostic workup included FNA. Besides this, the grade of algorithm adherence showed no effect on the malignancy rate.