Mutation in BRAF and Other Members of the MAPK Pathway in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma in the Pediatric Population.

Context: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is an uncommon tumor in the pediatric population. A limited number of studies have examined genetic mutations affecting the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway in the pediatric population.

Objective: To examine mutations affecting this pathway in PTC in our pediatric population and compare the BRAF V600E mutation rates in pediatric and adult tumors.

Follicular thyroid carcinoma presenting as a massive chest wall tumor.

The initial presentation of follicular thyroid carcinoma is rarely related to metastatic lesions. Presented here is the case of a 70-year-old woman with the initial presentation of a 13-cm chest wall mass identified as a metastatic follicular thyroid carcinoma. The chest wall lesion had features of a poorly differentiated carcinoma with areas of necrosis, an insular growth pattern focally and increased mitotic activity.

Indications for routine pathologic examination of specimens removed during trauma operations.

Background: Surgical specimens removed during trauma operations are routinely submitted for examination by pathology. This practice has not been systematically evaluated and the incidence of abnormal results from these examinations remains unknown. The objective of this study was to identify the incidence and management implications of abnormal findings at pathology review of trauma specimens.

Intraabdominal injury is common in blunt trauma patients who sustain spinal cord injury.

The evaluation of the abdomen in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) is challenging for obvious reasons. There are very little data on the incidence and complications of patients who sustain SCI with concomitant intraabdominal injury (IAI). To determine the incidence and outcomes of IAI in blunt trauma patients with SCI, a trauma registry and record review was performed between January 1998 and December 2005.

Continuous noninvasive monitoring of cardiac performance and tissue perfusion in pediatric trauma patients.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of a continuous survival probability prediction using noninvasive measures of cardiac performance and tissue perfusion in severely injured pediatric patients.

Methods: Review of all patients entered into a prospective noninvasive monitoring protocol. Cardiac index (CI) was measured using a thoracic bioimpedance device and tissue perfusion was assessed by transcutaneous carbon dioxide (Ptcco(2)) tension and oxygen tension indexed to the fraction of inspired oxygen (Ptco(2)/Fio(2)).