Frederico Fernandes Ribeiro Maia

Antithyroglobulin antibodies in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma: methods of detection, interference with serum thyroglobulin measurement and clinical significance

Antithyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb) were measured using a chemiluminescent immunoassay (ICMA) and an agglutination test. TgAb laboratory and clinical interference with Tg measurements were assessed. The course of TgAb concentration and disease status were compared during 3 years after initial treatment. The agglutination test failed to detect all titers < 10 IU/mL (ICMA). Interference from TgAb was common at high titers, but even low antibody titers (< 5 IU/mL) were able to interfere with Tg measurement. Cases of distant metastases with undetectable Tg (by IRMA) and those apparently free of disease and without thyroid remnants with Tg> 2 ng/ml (by RIA) were identified among patients with TgAb. The exogenous Tg recovery test was normal (> 80%) by the two methods in 22% of patients with TgAb and confirmed laboratory interference. Absence of reduction in TgAb levels was a marker of persistent disease. In conclusion, TgAb should be determined by immunoassays; interference with Tg measurements occurred mainly but not always at high concentrations, with a normal Tg recovery test not excluding this interference. The behavior of TgAb is related to disease persistence or cure.

Sonography in the Diagnosis of Cervical Recurrence in Patients With Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma

Objective. To determine the sensitivity of thyroglobulin (Tg), iodine scanning, and sonography in the diagnosis of cervical recurrence of thyroid cancer. Methods. This prospective study assessed 81 patients with cervical metastases or extrathyroid invasion at first appearance who underwent clinical examination, scanning, measurement of Tg after thyroxine withdrawal, and sonography about 8 months after thyroidectomy followed by radioiodine treatment. Only patients without distant metastases and without anti‐Tg antibodies were included. Results. Fifty patients showed persistence of the disease in the cervical region, with only 16% of them having had a suspicion on clinical examination, 33 with Tg levels of 2 ng/mL or greater (66% sensitivity), and 29 with positive scan findings (58% sensitivity). A combination of the 2 methods detected disease in 40 (80%) of 50 patients but failed to show 20% of cases that were identified by sonography and confirmed by fine‐needle aspiration. Sonography had sensitivity of 96%. Specificity values for Tg, iodine scanning, and sonography were 80.6%, 90.3%, and 87%, respectively. Conclusions. Classic follow‐up methods may not detect cervical disease in some patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma, and sonography is necessary even in patients apparently free of the disease.

Thyroglobulin before Ablation and Correlation with Posttreatment Scanning

Objectives/Hypothesis: To determine the usefulness of thyroglobulin (Tg) before ablation and the correlation with posttreatment scanning in patients with thyroid carcinoma.

Correlation between cervical uptake and results of postsurgical radioiodine ablation in patients with thyroid carcinoma.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between cervical uptake after thyroidectomy and the success of treatment of cervical remnants with high-dose radioiodine (100 mCi). Methods: Cervical uptake was retrospectively analyzed after total thyroidectomy and before treatment with radioactive iodine in 142 patients seen at our service who received 100 mCi iodine-131 and whose posttreatment scan only showed cervical uptake without distant metastases. The patients were divided into 5 groups according to the uptake result obtained before ablative therapy. Results: Successful treatment, defined as stimulated thyroglobulin levels <5 ng/mL and a clean scan or only discrete cervical uptake (0.5%) 6 months to 1 year after surgery, was obtained as follows: patients with uptake <1% (n = 48) showed 95.8% treatment efficacy, those with uptake of 1–2% (n = 32) 94% efficacy, and those with uptake of 2–5% (n = 30) reached 83% success, whereas patients with uptake of 5–10% (n = 20) presented 70% efficacy, and treatment was successful in only 50% of patients with uptake >10% (n = 12). Conclusions: Postoperative measurement of cervical I-131 uptake could be a reasonable predictor of the success of the remnant ablation, and perhaps a guide in deciding the ablative dose of I-131, based on the inverse correlation between the uptake and ablation efficacy.

Glicemia capilar em ponta do dedo versus lóbulo de orelha: estudo comparativo dos valores resultantes e preferências dos pacientes

To evaluate the efficacy and patient preferences of ear lobe capillary glycemia (GC) against conventional fingerstick GC, we studied 40 patients (13M/27F; 41.6 ± 13.5 years) with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2). Glucose monitoring was accomplished using a digital glucometer and Accu-Chek Softclix® Pro lancetator. Tests were carried out during 27 days with grade 2 of penetration (median) on the distal phalange of the right hands third finger and on the inferior part of the right ear lobe, at the same time and fasting. The comparative analyzes of fingerstick and ear lobe GC did not show statistical significance (p = 0.008). 72.5% of patients reported no pain during the ear lobe test against 15% in fingerstick GC. There was a significant correlation between ear lobe test and low level of pain (p< 0.001). 82.5% of patients preferred the ear lobe test for monitoring. The ear lobe GC was as efficient as traditional fingerstick test. This new method was associated with low level of pain, safety, comfort, and good acceptance for most patients.

Acurácia, utilidade e complicações da monitorização subcutânea contínua da glicose (CGMS) em pacientes pediátricos com diabetes tipo 1

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the accuracy, utility and complications of continuous glucose monitoring system in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes. METHODS: This retrospective study assessed 16 type 1 diabetic patients (16.12±4.41 years) submitted to continuous glucose monitoring system (Medtronic; Northridge, CA) for 72 hours. The following parameters were analyzed: mean capillary glucose level and mean glucose value measured by the continuous glucose monitoring system; glucose excursions (continuous glucose monitoring system vs. capillary glucose measurement), postprandial hyperglycemia (NR < 140 mg/dl), nocturnal hypoglycemia, complications (trauma, local infection, disconnection) and therapeutic management after continuous glucose monitoring. A1c levels were measured at the beginning and after 3 months of the study. RESULTS: The mean capillary glucose values were 214.3±66.5 mg/dl vs. 207.6±54.6 mg/dl by continuous glucose monitoring system, with a significant correlation (p = 0.001). The correlation coefficient and mean absolute error were 0.86±0.21 and 12.6% of the median, respectively. The continuous glucose monitoring system was significantly more efficient in detecting glucose excursion than fingerstick capillary blood sampling (p = 0.04; W = 74), and postprandial hyperglycemia was identified in 60% of type 1 diabetic patients with a median value of 157 mg/dl (< 140 mg/dl). Nocturnal hypoglycemia was detected in 46.7% of these patients. The evaluation of A1c levels in eight (50%) patients before continuous glucose monitoring and after 3 months showed a significantly lower level of A1c in this population (8.18±1.5 vs. 7.28±1.3; p = 0.034). The therapeutic management of type 1 diabetes was changed in 100% of patients. No complications were detected in 93.7% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: The continuous glucose monitoring system showed to be a very safe, well-tolerated and highly accurate method, with a low complication rate. It is a good method to identify glucose excursion and postprandial hyperglycemia, and to improve metabolic changes in therapeutic strategies, with a significant impact on the A1c levels of pediatric diabetic patients. The efficacy of the continuous glucose monitoring system in detecting hypoglycemia is still unclear in the medical literature.

Sialoadenite após terapia ablativa com altas doses de radioiodo no tratamento do carcinoma diferenciado de tireóide

Oitenta e tres pacientes que receberam 3,7GBq (100mCi) ou 7,4GBq (200mCi) de I-131 apos a tireoidectomia total para carcinoma de tireoide foram avaliados clinica e laboratorialmente (dosagem da amilase serica), seguida da varredura pos-dose. A sialoadenite foi definida na presenca de hiperamilasemia (> 200U/L). Onze (13,25%) pacientes referiram dor local espontânea ou a mastigacao apos o tratamento. Observou-se hiperamilasemia em 31 (37,3%) pacientes no segundo dia pos-tratamento. No setimo dia, houve normalizacao da amilase em todos. A sialoadenite sintomatica foi maior nos pacientes com captacao cervical residual que receberam 7,4GBq (70%). A captacao em topografia de glândulas salivares esteve presente em 93,5% dos casos de sialoadenite (p < 0,05). Observou-se correlacao estatisticamente significante entre ausencia de metastase a distância e maior incidencia de sialoadenite (p < 0,05). Nao houve correlacao entre sialoadenite e massa remanescente cervical ou com a dose de I-131 administrada, atribuida ao tamanho da amostra. A sialoadenite pos-terapia ablativa em altas doses e uma complicacao relativamente comum, com baixa repercussao clinica, sendo a ausencia de metastases a distância um fator diretamente relacionado com o seu aparecimento.

Substituição da insulina NPH por insulina glargina em uma coorte de pacientes diabéticos: estudo observacional

This study examined the impact of insulin glargine introduction in basal-bolus therapy in type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients with inadequate metabolic control (A1c > 6.9%) using previous NPH insulin regime. In this uncontrolled, retrospective study, 49 patients (28F/21M), average age 24.7 ± 16.5, mean duration of DM 13.2 ± 10.1 yrs., 93.1% DM1 patients, received insulin glargine plus mealtime rapid-acting insulin (lispro or aspart) followed by 90-day treatment. We analyzed mean total insulin dose, incidence of hypoglycemic events, convulsive crisis, hyperglycemic complications and A1c levels before and after three months of introduction of glargine therapy. A1c values were determined using the HPLC instrument, with a normal range of 4.3% to 6.9%. After switching to insulin glargine therapy, mean A1c dropped from 10.2 ± 2.0 to 9.1 ± 1.8%, with significant impact (p= 0.019). We observed a significant reduction of 0.11U/kg/day in total insulin dose, dropped from 0.75U/kg of NPH to 0.64U/kg of glargine, with significant correlation (p< 0.05). The introduction of glargine therapy was coincident with a decrease of hypoglycemic crisis (p= 0.02), convulsive events due to hypoglycemia (severe hypoglycemic crisis) (p= 0.023) and ketosis (p= 0.001) switching MDI-treated patients with improvement of metabolic control (reduction of A1c levels). This therapy improved quality of life in these patients due to a significant reduction of hypoglycemic (including severe) events, ketosis episodes and total daily insulin dose, with important impact on health public services.This study examined the impact of insulin glargine introduction in basal-bolus therapy in type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients with inadequate metabolic control (A1c > 6.9%) using previous NPH insulin regime. In this uncontrolled, retrospective study, 49 patients (28F/21M), average age 24.7 +/- 16.5, mean duration of DM 13.2 +/- 10.1 yrs., 93.1% DM1 patients, received insulin glargine plus mealtime rapid-acting insulin (lispro or aspart) followed by 90-day treatment. We analyzed mean total insulin dose, incidence of hypoglycemic events, convulsive crisis, hyperglycemic complications and A1c levels before and after three months of introduction of glargine therapy. A1c values were determined using the HPLC instrument, with a normal range of 4.3% to 6.9%. After switching to insulin glargine therapy, mean A1c dropped from 10.2 +/- 2.0 to 9.1 +/- 1.8%, with significant impact (p= 0.019). We observed a significant reduction of 0.11 U/kg/day in total insulin dose, dropped from 0.75 U/kg of NPH to 0.64 U/kg of glargine, with significant correlation (p< 0.05). The introduction of glargine therapy was coincident with a decrease of hypoglycemic crisis (p= 0.02), convulsive events due to hypoglycemia (severe hypoglycemic crisis) (p= 0.023) and ketosis (p= 0.001) switching MDI-treated patients with improvement of metabolic control (reduction of A1c levels). This therapy improved quality of life in these patients due to a significant reduction of hypoglycemic (including severe) events, ketosis episodes and total daily insulin dose, with important impact on health public services.

5mCi pretreatment scanning does not cause stunning when the ablative dose is administered within 72 hours

OBJECTIVE To determine the stunning effect of a tracer dose of 5 mCi iodine-131. PATIENTS AND METHODS We retrospectively analyzed 145 patients who received the first ablative treatment at our service. Patients were divided according to disease status determined upon post-treatment scanning (101 patients with thyroid remnants and 44 with pulmonary metastases) and whole-body scanning before ablation (performed on 69 individuals). All patients with thyroid remnants were treated with an ablative dose of 100 mCi and those with metastases received 200 mCi. RESULTS In patients with remnants only (n= 41) or metastases (n= 28) submitted to diagnostic scanning, uptake was found to be apparently increased in most patients cases (71 and 73%, respectively) 7 days after therapy, while reduced uptake (visual) was not observed in any patient. The efficacy of ablation was similar in the groups submitted or not to diagnostic scanning: 71 and 80% in patients without metastases (p= 0.28), respectively, and 43 and 50% in those with pulmonary involvement (p= 0.64). CONCLUSION The present results indicate that diagnostic scanning using a 5 mCi iodine-131 dose does not interfere with uptake of the ablative dose or with treatment efficacy when ablation is performed within 72 h.

Projeto "Diabetes Weekend": proposta de educação em diabnetes mellitus tipo 1

Diabetes Weekend Project Proposal for Education on Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. Education is essential for treatment of the diabetic patient. Adequate treatment involves good glycemic control, regular exercises, specific diet and education. High-level knowledge of diabetes is shown to reduce hypoglycemic episodes, chronic complications, and to increase acceptance of this disease and metabolic control, resulting in a better quality of life. Our experience with diabetes education is presented in this article. The major targets are to update, guide and elicit the doubts from health professionals regarding this recent and effective form of education in type 1 diabetes mellitus. The outcomes on quality of life for diabetic patient are discussed. (Arq Bras Endocrinol Metab 2002;46/5:566-573)