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Purpose: We investigated the association between health-related quality of life (HRQL) and the severity of hypothyroidism at diagnosis in patients referred to a secondary hospital clinic.
Methods: Sixty-seven adult patients referred from primary care were enrolled. All patients had newly diagnosed hypothyroidism due to autoimmune thyroiditis and were treated with levothyroxine (LT4). The dose was adjusted according to thyroid function tests aiming at a normal plasma thyrotropin. Patients were stratified according to the severity of hypothyroidism in two different ways: the conventional approach (subclinical or overt hypothyroidism) and a novel approach according to the change (decrease or increase) in plasma level of free triiodothyronine index (FT3I) following LT4 treatment. The ThyPRO-39 questionnaire was used for measurement of HRQL at referral to the Endocrine Outpatient Clinic (higher score corresponds to worse HRQL).
Results: Free thyroxine index (FT4I) at diagnosis correlated positively with the scores on the Hypothyroid Symptoms and Tiredness scales (p = 0.018 for both). In accordance, patients with subclinical hypothyroidism (n = 36) scored higher on Hypothyroid Symptoms (p = 0.029) than patients with overt hypothyroidism (n = 31). The difference in HRQL was more pronounced if patients were stratified according to the dynamics in FT3I following LT4 treatment. Thus, patients who showed a decrease in FT3I following treatment (n = 24) scored significantly worse for Anxiety (p = 0.032) and Emotional Susceptibility (p = 0.035) than patients with an increase in FT3I (n = 43).
Conclusion: Patients referred to an endocrine clinic with mild hypothyroidism had an impaired HRQL, compared to patients with more severe hypothyroidism. The most likely explanation of this finding is a lower threshold for seeking medical consultation and secondary care referral if HRQL is deteriorated. The dynamics in plasma FT3I following treatment may be more sensitive for such a discrimination in HRQL than a stratification according to the thyroid function tests at diagnosis.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13044-023-00178-0 | DOI Listing |
JAMA Netw Open
September 2025
School of Nursing, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Importance: The efficacy of home end-of-life care in enhancing the quality of life for terminally ill patients and families has been well documented. While previous studies have explored perspectives on quality home palliative care and end-of-life care in several countries, limited knowledge exists regarding its specific components in the Chinese context.
Objective: To explore the core elements that constitute quality home end-of-life care in China.
JAMA Cardiol
September 2025
Department of Cardiology, Inselspital University Hospital of Bern, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Importance: Right anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery (R-AAOCA) is a rare congenital condition increasingly diagnosed with the growing use of cardiac imaging. Due to dynamic compression of the anomalous vessel, invasive fractional flow reserve (FFR) during a dobutamine-atropine volume challenge (FFR-dobutamine) is considered the reference standard. A reliable alternative method is needed to reduce extensive invasive testing, but it remains uncertain whether noninvasive imaging can accurately assess the hemodynamic relevance of R-AAOCA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Pathol
September 2025
The North of England Bone and Soft Tissue Tumour Service, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Indocyanine green (ICG) is a well-established near-infrared dye which has been used clinically for several decades. Recently, it has been utilised for fluorescence-guided surgery in a range of solid cancer types, including sarcoma, with the aim of reducing the positive margin rate. The increased uptake and retention of ICG within tumours, compared with normal tissue, gives surgeons a visual reference to aid resection when viewed through a near-infrared camera.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeurol Sci
September 2025
Pediatric Neurosurgery Unit, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genoa, Italy.
Background: super-refractory status epilepticus (SRSE) is a rare and severe neurological condition associated with high mortality and significant long-term morbidity. In many cases, conventional medical treatments prove ineffective, with wide use of off-label therapies.
Methods: two researchers conducted a review of the medical records of subjects who had undergone VNS implantation in our tertiary Centre.
Abdom Radiol (NY)
September 2025
Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China.
Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility and clinical utility of non-contrast magnetic resonance angiography (NC-MRA) using a modified balanced steady-state free precession (b-SSFP) technique combined with arterial spin labeling (ASL) for post-embolotherapy follow-up of renal artery aneurysms (RAAs), with digital subtraction angiography (DSA) as the reference standard.
Method: A total of 57 patients with RAAs underwent embolotherapy between June 2013 and July 2024. Among them, 15 RAAs from 14 patients underwent post-embolization surveillance with the NC-MRA and DSA.