UNASSIGNED: To compare diagnostic capability and patient pain between 25-gauge (25G) and 27G needles for ultrasound-guided fine-needle biopsy of thyroid nodules.
UNASSIGNED: Prospective blinded randomized trial.
UNASSIGNED: Thyroid clinic in otolaryngology practice in a community.
UNASSIGNED: A prospective randomized blinded trial was conducted on 148 thyroid nodules in 107 patients undergoing ultrasound-guided fine-needle biopsy. Needle gauge was randomized to individual nodule. Patients were blinded to the needle size used. All specimens were assessed via the Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology and assigned a morphologic quantitative score based on number of thyroid cells and lymphocytes, amount of colloid, and degree of blood/fibrin artifact in each sample. Patient pain experience was scored. A chi-square test was used to compare nondiagnostic rates, and differences in cytologic morphology and pain scores were compared with 2-sample Student t tests.
UNASSIGNED: Of the 148 nodules, 77 were biopsied with 25G needles and 71 with 27G needles. Twenty-five percent (19/77) of the samples obtained with 25G needles yielded a nondiagnostic cytology result (Bethesda category 1) as compared with 11% (8/70) in the 27G group (P = .0282; 95% CI, 1.47%-25.97%). On average, samples from 25G needles had a higher blood/fibrin quantitative score (P = .043; 95% CI, -0.64 to -0.010). There were no differences in pain between groups.
UNASSIGNED: Use of a 27G needle for fine-needle biopsies is not only safe and feasible but desirable and highly recommended, as it yields better diagnostic information.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have demonstrated that obesity is a risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC), but few data are available regarding its role in multifocal disease and postoperative recurrence. The present study aimed to assess the role of obesity as a risk factor for multifocal disease and postoperative recurrence in patients with CRC.
METHODS: The records of 940 consecutive patients with CRC admitted to three surgical centres between January 2006 and January 2011 were retrospectively analysed. The 595 individuals whose preoperative body mass index (BMI) values were available were included in the study. Following WHO guidelines, the patients were stratified into four groups depending on their BMI values. Age at disease onset, clinical presentation, tumor invasiveness, the presence of multiple foci, and the colon cancer recurrence rate in the four groups were assessed and compared.
RESULTS: At multivariate analysis, diagnosis of familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and a BMI>30 were found to be independent predictors of synchronous polyps (Odd Ratio [OR]=10.7, 95% Confidence interval (CI)=2-75, p=0.005; and OR=2.2, 95% CI=1.3-3.9, p=0.003, respectively). The cancer recurrence rate in the patients with stage 2 CRC was significantly higher in the obese with respect to the non-obese (p=0.05). At multivariate analysis, BMI>30, FAP, and positivity by the Bethesda criteria were found to be independent predictors of recurrence after CRC surgery.
CONCLUSIONS: Obese patients diagnosed with CRC require thorough colonic exploration prior to surgery and necessitate more frequent postoperative endoscopic examinations with respect to patients without any risk factors.