Objective: The available evidence on selenium supplementation in the treatment of autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) was inconclusive. This research serves to assess the effects of selenium supplementation in the treatment of AIT. Methods: Online databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched from inception to 10 June 2022. The AMSTAR-2 tool was used to assess the methodological quality of included studies. The information on the randomized controlled trials of the included studies was extracted and synthesized. The GRADE system was used to assess the certainty of evidence. Results: A total of 6 systematic reviews with 75 RCTs were included. Only one study was rated as high quality. The meta-analysis showed that in the levothyroxine (LT4)-treated population, thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPO-Ab) levels decreased significantly in the selenium group at 3 months (SMD = -0.53, 95% CI: [-0.89, -0.17], p < 0.05, very low certainty) and 6 months (SMD = -1.95, 95% CI: [-3.17, -0.74], p < 0.05, very low certainty) and that thyroglobulin antibody (Tg-Ab) levels were not decreased. In the non-LT4-treated population, TPO-Ab levels decreased significantly in the selenium group at 3 and 6 months and did not decrease at 12 months. Tg-Ab levels decreased significantly in the selenium group at 3 and 6 months and did not decrease at 12 months. The adverse effects reported in the selenium group were not significantly different from those in the control group, and the certainty of evidence was low. Conclusion: Although selenium supplementation might reduce TPO-Ab levels at 3 and 6 months and Tg-Ab levels at 3 and 6 months in the non-LT4-treated population, this was based on a low certainty of evidence.

The complications and symptoms of hypoparathyroidism remain incompletely defined. Measuring serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) and calcium levels early after total thyroidectomy may predict the development of chronic hypoparathyroidism. The study aimed (i) to identify symptoms and complications associated with chronic hypoparathyroidism and determine the prevalence of those symptoms and complications (Part I), and (ii) to examine the utility of early postoperative measurements of PTH and calcium in predicting chronic hypoparathyroidism (Part II). We searched Medline, Medline In-Process, EMBASE, and Cochrane CENTRAL to identify complications and symptoms associated with chronic hypoparathyroidism. We used two predefined criteria (at least three studies reported the complication and symptom and had statistically significantly greater pooled relative estimates). To estimate prevalence, we used the median and interquartile range (IQR) of the studies reporting complications and symptoms. For testing the predictive values of early postoperative measurements of PTH and calcium, we used a bivariate model to perform diagnostic test meta-analysis. In Part I, the 93 eligible studies enrolled a total of 18,973 patients and reported on 170 complications and symptoms. We identified nine most common complications or symptoms probably associated with chronic hypoparathyroidism. The complications or symptoms and the prevalence are as follows: nephrocalcinosis/nephrolithiasis (median prevalence among all studies 15%), renal insufficiency (12%), cataract (17%), seizures (11%), arrhythmia (7%), ischemic heart disease (7%), depression (9%), infection (11%), and all-cause mortality (6%). In Part II, 18 studies with 4325 patients proved eligible. For PTH measurement, regarding the posttest probability, PTH values above 10 pg/mL 12-24 hours postsurgery virtually exclude chronic hypoparathyroidism irrespective of pretest probability (100%). When PTH values are below 10 pg/mL, posttest probabilities range from 3% to 64%. Nine complications and symptoms are probably associated with chronic hypoparathyroidism. A PTH value above a threshold of 10 pg/mL 12-24 hours after total thyroidectomy is a strong predictor that the patients will not develop chronic hypoparathyroidism. Patients with PTH values below the threshold need careful monitoring as some will develop chronic hypoparathyroidism. (c) 2022 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).

The efficacy and safety of parathyroid hormone (PTH) therapy for managing long-term hypoparathyroidism is being evaluated in ongoing clinical trials. We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis of currently available randomized controlled trials to investigate the benefits and harms of PTH therapy and conventional therapy in the management of patients with chronic hypoparathyroidism. To identify eligible studies, published in English, we searched Embase, PubMed, and Cochrane CENTRAL from inception to May 2022. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed the risk of bias. We defined patients' important outcomes and used grading of recommendations, assessment, development, and evaluation (GRADE) to provide the structure for quantifying absolute effects and rating the quality of evidence. Seven randomized trials of 12 publications that enrolled a total of 386 patients proved eligible. The follow-up duration ranged from 1 to 36 months. Compared with conventional therapy, PTH therapy probably achieves a small improvement in physical health-related quality of life (mean difference [MD] 3.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.5-5.3, minimally important difference 3.0, moderate certainty). PTH therapy results in more patients reaching 50% or greater reduction in the dose of active vitamin D and calcium (relative risk [RR] = 6.5, 95% CI 2.5-16.4, 385 more per 1000 patients, high certainty). PTH therapy may increase hypercalcemia (RR =2.4, 95% CI 1.2-5.04, low certainty). The findings may support the use of PTH therapy in patients with chronic hypoparathyroidism. Because of limitations of short duration and small sample size, evidence from randomized trials is limited regarding important benefits of PTH therapy compared with conventional therapy. Establishing such benefits will require further studies. © 2022 The Authors. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).

Background: The thyroid is a gland in the lower neck that is responsible for secreting hormones related to growth and metabolism. A cancer growth in the thyroid can spread to other parts of the body, but most thyroid nodules (growths) are benign, and some types of thyroid cancer are nonaggressive and can be managed with active surveillance only. We conducted a health technology assessment of molecular testing in people with thyroid nodules of indeterminate cytology, which included an evaluation of diagnostic accuracy, clinical utility, cost-effectiveness, the budget impact of publicly funding molecular testing, and patient preferences and values. Methods: We performed a systematic literature search of the clinical evidence. We assessed the risk of bias of each included study using the Risk of Bias Among Systematic Review (ROBIS) tool for systematic reviews, the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 (QUADAS-2) assessment for primary studies that evaluated diagnostic accuracy, and the Risk of Bias tool for Non-randomized Studies (RoBANS) for primary studies that evaluated clinical utility. We evaluated the quality of the body of evidence according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) Working Group criteria. We performed a systematic economic literature review and conducted cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analyses with a 5-year time horizon from the Ontario Ministry of Health perspective. We also analyzed the budget impact of publicly funding molecular testing in people with thyroid nodules of indeterminate cytology in Ontario. To contextualize the potential value of molecular testing in people with thyroid nodules of indeterminate cytology, we spoke to people with thyroid nodules. Results: In the clinical evidence review, we included one systematic review, which contained eight relevant primary studies. Using molecular testing to support the rule-out of cancer in thyroid nodules of indeterminate significance may reduce the number of unnecessary surgeries. For diagnostic accuracy, molecular testing for a diagnosis of malignancy in a nodule of indeterminate significance had a sensitivity of 91% to 94% and a specificity of 68% to 82% (GRADE: Low). As well, lower rates of surgical resections were reported in nodules of indeterminate cytology (GRADE: Very Low). Compared to diagnostic lobectomy, we found that molecular testing would increase the probability of predicting a correct diagnosis, reduce the probability of unnecessary surgery, and lead to a slight improvement in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), but it would increase costs. The resulting incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was $220,572 to $298,653 per QALY gained. At the commonly used willingness-to-pay values of $50,000 and $100,000 per QALY gained, molecular testing was unlikely to be cost-effective (probability of molecular testing being cost-effective was less than 50%). Publicly funding molecular testing in Ontario over the next 5 years would lead to an additional cost of $6.24 million. People with thyroid nodules of indeterminate cytology reported on the benefits and drawbacks of molecular testing, as well as barriers to accessing and choosing to undergo molecular testing. Conclusions: For thyroid nodules of indeterminate cytology, molecular testing may have diagnostic accuracy as a rule-out test, and it may result in fewer nodule resections than usual care (no molecular testing). For people with thyroid nodules of indeterminate cytology, molecular testing at the current list price is unlikely to be cost-effective compared to diagnostic lobectomy. Publicly funding molecular testing in Ontario would cost about $6.24 million over the next 5 years. People with thyroid nodules of indeterminate cytology valued the information that could be provided by molecular testing, but they expressed concern about the time required to obtain results, especially if the findings were not conclusive or useful for treatment decision-making.

We sought to analyse the effect of the introduction of intraoperative nerve monitoring (IONM) in our routine surgical practice and to provide a circumstantial analysis of direct costs of IONM in total thyroidectomy and of indirect costs associated with vocal fold palsy, as centred in the health care system of Italy. We retrospectively compared outcomes of 232 total thyroidectomies performed between November 2017 and October 2019, respectively, before (109 TT-Group A) and after (123 TT-Group B) adopting IONM technology in November 2018. We analysed the costs of IONM per procedure and rate and costs of vocal fold palsy events (temporary and permanent). Overall, there were 61 thyroid cancers (32 in Group B) and 171 multinodular goitres (91 in Group B). We recorded 5 cases of vocal fold palsy (4.6%-4 transient, 1 permanent) in Group A and none in Group B (p = 0.016). IONM consumables cost 219 eur per case. Healthcare and social cost of Vocal fold palsy ranged between 3200 eur (function recovery < 1 month postoperatively) and over 32,000 eur (permanent event). When only direct costs are considered, IONM can hardly be cost effective. In this study, cost of IONM implementation was offset by the absence of complications attributable to recurrent laryngeal nerve dysfunction.

Background: Chronic renal failure (CRF) is a serious disease that has become a burden on global and local economics and public health. In addition, non-thyroidal illness syndrome (NTIS) has become increasingly more prevalent in CRF patients. Materials and methods: A data search was conducted on the PubMed/Medline, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase, and CBM databases to identify studies up to November 1st, 2018, that compared low T3 and normal T3 levels in patients with CRF. Data analysis was done by calculating the relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) and continuous variables were described by weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% CI. The efficacy outcomes included renal function and mortality. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality scale were used to assess the quality of the cohort and cross-sectional studies, respectively. A funnel plot was used to identify publication bias. Results: Seventeen studies with a total of 4593 patients were finally included in the analysis. Among the 17 studies, 11 reported the mortality of CRF patients with low T3 and normal T3 levels. Subgroups were assigned according to different follow-up times and different methods of treatment. The mortality rate in the low T3 group was much higher than in the normal T3 group. 11 studies reported creatinine (Cr) results in patients with low T3 and normal T3 levels and our analysis found no significant differences between the two groups (95%CI: 0.46-0.25; P-heterogeneity = 0.000; P = 0.559). Five studies reported uric acid results and we found no significant differences between the two groups (95%CI: 0.08-0.22; P-heterogeneity = 0.438; P = 0.377). Five studies reported the urea levels in the two groups and our analysis found no significant differences (95%CI: 1.60-1.23; I2 = 0.0%; P-heterogeneity = 0.498;P = 0.798). Conclusion: Low T3 had a greater impact on the short-term prognosis of patients with CRF than on the long-term prognosis. NTIS did not cause substantial kidney damage.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of different computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) systems for thyroid nodules classification. Methods: A systematic search of the literature was conducted from inception until March, 2019 using the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of science, and Cochrane library. Literature selection and data extraction were conducted by 2 independent reviewers. Numerical values for sensitivity and specificity were obtained from false negative (FN), false positive (FP), true negative (TN), and true positive (TP) rates, presented alongside graphical representations with boxes marking the values and horizontal lines showing the confidence intervals (CIs). Summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curves were applied to assess the performance of diagnostic tests. Data were processed using Review Manager 5.3 and Stata 15. The methodological quality of included studies was assessed using Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2) tool. Trial registration number: PROSPERO CRD42019132540

BACKGROUND: Outpatient thyroidectomy has gained popularity due to improved resource utilization. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis using MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, and the Cochrane library. We included all studies examining the outcomes of outpatient thyroidectomy as compared with those of inpatient thyroidectomy. Risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Postoperative complications (hematoma, hypocalcemia, and recurrent laryngeal nerve injury) and readmission/reintervention rates were compared. RESULTS: After screening 1665 records, 10 nonrandomized observational studies were included. There were fewer complication rates in the outpatient group than the inpatient group (relative risk [RR] 0.56; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.37-0.83). There was no difference in readmission/reintervention rates (RR 0.60; 95% CI 0.33-1.09). CONCLUSION: The results suggest outpatient thyroidectomy may be as safe as inpatient thyroidectomy in appropriately selected patients. The results are limited by high risk of bias. Well-designed prospective studies are necessary to further assess the safety of outpatient thyroidectomy.

Background: Low-iodine intake has historically been an issue in China, causing widespread iodine deficiency diseases (IDD). China started to introduce universal salt iodization in 1995, but reports of increased thyroid disease are a concern and appropriate levels of iodine intake must be considered. Objective: To assess the prevalence of thyroid disease with different urinary iodine concentrations (UICs) in the general population of those residing in mainland China. Furthermore, we aimed to analyze the relationship between thyroid disease and UIC, to provide guidance in establishing effective health policies regarding iodine intake. Methods: PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, CNKI, Wan fang, and CQVIP databases were searched for random community-based relevant studies with UIC published before January 2016 in mainland China. Two independent reviewers extracted data from eligible citations, and obtained prevalence of thyroid disease for different UICs, as well as the intergroup interaction P values. Results: Forty-three articles were included. The prevalence of thyroid nodules was 22.3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 20.6%-24.1%) for the low-iodine group, 25.4% (95% CI: 20.8%-28.8%) for the medium-iodine group, and 6.8% (95% CI: 2.8%-11.5%) for the high-iodine group. In the high-iodine group, the prevalence of thyroid nodules was lower than the other groups. The prevalence of 8.3% (95% CI: 3.8%-17.3%) for subclinical hypothyroidism in the high-iodine group was significantly higher than the low- and medium-iodine groups (P < .01). The prevalence of hypothyroidism in the medium-iodine group was 0.2% (95% CI: 0.1%-0.4%), and was lower than the prevalence of the other 2 groups (P < .01). There was no difference in prevalence of hyperthyroidism in each group. Conclusions: Thyroid nodules are the most easily detectable thyroid disease. These have a lower prevalence in the high-iodine group. The prevalence of most thyroid diseases is lowest for a UIC ranging from 100 to 299 μg/L. This serves as a reference for health policy-making with respect to iodine levels. Further studies on this topic should be carried out according to sufficient thyroid cancer data.

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of behaviour changing interventions targeting ordering of thyroid function tests. Design: Systematic review. Data sources: MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Database up to May 2015. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies: We included studies evaluating the effectiveness of behaviour change interventions aiming to reduce ordering of thyroid function tests. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs), non-randomised controlled studies and before and after studies were included. There were no language restrictions. Study appraisal and synthesis methods: 2 reviewers independently screened all records identified by the electronic searches and reviewed the full text of any deemed potentially relevant. Study details were extracted from the included papers and their methodological quality assessed independently using a validated tool. Disagreements were resolved through discussion and arbitration by a third reviewer. Meta-analysis was not used. Results: 27 studies (28 papers) were included. They evaluated a range of interventions including guidelines/protocols, changes to funding policy, education, decision aids, reminders and audit/feedback; often intervention types were combined. The most common outcome measured was the rate of test ordering, but the effect on appropriateness, test ordering patterns and cost were also measured. 4 studies were RCTs. The majority of the studies were of poor or moderate methodological quality. The interventions were variable and poorly reported. Only 4 studies reported unsuccessful interventions but there was no clear pattern to link effect and intervention type or other characteristics. Conclusions: The results suggest that behaviour change interventions are effective particularly in reducing the volume of thyroid function tests. However, due to the poor methodological quality and reporting of the studies, the likely presence of publication bias and the questionable relevance of some interventions to current day practice, we are unable to draw strong conclusions or recommend the implementation of specific intervention types. Further research is thus justified. Trial registration number: CRD42014006192.

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the use of a clinical nursing pathway for patients undergoing endoscopic thyroidectomy by conducting a meta-analysis. Electronic databases were searched for relevant controlled trials published prior to August 2013. Only papers that compared the use of a clinical nursing pathway to usual care for patients undergoing endoscopic thyroidectomy were selected. The outcome measures were mean difference and 95% confidence interval for length of hospital stay and hospital charges and risk ratio for patient satisfaction. Six controlled trials were identified. The use of a clinical nursing pathway reduced the length of hospital stay and hospital charges. Furthermore, it improved patient satisfaction. This meta-analysis indicates that application of a clinical nursing pathway appears to reduce length of hospital stay and hospital charges and improve patient satisfaction for patients undergoing endoscopic thyroidectomy.

BACKGROUND: Positron emission tomography (PET) with fluor-18-deoxy-glucose (FDG) is widely used for diagnosing recurrent or metastatic disease in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). PURPOSE: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of FDG-PET for DTC in patients after ablative therapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A systematic search was conducted in Medline/PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Open Grey looking for all English-language original articles on the performance of FDG-PET in series of at least 20 patients with DTC having undergone ablative therapy including total thyroidectomy. Diagnostic performance measures were pooled using Reitsma's bivariate model. RESULTS: Thirty-four publications between 1996 and 2014 met the inclusion criteria. Pooled sensitivity and specificity were 79.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], 73.9-84.1) and 79.4% (95% CI, 71.2-85.4), respectively, with an area under the curve of 0.858. CONCLUSION: F18-FDG-PET is a useful method for detecting recurrent DTC in patients having undergone ablative therapy