Thyroglobulin as a Rapid and Cost-Effective Biomarker for Diagnosis of Thyroid Carcinoma Brain Metastasis: A Case Report of a Patient with Metastatic Hurthle Cell Thyroid Carcinoma

BACKGROUND Brain metastasis of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is rare. Treatment of these patients is challenging due to the lack of specific guidelines. Early diagnosis is accompanied by immediate treatment and less morbidity. Total resection of brain lesions may be unattainable when they include infiltration of eloquent areas. This report is of an 81-year-old man who had undergone total thyroidectomy for goiter in the past and presented with metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) to the neck after a gap of 16 years. After two years, the patient developed a solitary cystic brain PTC metastasis associated with raised thyroglobulin (Tg) inside the cystic lesion aspirated during brain surgery. CASE REPORT An 81-year-old male patient was admitted for a space-occupying brain lesion in the right frontal lobe. The patient's history included metastatic disease of PTC to the neck with cervical lymph node metastasis and local recurrence after surgery and radioactive iodine-131 treatment. The patient underwent craniotomy and removal of the lesion. The aspirated fluid was sent for cytological examination and measurement of Tg levels, which were interestingly high. Pathology of the brain lesion revealed infiltration of brain parenchyma from a metastatic lesion characterized by eosinophilic cells with irregular contours forming grooves, resulting in cytoplasmic pseudo-inclusions, an oncotic variant of PTC. CONCLUSIONS This report has shown that residual tissue may be present following total thyroidectomy and may be the origin of PTC with metastasis to the brain. The patient in this study suffered from a brain lesion that could be excised. However, aspiration of cystic compartments could provide a rapid diagnosis in patients with non-removable brain lesions.

Inflammation biomarkers IL‑6 and IL‑10 may improve the diagnostic and prognostic accuracy of currently authorized traumatic brain injury tools

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is currently one of the leading causes of mortality and disability worldwide. At present, no reliable inflammatory or specific molecular neurobiomarker exists in any of the standard models proposed for TBI classification or prognostication. Therefore, the present study was designed to assess the value of a group of inflammatory mediators for evaluating acute TBI, in combination with clinical, laboratory and radiological indices and prognostic clinical scales. In the present single-centre, prospective observational study, 109 adult patients with TBI, 20 adult healthy controls and a pilot group of 17 paediatric patients with TBI from a Neurosurgical Department and two intensive care units of University General Hospital of Heraklion, Greece were recruited. Blood measurements using the ELISA method, of cytokines IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10, ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1) and glial fibrillary acidic protein, were performed. Compared with those in healthy control individuals, elevated IL-6 and IL-10 but reduced levels of IL-8 were found on day 1 in adult patients with TBI. In terms of TBI severity classifications, higher levels of IL-6 (P=0.001) and IL-10 (P=0.009) on day 1 in the adult group were found to be associated with more severe TBI according to widely used clinical and functional scales. Moreover, elevated IL-6 and IL-10 in adults were found to be associated with more serious brain imaging findings (r_s<0.442; P<0.007). Subsequent multivariate logistic regression analysis in adults revealed that early-measured (day 1) IL-6 [odds ratio (OR)=0.987; P=0.025] and UCH-L1 (OR=0.993; P=0.032) are significant independent predictors of an unfavourable outcome. In conclusion, results from the present study suggest that inflammatory molecular biomarkers may prove to be valuable diagnostic and prognostic tools for TBI.

Severe and Atypical Presentation of Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy in a Pediatric Patient after a Serious Crash Injury-Case Report and Literature Review

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is an uncommon clinical entity in children, resulting in severe but sometimes reversible systolic dysfunction of the left ventricle. This condition is triggered by multiple emotional or physical stressors, while neurogenic stress cardiomyopathy after brain injuries has become increasingly recognized in children over the past few years. We report the case of an 11-year-old child with an atypical clinical presentation after a serious car crash accident. An initial computed tomography scan revealed an acute epidural hematoma, which was immediately treated by an emergency craniotomy. During the patient's following pediatric intensive care unit hospitalization, severe hemodynamic instability was observed, leading to gradually higher doses of vasopressors for circulatory support. On echocardiography, the patient had signs of severe cardiac contractility compromise, with characteristic pattern of regional wall motion abnormalities of the left ventricle, which, in combination with seriously elevated cardiac enzymes, electrocardiographic (ECG) abnormalities and continuous thermodilution hemodynamic monitoring (PICCO) findings, led to intensification of inotropic support and to the diagnosis of takotsubo cardiomyopathy. Despite supportive measures, the patient developed multiorgan failure and succumbed to their serious illness. For this atypical case, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was addressed as an option for the seriously failing heart, but due to the extremely high risk of intracranial bleeding, it could not be used for this patient's treatment. In conclusion, Takotsubo cardiomyopathy should be suspected in pediatric cases of cardiac dysfunction after serious injuries or stress conditions.

Casemix, management, and mortality of patients rreseceiving emergency neurosurgery for traumatic brain injury in the Global Neurotrauma Outcomes Study: a prospective observational cohort study

BACKGROUND

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is increasingly recognised as being responsible for a substantial proportion of the global burden of disease. Neurosurgical interventions are an important aspect of care for patients with TBI, but there is little epidemiological data available on this patient population. We aimed to characterise differences in casemix, management, and mortality of patients receiving emergency neurosurgery for TBI across different levels of human development.

METHODS

We did a prospective observational cohort study of consecutive patients with TBI undergoing emergency neurosurgery, in a convenience sample of hospitals identified by open invitation, through international and regional scientific societies and meetings, individual contacts, and social media. Patients receiving emergency neurosurgery for TBI in each hospital's 30-day study period were all eligible for inclusion, with the exception of patients undergoing insertion of an intracranial pressure monitor only, ventriculostomy placement only, or a procedure for drainage of a chronic subdural haematoma. The primary outcome was mortality at 14 days postoperatively (or last point of observation if the patient was discharged before this time point). Countries were stratified according to their Human Development Index (HDI)-a composite of life expectancy, education, and income measures-into very high HDI, high HDI, medium HDI, and low HDI tiers. Mixed effects logistic regression was used to examine the effect of HDI on mortality while accounting for and quantifying between-hospital and between-country variation.

FINDINGS

Our study included 1635 records from 159 hospitals in 57 countries, collected between Nov 1, 2018, and Jan 31, 2020. 328 (20%) records were from countries in the very high HDI tier, 539 (33%) from countries in the high HDI tier, 614 (38%) from countries in the medium HDI tier, and 154 (9%) from countries in the low HDI tier. The median age was 35 years (IQR 24-51), with the oldest patients in the very high HDI tier (median 54 years, IQR 34-69) and the youngest in the low HDI tier (median 28 years, IQR 20-38). The most common procedures were elevation of a depressed skull fracture in the low HDI tier (69 [45%]), evacuation of a supratentorial extradural haematoma in the medium HDI tier (189 [31%]) and high HDI tier (173 [32%]), and evacuation of a supratentorial acute subdural haematoma in the very high HDI tier (155 [47%]). Median time from injury to surgery was 13 h (IQR 6-32). Overall mortality was 18% (299 of 1635). After adjustment for casemix, the odds of mortality were greater in the medium HDI tier (odds ratio [OR] 2·84, 95% CI 1·55-5·2) and high HDI tier (2·26, 1·23-4·15), but not the low HDI tier (1·66, 0·61-4·46), relative to the very high HDI tier. There was significant between-hospital variation in mortality (median OR 2·04, 95% CI 1·17-2·49).

INTERPRETATION

Patients receiving emergency neurosurgery for TBI differed considerably in their admission characteristics and management across human development settings. Level of human development was associated with mortality. Substantial opportunities to improve care globally were identified, including reducing delays to surgery. Between-hospital variation in mortality suggests changes at an institutional level could influence outcome and comparative effectiveness research could identify best practices.

FUNDING

National Institute for Health Research Global Health Research Group.