We systematically identified the prevalence of hyperuricemia and gout in mainland China and provided informative data that can be used to create appropriate local public health policies. Relevant articles from 2000 to 2014 were identified by searching 5 electronic databases: PubMed, Google Scholar, Chinese Wanfang, CNKI, and Chongqing VIP. All of the calculations were performed using the Stata 11.0 and SPSS 20.0 software. The eligible articles (n=36; 3 in English and 33 in Chinese) included 44 studies (38 regarding hyperuricemia and 6 regarding gout). The pooled prevalence of hyperuricemia and gout was 13.3% (95% CI: 11.9%, 14.6%) and 1.1% (95% CI: 0.7%, 1.5%), respectively. Although publication bias was observed, the results did not change after a trim and fill test, indicating that that impact of this bias was likely insignificant. The prevalence of hyperuricemia and gout was high in mainland China. The subgroup analysis suggested that the geographical region, whether the residents dwell in urban or rural and coastal or inland areas, the economic level, and sex may be associated with prevalence.

Autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD) are common autoimmune disorders. A few studies have analyzed the association between serum vitamin D levels and AITD, and available data remain inconclusive. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between serum vitamin D levels and 3 types of AITD, that is Graves' disease (GD), Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT), and postpartum thyroiditis (PPT). Two independent case-control studies were designed. The first is a cross-sectional case-control study in which we examined the levels of 25(OH)D in patients with newly diagnosed GD or HT and in controls; the second is a nested case-control study in which we compared 25(OH)D levels in 610 women who developed PPT during the follow-up after delivery and those who did not. Compared with the controls, GD patients and HT patients had significantly lower 25(OH)D levels. PPT cases also had a lower serum 25(OH)D concentration than controls. Serum 25(OH)D levels were associated with neither antithyroid peroxidase antibody nor antithyroglobulin antibody in GD and HT. There was no significant relationship between thyroid-stimulating hormone and 25(OH)D levels. Every 5 nmol/L increase in serum 25(OH)D concentrations was associated with a 1.55-, 1.62-, and 1.51-fold reduction in GD, HT, and PPT risk, respectively. We observed a lower serum vitamin D levels in AITD patients compared with controls. The lower the vitamin D level is, not vitamin D deficiency per se, the higher the risk for developing AITD will be. However, vitamin D does not have strong association with the titers of thyroid antibodies or the levels of thyroid hormones.

Background and Objective: The brain is an unusual site for distant metastases of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). The aim of this study was to document the prevalence of brain metastases from DTC at our institutions and to analyze the current therapies and the outcomes of these patients. Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of patients with DTC and secondary neoplasia of the brain. Results: From 2002 to 2016, 9514 cases of thyroid cancer were evaluated across our institutions and 24 patients met our inclusion criteria, corresponding to a prevalence of 0.3% of patients with DTC. Fourteen (58.3%) were female and 10 (41.7%) were male. Fifteen patients had papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) (62.5%). Brain metastases were diagnosed 0 to 37 years (mean ± SD, 10.6 ± 10.4 years) after the initial diagnosis of thyroid cancer. Patients undergoing surgery had a median survival time longer than those that did not undergo surgery (27.3 months vs 6.8 months; P = 0.15). Patients who underwent stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) had a median survival time longer than those that did not receive SRS (52.5 months vs 6.7 months; P = 0.11). Twelve patients (50%) were treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), and they had a better survival than those who have not used a TKI (median survival time, 27.2 months vs 4.7 months; P < 0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of brain metastases of DTC in our institutions was 0.3% over 15 years. The median survival time after diagnosis of brain metastases was 19 months. In our study population, the use of TKI improved the survival rates.

Aims of this study were to determine the normal range of absolute and relative Hertel exophthalmometric values (EVs) in a Chinese Han population. This population-based cross-sectional study consisted of 2010 healthy Han Chinese (1051 females and 959 males) aged between 8–87 years living in Shenyang, Northeast China, including 515 children (aged 8–14 years), 517 teenagers (aged 15–19 years), 582 adults (aged 20–69 years) and 396 elderly (aged 70–87 years). A Hertel exophthalmometer was used by the same physician for the measurement of EV and inter-orbital distance (IOD). For the entire study population, the Hertel EVs ranged from 10 mm to 22 mm; the mean EVs for the left eye (OS) and right eye (OD) were 15.0 ± 1.9 mm and 15.0 ± 2.0 mm, respectively; the upper normal limits of the EVs (mean + 2 SD) for OS and OD were 18.8 mm and 19.0 mm, respectively; the mean relative EV was 0.20 ± 0.43 mm. Age, but not sex, had a significant effect on the EV. We concluded that our study provides normative ophthalmic data in a Chinese Han population. The normal EVs, asymmetry and IOD values have been established for clinical reference.

Background: Biotin has been reported to interfere with several commonly used laboratory assays resulting in misleading values and possible erroneous diagnosis and treatment. This report describes a prospective study of possible biotin interference in thyroid-related laboratory assays, with a comparison of different commonly used assay platforms. Materials and Methods: Thirteen adult subjects (mean age 45 ± 13 years old) were administered biotin 10 mg/day for eight days. Blood specimens were collected at three time points on day 1 and on day 8 (baseline, two, and five hours after biotin ingestion). Thyrotropin (TSH), free triiodothyronine (fT3), free thyroxine (fT4), total triiodothyronine (TT3), total thyroxine (TT4), thyroxine binding globulin (TBG), and thyroglobulin (Tg) levels were analyzed with four different platforms: Abbott Architect, Roche Cobas 6000, Siemens IMMULITE 2000, and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). TSH, fT3, fT4, TT3, and TT4 were measured with Abbott Architect and Roche Cobas 6000. fT3, fT4, TT3, and TT4 were also measured by LC-MS/MS. Tg was measured by Siemens IMMULITE 2000. TBG was assessed with Siemens IMMULITE 2000. Results: Significant changes in TSH, fT4, and TT3 measurements were observed after biotin exposure when the Roche Cobas 6000 platform was used. Biotin intake resulted in a falsely lower Tg level when measurements were performed with Siemens IMMULITE 2000. At the time points examined, maximal biotin interference was observed two hours after biotin exposure both on day 1 and day 8. Conclusions: A daily dose of 10 mg was shown to interfere with specific assays for TSH, fT4, TT3, and Tg. Physicians must be aware of the potential risk of erroneous test results in subjects taking biotin supplements. Altered test results for TSH and Tg can be particularly problematic in patients requiring careful titration of levothyroxine therapy such as those with thyroid cancer.

Totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (TLDG) using intracorporeal anastomosis has gradually developed due to advancements in laparoscopic surgical instruments. However, totally laparoscopic total gastrectomy (TLTG) with intracorporeal esophagojejunostomy (IE) is still uncommon because of technical difficulties. Herein, we evaluated various types of IE after TLTG in terms of the technical aspects. We compared the short-term operative outcomes between TLTG with IE and laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy (LATG) with extracorporeal esophagojejunostomy (EE). Between March 2006 and December 2014, a total of 213 patients with gastric cancer underwent TLTG and LATG. Overall, 92 patients underwent TLTG with IE, and 121 patients underwent LATG with EE. Generally, there are two methods of IE: mechanical staplers (circular or linear staplers) and hand-sewn sutures. Surgical efficiencies and outcomes were compared between two groups. We also described various types of IE using a subgroup analysis. The mean operation times were similar in the two groups, as was the number of retrieved lymph nodes. However, the mean estimated blood loss of TLTG was statistically lower than LATG. There were no significant differences in time to first flatus, the time to restart oral intake, the length of the hospital stay after operation, and postoperative complications. Four types of IE have been applied after TLTG, including 42 cases of hand-sewn IE. The overall mean operation time and the mean anastomotic time in TLTG were 279.5 ± 38.4 min and 52.6 ± 18.9 min respectively. There was no case of conversion to open procedure. Postoperative complication occurred in 16 patients (17.4 %) and no postoperative mortality occurred. IE is a feasible procedure and can be safely performed for TLTG with the proper laparoscopic expertise. It is technically feasible to perform hand-sewn IE after TLTG, which can reduce the cost of the laparoscopic procedure.