scholarly journals Partial Cutting of Sternothyroid Muscle during Total Thyroidectomy: Impact on Postoperative Vocal Outcomes

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Hyoung Shin Lee ◽  
Sung Won Kim ◽  
Hyo Sang Park ◽  
Chan Woo Park ◽  
Ji Soo Kim ◽  
...  

Background. Cutting the sternothyroid (ST) muscle is a useful technique to expose the superior pole of thyroid gland during thyroidectomy. In this study, we evaluated the impact of partial cutting of the ST muscle on postoperative vocal outcomes after total thyroidectomy.Methods. A retrospective review of 57 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy with central neck dissection for micropapillary thyroid carcinoma was conducted. Group A (n=26) included those without cutting the ST muscle, while group B (n=31) included patients whose muscle was partially cut at the superior pole. All patients underwent voice analysis before the operation and 2 weeks and 1 month after the surgery, and the outcomes were compared between the two groups.Results. There were no differences between the two groups regarding the outcomes at each time of voice analysis. Group A showed a decrease of maximum frequency 2 weeks after surgery but showed no difference after 1 month. Group B showed a mild decrease in maximum frequency 2 weeks after surgery, but the difference was not significant.Conclusion. Partial cutting of ST muscle during thyroidectomy is useful to expose the superior pole without significant negative impact on postoperative outcomes of vocal analysis.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claude S. Gagne

The study reported in this paper examines students' perception of the use of weblogs as learning tools; it also explores evidence of learning within blog postings. Two Ryerson University courses in Information Technology Management that require students to use weblogs are taken as examples. Twenty-two students from these two courses participated in an online survey concerning their blogging experience. The participants had very good computer knowledge - most of them had previous experience using blogs. Most of them thought that building and maintaining a blog was an easy task. However, the research shows that students' perception concerning the use of blogs as educational tools was neutral-students also perceived the impact of using blogs on their ability to learn the course material as neutral. The study shows a lack of clear communication between instructors and students, which could have had a negative impact on students' learning experience. Furthermore, the study indicates that most students perceived the content they posted in a somewhat negative way. A content analysis performed on 22 blogs demonstrates that that the objectives of each course played a significant impact on the evidences of learning apparent in students' blogs. Students in group B demonstrated more evidences of learning then students in group A. Overall, the study shows that the use of blogs as learning tool in university classrooms is promising. Providing students with clear goals, objectives and expectations could help them to build and maintain their blogs in a way that could be more beneficial to their learning experience.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claude S. Gagne

The study reported in this paper examines students' perception of the use of weblogs as learning tools; it also explores evidence of learning within blog postings. Two Ryerson University courses in Information Technology Management that require students to use weblogs are taken as examples. Twenty-two students from these two courses participated in an online survey concerning their blogging experience. The participants had very good computer knowledge - most of them had previous experience using blogs. Most of them thought that building and maintaining a blog was an easy task. However, the research shows that students' perception concerning the use of blogs as educational tools was neutral-students also perceived the impact of using blogs on their ability to learn the course material as neutral. The study shows a lack of clear communication between instructors and students, which could have had a negative impact on students' learning experience. Furthermore, the study indicates that most students perceived the content they posted in a somewhat negative way. A content analysis performed on 22 blogs demonstrates that that the objectives of each course played a significant impact on the evidences of learning apparent in students' blogs. Students in group B demonstrated more evidences of learning then students in group A. Overall, the study shows that the use of blogs as learning tool in university classrooms is promising. Providing students with clear goals, objectives and expectations could help them to build and maintain their blogs in a way that could be more beneficial to their learning experience.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Xiao-yu Liu ◽  
Hai-feng Shi ◽  
Jie Zheng ◽  
Ku-lin Li ◽  
Xiao-xi Zhao ◽  
...  

Objective. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of left atrial (LA) size for the ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) using remote magnetic navigation (RMN). Methods. A total of 165 patients with AF who underwent catheter ablation using RMN were included. The patients were divided into two groups based on LA diameter. Eighty-three patients had small LA (diameter <40 mm; Group A), and 82 patients had a large LA (diameter ≥40 mm; Group B). Results. During mapping and ablation, X-ray time (37.0 (99.0) s vs. 12 (30.1) s, P<0.001) and X-ray dose (1.4 (2.7) gy·cm2 vs. 0.7 (2.1) gy·cm2, P=0.013) were significantly higher in Group A. No serious complications occurred in any of the patients. There was no statistical difference in the rate of first anatomical attempt of pulmonary vein isolation between the two groups (71.1% vs. 57.3%, P=0.065). However, compared with Group B, the rate of sinus rhythm was higher (77.1% vs. 58.5%, P<0.001) during the follow-up period. More patients in Group A required a sheath adjustment (47/83 vs. 21/82, P<0.001), presumably due to less magnets positioned outside of the sheath. In vitro experiments with the RMN catheter demonstrated that only one magnet exposed created the sheath affects which influenced the flexibility of the catheter. Conclusions. AF ablation using RMN is safe and effective in both small and large LA patients. Patients with small LA may pose a greater difficulty when using RMN which may be attributed to the fewer magnets beyond the sheath. As a result, the exposure of radiation was increased. This study found that having at least two magnets of the catheter positioned outside of the sheath can ensure an appropriate flexibility of the catheter.


Author(s):  
Joanna Matla ◽  
Katarzyna Filar-Mierzwa ◽  
Anna Ścisłowska-Czarnecka ◽  
Agnieszka Jankowicz-Szymańska ◽  
Aneta Bac

Seniors are a constantly growing group of people in many societies. It is necessary to develop physiotherapeutic programs to improve their mobility. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the physiotherapeutic program conducted unstable ground on selected indicators of motor functions of elderly women. Sixty women (60–80 years) participated in the research. Group A (N = 20) underwent a 12-week physiotherapeutic program on stable ground, group B (N = 20) followed an exercise program on unstable ground, and group C (N = 20) (control group) had no therapeutic intervention. The effects of the therapy were assessed by using a FreeMed platform (foot load analysis) and a Biosway balance system. The results were compared using ANOVA (the one-way analysis), the Kruskal–Wallis test and also the post hoc tests (Tukey’s test and the multiple comparison test). In group A, a statistically significant change was observed in the static test and balance assessment, in group B this was observed in the static and dynamic foot tests and balance assessment, in group C, no statistical significance was achieved. The authors’ physiotherapeutic program had a statistically significant effect on changes in the balance and selected indicators of the motor functions of the examined people. Comparing the results before and after the therapy more improvement changes were noted in women training on an unstable ground compared to women training on a stable ground.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 560-575
Author(s):  
Amina Ammar ◽  
Lindsay M. Darghali ◽  
Wassim Tarraf ◽  
Helen D. Berlie ◽  
Linda A. Jaber

To examine the impact of a pharmacist’s physical presence on (1) the achievement of individual and combined targets for hemoglobin A1c (A1C), blood pressure (BP), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (composite target), and (2) physician practices in relation to the American Diabetes Association (ADA) standards of medical care.   Methods A retrospective, comparative study of randomly selected diabetic patients seen within an underserved primary care setting at least twice annually between June 1, 2018- December 31, 2019. Patients were allocated by whether they had received care in one of the physician-pharmacist clinics (Group A) or the physician-only clinic (Group B). Study outcomes included the proportion of patients achieving the composite and individual treatment targets for A1C, BP, and LDL-C.   Results A total of 394 patients were included; Majority were underserved African Americans. The composite target was attained by 20% of participants in Group A and 13% in Group B (p=0.09). There were no statistically significant differences in achievement of individual targets between groups. A significantly higher proportion of participants in Group A achieved better control of diastolic blood pressure control (85% vs. 74%), had microalbuminuria tested (50% vs. 12%), were prescribed aspirin (43% vs. 32%), and had lower utilization of non-insulin glucose-lowering agents relative to those in Group B.   Conclusion The impact of a pharmacist’s physical presence on physician practice demonstrated a general trend towards improvement in clinical outcomes related to diabetes management. Future studies are needed to further characterize the impact provided by the physician-pharmacist relationship.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (Supplement_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuaki Okino ◽  
Keita Yamazaki ◽  
Keiichiro Okada ◽  
Keiji Fujimoto ◽  
HIROKI ADACHI ◽  
...  

Abstract Background and Aims The impact of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection on patient survival after renal transplantation was worse. Previously, we found that continuous HCV infection was a significant independent risk factor for actuarial survival (especially at ≥20 years after the transplant procedure) among Japanese renal allograft recipients. This study evaluates the impact of HCV and of the new direct acting antivirals (DAAs) on patient outcomes in renal allograft recipients. Method We studied 46 cases (28 males, 18 females; 37 living-donor cases, 9 deceased-donor cases; mean follow-up period 305 months ranging from 2 to 420 months) out of the 315 renal transplanted patients who underwent the first renal transplantation in Kanazawa Medical University since 1974. They had antibodies against HCV: 11 were positive for HCV RNA and received DAAs (Group A, all of them genotype 1b); 27 were HCV RNA positive and did not receive any treatment (Group B); 8 were negative for HCV RNA (Group C) (Fig.1). Results All Group A patients had HCV RNA negativity after 2-12 weeks of treatment started, and 11 (100%) achieved a sustained virological response (SVR) at 24 weeks. All of them had no adverse effects by the use of DAAs. In this cohort, no patients in Group A died. On the other hand, 15 (55.5%) of 27 in Group B and 3 (37.5%) of 8 in Group C died. Causes of death among Group B were liver cirrhosis (5 cases), hepatocellular carcinoma (2 case), infections complicated with chronic hepatitis (6 cases) in chronic phase, fibrosing cholestatic hepatitis due to HCV (1 case) after surgery, and cardiovascular disease (1 case). The patient survival rate was significantly higher in Group A patients who received DAAs by Kaplan- Meier life table method (Log Rank test, Kay-square 11.7, p=0.004) (Fig.2). Conclusion Our results support the notion that continuous HCV infection was a harmful and that new DAAs were efficient and safe to treat HCV infection after renal transplantation.


Author(s):  
Farid Ghaemi ◽  
Fahimeh Rafi

The present study aimed at comparing the effectiveness of three different techniques on learners’ long term memorization of English word stress patterns. After administering a quick placement test, 67 Iranian EFL elementary learners at language institutes were selected to participate in the study. Then they were divided into three groups. Before starting the instruction, a pretest was conducted to classify the participants’ abilities on word stress patterns. Then the new techniques were used to teach English word stress patterns. In all three groups, words were printed largely on a piece of paper and the syllables were clearly specified by dots. In group ‘A’, pronunciation and stress pattern of new words were taught aurally through the repetition of the words. In group ‘B’, all the procedure was exactly similar to that of group ‘A’, the only difference was that the stressed syllables were printed in bold. In group ‘C’, all the procedure was exactly similar to that of group ‘B’,  except that the stressed syllables were not only printed in bold, but also introduced by teacher’s hand gesture. After two weeks, a delayed posttest was conducted to check long term memorization of the word stress patterns. The results of the study indicated that there was a significant difference between pretest and delayed posttest in all three groups. But the most meaningful difference belonged to group ‘C’. That is, the participants in the third group (gesture group) outperformed those in the other groups. Finally, some implications and suggestions provided for further research.   


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Zuo ◽  
Haidong Zou ◽  
Xinfeng Fei ◽  
Weiqi Xu ◽  
Jianhong Zhang

In the current study, the CLVQOL was used to assess VRQOL before unilateral or bilateral cataract surgery and at the end of the follow-up period in order to determine the greater beneficial mode of surgery for patients, if one of the two surgical methods is more beneficial over the other. The patients were classified as receiving unilateral (group A) and bilateral cataract surgery (group B). There were no significant differences between groups A and B before the operation in terms of life quality scores, binocular weighted average LogMAR BCVA, age, educational level, gender, systematic and ocular comorbidities, and the complications of the operation. It was shown that visual acuity improved more significantly with bilateral cataract surgery than with unilateral surgery in elderly patients with a high preoperative disease burden in Shanghai city. However, the improvement in life quality was not different in patients receiving either bilateral or unilateral cataract surgery.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonella Pino ◽  
◽  
Lorenzo Gasco ◽  
Daqi Zhang ◽  
Paolo Carcoforo ◽  
...  

Introduction: Thyroid and parathyroid diseases are very common. Most of these cases are in women and may be amenable to surgery. The patient’s perception that these are not life-threatening diseases leads them to expect an excellent aesthetic result, since the surgical incision area is clearly visible. Objective: To evaluate different scarring outcomes using three different energy-based devices (Harmonic Focus®, Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, NJ; Thunderbeat Open Fine Jaw®, Olympus Medical, Tokyo, Japan; LigaSure Small Jaw®, Medtronic, Dublin, Ireland) and to determine the impact of post-thyroidectomy/parathyroidectomy scars on the patient’s quality of life. Methods: One hundred female patients who underwent thyroidectomy or parathyroidectomy between September 2017 and September 2019 at the Endocrine and Minimally Invasive Surgery Department of Messina University Hospital were recruited. A retrospective analysis assessed the thickness of the cervical scar via ultrasound imaging, and the patient’s degree of satisfaction through the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) and the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Questionnaire (BDDQ). Results: The patients were divided into three groups according to the energy-device used: group A (LigaSure SJ (n=38), group B (Harmonic F, n=32) and group C (Thunderbeat OFJ, n=30). The three groups were homogeneous with respect to number of patients, age and surgical procedures. The best aesthetic result, which correlated with the lowest scar thickness, was observed in group A; these patients were more satisfied than those in the other two groups. Moreover, correlations between scar thickness and quantitative variables (such as age or BMI) were not found in any of the groups. Conclusions: Based on the data collected and our experience, the LigaSure Small Jaw® (Medtronic) seems to offer the best aesthetic outcome in patients who undergo transverse cervicotomy for thyroid and parathyroid diseases. However, further prospective studies involving a greater number of cases are needed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christin Röttiger ◽  
Maren Hellige ◽  
Bernhard Ohnesorge ◽  
Astrid Bienert-Zeit

Abstract Background The use of cadavers for radiology research methodologies involving subjective image quality evaluation of anatomical criteria is well-documented. The purpose of this method comparison study was to evaluate the image quality of dental and adjacent structures in computed tomography (CT) and high-field (3 T) magnetic resonance (MR) images in cadaveric heads, based on an objective four-point rating scale. Whilst CT is a well-established technique, MR imaging (MRI) is rarely used for equine dental diagnostics. The use of a grading system in this study allowed an objective assessment of CT and MRI advantages in portraying equine cheek teeth. As imaging is commonly performed with cadaveric or frozen and thawed heads for dental research investigations, the second objective was to quantify the impact of the specimens’ conditions (in vivo, post-mortem, frozen-thawed) on the image quality in CT and MRI. Results The CT and MR images of nine horses, focused on the maxillary premolar 08s and molar 09s, were acquired post-mortem (Group A). Three observers scored the dental and adjacent tissues. Results showed that MR sequences gave an excellent depiction of endo- and periodontal structures, whereas CT produced high-quality images of the hard tooth and bony tissues. Additional CT and MRI was performed in vivo (Group B) and frozen-thawed (Group C) in three of these nine horses to specify the condition of the best specimens for further research. Assessing the impact of the specimens’ conditions on image quality, specific soft tissues of the maxillary 08s and 09s including adjacent structures (pulps, mucosa of the maxillary sinuses, periodontal ligament, soft tissue inside the infraorbital canal) were graded in group B and C and analysed for significant differences within CT and MR modalities in comparison to group A. Results showed that MRI scores in vivo were superior to the post-mortem and frozen-thawed condition. Conclusions On comparing the imaging performance of CT and MRI, both techniques show a huge potential for application in equine dentistry. Further studies are needed to assess the clinical suitability of MRI. For further research investigations it must be considered, that the best MR image quality is provided in live horses.


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