Informed Consent and Informed Decision-Making in High-Risk Surgery: A Quantitative Analysis.

Background: Informed consent is an ethical and legal requirement that differs from informed decision-making-a collaborative process that fosters participation and provides information to help patients reach treatment decisions. The objective of this study was to measure informed consent and informed decision-making before major surgery.

Study Design: We audio-recorded 90 preoperative patient-surgeon conversations before major cardiothoracic, vascular, oncologic, and neurosurgical procedures at 3 centers in the US and Canada.

Patients' Reaction to Diagnosis with Thyroid Cancer or an Indeterminate Thyroid Nodule.

Little is known about the experiences and concerns of patients recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer or an indeterminate thyroid nodule. This study sought to explore patients' reactions to diagnosis with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) or indeterminate cytology on fine needle aspiration. We conducted semistructured interviews with 85 patients with recently diagnosed PTC or an indeterminate thyroid nodule before undergoing thyroidectomy.

A Qualitative Analysis of the Preoperative Needs of Patients With Papillary Thyroid Cancer.

Background: Thyroid cancer patients report unmet needs after diagnosis. However, little is known about their specific needs. Therefore, we sought to characterize the needs of patients with thyroid cancer before undergoing surgery.

Comparison Between Patient-Perceived Voice Changes and Quantitative Voice Measures in the First Postoperative Year After Thyroidectomy: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Voice changes after thyroidectomy are typically attributed to recurrent laryngeal nerve injury. However, most postoperative voice changes occur in the absence of clinically evident vocal fold paralysis. To date, no study has compared the prevalence, duration, and consequences of voice-related disability from the patient perspective with use of quantitative vocal measures.

Patient-Reported Dysphagia After Thyroidectomy: A Qualitative Study.

Importance: It is important that clinicians understand consequences of thyoridectomy on swallowing from the patient perspective to better care for this population.

Objective: Using rigorous qualitative methodology, this study set out to characterize the effect of swallowing-related symptoms after thyroidectomy on patient quality of life and swallowing-related outcomes.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Prospective, grounded theory analysis of interviews with 26 patients at 3 time points after thyroidectomy (2 weeks, 6 weeks, and 6 months).

Papillary Thyroid Cancer: The Good and Bad of the "Good Cancer".

Background: Papillary thyroid cancer is often described as the "good cancer" because of its treatability and relatively favorable survival rates. This study sought to characterize the thoughts of papillary thyroid cancer patients as they relate to having the "good cancer."

Methods: This qualitative study included 31 papillary thyroid cancer patients enrolled in an ongoing randomized trial.

Should vitamin D deficiency be corrected before parathyroidectomy?

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is common in patients with hyperparathyroidism, but the importance of replacement before surgery is controversial. We aimed to evaluate the impact of vitamin D deficiency on the extent of resection and risk of postoperative hypocalcemia for patients undergoing parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism.

Methods: We identified patients with primary hyperparathyroidism undergoing parathyroid surgery between 2000 and 2015 using a prospectively maintained database.

Morphological fractal analysis of shape in cancer cells treated with combinations of microtubule-polymerizing and -depolymerizing agents.

The current prognostic parameters, including tumor volume, biochemistry, or immunohistochemistry, are not sufficient to reflect the properties of cancer cells that distinguish them from normal cells. Our focus is to evaluate the effects of a combination of microtubule-polymerizing Taxol and -depolymerizing colchicine on IAR20 PC1 liver cells by measuring the surface fractal dimension as a descriptor of two-dimensional vascular geometrical complexity. The fractal dimension offers a rapid means of assessing cell shape.