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PloS One 2019We conducted this meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of parathyroid gland autotransplantation in preserving parathyroid function during thyroid surgery for... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
OBJECTIVE
We conducted this meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of parathyroid gland autotransplantation in preserving parathyroid function during thyroid surgery for thyroid neoplasms.
METHODS
We conducted a search by using PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library electronic databases for studies that were published up to January 2019. The reference lists of the retrieved articles were also reviewed. Two authors independently assessed the methodological quality and extracted the data. A random-effects model was used to calculate the overall combined risk estimates. Publication bias was evaluated with a funnel plot using Egger's and Begg's tests.
RESULTS
A total of 25 independent studies involving 10,531 participants were included in the meta-analysis. Compared with patients who did not undergo parathyroid gland autotransplantation, the overall pooled relative risks for patients who underwent parathyroid gland autotransplantation were 1.75 (95% CI: 1.51-2.02, p<0.001) for postoperative hypoparathyroidism, 1.72 (95% CI: 1.45-2.05, p<0.001) for protracted hypoparathyroidism, 1.06 (95% CI: 0.44-2.58, p = 0.894) and 0.71 (95% CI: 0.22-2.29, p = 0.561) for biochemical hypoparathyroidism and biochemical hypocalcemia at 6 months postoperatively, respectively, and 1.89 (95% CI: 1.33-2.69, p<0.001) and 0.22 (95% CI: 0.09-0.52, p = 0.001) for biochemical hypoparathyroidism and biochemical hypocalcemia at 12 months postoperatively, respectively. The pooled relative risks for patients who underwent one parathyroid gland autotransplantation and patients who underwent two or more parathyroid gland autotransplantations were 1.71 (95% CI: 1.25-2.35, p = 0.001) and 2.22 (95% CI: 1.43-3.45, p<0.001) for postoperative hypoparathyroidism, 1.09 (95% CI: 0.59-2.01, p = 0.781) and 0.55 (95% CI: 0.16-1.87, p = 0.341) for hypoparathyroidism at 6 months postoperatively compared with those of patients who did not undergo parathyroid gland autotransplantation.
CONCLUSIONS
Parathyroid gland autotransplantation is significantly associated with increased risk of postoperative and protracted hypoparathyroidism, and the number of autoplastic parathyroid glands is positively correlated with the incidence of postoperative hypoparathyroidism.
Topics: Humans; Hypocalcemia; Hypoparathyroidism; Parathyroid Glands; Postoperative Complications; Risk Factors; Thyroid Neoplasms; Transplantation, Autologous
PubMed: 31412080
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0221173 -
Medicine Aug 2019More and more automated efficient ultrasound image analysis techniques, such as ultrasound-based computer-aided diagnosis system (CAD), were developed to obtain... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
More and more automated efficient ultrasound image analysis techniques, such as ultrasound-based computer-aided diagnosis system (CAD), were developed to obtain accurate, reproducible, and more objective diagnosis results for thyroid nodules. So far, whether the diagnostic performance of existing CAD systems can reach the diagnostic level of experienced radiologists is still controversial. The aim of the meta-analysis was to evaluate the accuracy of CAD for thyroid nodules' diagnosis by reviewing current literatures and summarizing the research status.
METHODS
A detailed literature search on PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Libraries for articles published until December 2018 was carried out. The diagnostic performances of CAD systems vs radiologist were evaluated by meta-analysis. We determined the sensitivity and the specificity across studies, calculated positive and negative likelihood ratios and constructed summary receiver-operating characteristic (SROC) curves. Meta-analysis of studies was performed using a mixed-effect, hierarchical logistic regression model.
RESULTS
Five studies with 536 patients and 723 thyroid nodules were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) for CAD system were 0.87 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.73-0.94), 0.79 (95% CI 0.63-0.89), 4.1 (95% CI 2.5-6.9), 0.17 (95% CI 0.09-0.32), and 25 (95% CI 15-42), respectively. The SROC curve indicated that the area under the curve was 0.90 (95% CI 0.87-0.92). The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and DOR for experienced radiologists were 0.82 (95% CI 0.69-0.91), 0.83 (95% CI 0.76-0.89), 4.9 (95% CI 3.4-7.0), 0.22 (95% CI 0.12-0.38), and 23 (95% CI 11-46), respectively. The SROC curve indicated that the area under the curve was 0.96 (95% CI 0.94-0.97).
CONCLUSION
The sensitivity of the CAD system in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules was similar to that of experienced radiologists. However, the CAD system had lower specificity and DOR than experienced radiologists. The CAD system may play the potential role as a decision-making assistant alongside radiologists in the thyroid nodules' diagnosis. Future technical improvements would be helpful to increase the accuracy as well as diagnostic efficiency.
Topics: Artificial Intelligence; Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted; Diagnosis, Differential; Humans; ROC Curve; Radiologists; Sensitivity and Specificity; Thyroid Neoplasms; Thyroid Nodule; Ultrasonography
PubMed: 31393347
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000016379