The etiology of medullary thyroid carcinoma remains unknown. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a significant association between medullary thyroid carcinoma and Hashimoto's thyroiditis in the histopathologic material of thyroidectomized patients. Retrospective cross-sectional study. In this study, we reviewed the medical records of all patients who underwent total thyroidectomy for different thyroid-related complaints between January 2000 and January 2012 at Jordan University Hospital-Amman, Jordan. To highlight relevant previously published studies addressing this topic, a literature search was conducted for English language studies reporting "medullary thyroid carcinoma" or "C-cell hyperplasia" in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Of the 863 patients with a mean age of 47.2 ± 12.3 years who underwent total thyroidectomy during the study period, 78 (9.04 %) were diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and 15 (1.74 %) had medullary thyroid carcinoma, 3 (20 %) of whom had coexistent Hashimoto's thyroiditis. A total of 683 (79.1 %) patients had benign thyroid disease, 67 (9.8 %) of whom had Hashimoto's thyroiditis. The difference between these rates was not statistically significant (p = 0.19). When examined by gender, 9 females had medullary thyroid carcinoma, 3 (33.3 %) of whom had coexistent Hashimoto's thyroiditis; by contrast, of 560 females with benign thyroid disease, 62 (11.1 %) had Hashimoto's thyroiditis (p = 0.04). Although this study population represents a small and single-institution experience, our results suggest that there might be an association between Hashimoto's thyroiditis and medullary thyroid carcinoma only in female patients who undergo total thyroidectomy.

Background Previous reports show conflicting results regarding hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine efficacy in Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected individuals. Aims To evaluate HBV-vaccine response and identify possible factors that may contribute to lower vaccine efficacy in patients infected with HCV. Methods We retrospectively evaluated all patients with chronic HCV infection at Hennepin County Medical Center, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, between 2002 and 2018. We addressed laboratory, liver-related, virus-related as well as vaccine-related variables, and their association to HBV vaccine response. Differences were tested using either a Chi-squared test or a T test to compare means between the two populations. Multivariate regression was modeled as a logistic regression. Results 1506 patients were evaluated, of which 525 received appropriate HBV vaccination and were assessed for response. Among those, 79% were vaccine responders and 21% were nonresponders. On multivariate analysis, cirrhosis was associated with lower response to the vaccine (OR 0.6, CI 0.44-0.94). We found no significant differences for vaccine response in relation to smoking (87% vs 86%), IV drug abuse (74% vs 72%), Diabetes Mellitus (26% vs 22%) being on hemodialysis (2% vs.5%), or virus related variables.

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Background and Aims: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is associated with a high risk for morbidity, mortality, and hospital readmission. Data regarding those risks in the United States is scarce. We assessed post-ERCP 30-day readmission rates, their etiologies, and impact on the health care system using national data. Methods: Using the National Readmission Database 2016, we identified patients who underwent inpatient ERCP from January 2016 to December 2016 using ICD-10-CM procedure codes. The primary endpoint was all-cause 30-day readmission rate. Etiologies of readmission were identified by tallying primary diagnosis. Multivariable logistic regression with complex survey design was used to identify independent risk factors associated with readmission. Results: A total of 130,145 patients underwent ERCP, 16,278 (12.5%) were readmitted within 30 days, with an associated cost of 268 million dollars. Nearly 40% of readmissions occurred within 7 days, and 47.9% were related to gastrointestinal etiologies. Male gender, increased comorbidities, cirrhosis, Medicare insurance, and pancreatitis or pancreatitis-related indications for ERCP were readmission risk factors. Performance of cholecystectomy on index hospitalization decreased odds of readmission by 50% (adjusted odds ratio: 0.48, 95% confidence interval: 0.45-0.52, P<0.0001). While academic and nonacademic centers had similar readmission rates, high ERCP volume centers had higher rates compared with low-volume centers (adjusted odds ratio:1.10, P=0.008). Conclusion: All-cause 30-day readmission rates after inpatient ERCPs are high, mostly occur shortly postdischarge, and impose a heavy health care system burden. Large, multicenter prospective studies assessing the impact of center procedure volume on complications and readmission rates are needed.

The etiologic association between focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) and estrogen has been a subject of doubt and controversy. We present a case of a female patient with FNH that had been monitored for several years with noted size stability and later regression, who developed tumor growth during pregnancy. This case suggests that a subset of FNH is indeed hormone sensitive, as opposed to what has been frequently suggested by many other reports that question the association, a finding that may have clinical implications, in terms of monitoring of patients with high estrogen statuses.