Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37497351›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in endocrinology2023

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on thyroid nodular disease: a retrospective study in a single center in the western part of Romania.

Oana Popa, Robert Alexandru Barna, Andreea Borlea, Marioara Cornianu, Alis Dema, Dana Stoian

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in endocrinology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 22% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Oana PopaEndocrinology Department, Centre of Molecular Research in Nephrology and Vascular Disease, University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Victor Babes", Timisoara, Romania.
Robert Alexandru BarnaDiscipline of Morphopathology, Department of Microscopic Morphology, ANAPATMOL Research Centre, University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Victor Babes", Timisoara, Romania.
Andreea BorleaEndocrinology Department, Centre of Molecular Research in Nephrology and Vascular Disease, University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Victor Babes", Timisoara, Romania.
Marioara CornianuDiscipline of Morphopathology, Department of Microscopic Morphology, ANAPATMOL Research Centre, University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Victor Babes", Timisoara, Romania.
Alis DemaDiscipline of Morphopathology, Department of Microscopic Morphology, ANAPATMOL Research Centre, University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Victor Babes", Timisoara, Romania.
Dana StoianEndocrinology Department, Centre of Molecular Research in Nephrology and Vascular Disease, University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Victor Babes", Timisoara, Romania.
Victor Babeș University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timișoara · RO

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the healthcare system, leading to a prioritization of hospital admissions in many countries. Romania was no exception, and it had to restrict patient access to medical services in hospitals with chronic diseases and oncological pathology, including thyroid cancer. This study aimed to compare the clinical and pathological factors of patients with nodular thyroid disease diagnosed and surgically treated during the two years before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, in a single medical institution. Methods: The retrospective study included 1505 patients who were diagnosed and operated on for nodular thyroid disease between January 2018 and December 2021. The patients were divided into two groups: the "PRECOVID" group (January 2018 to February 2020), and the "POSTCOVID" group (March 2020 to December 2021). The analyzed parameters included patients' gender, age, preoperative diagnosis, type of surgical intervention, and pathological diagnosis. Results: A significant decrease was observed in the number of surgeries performed for thyroid nodular disease during the COVID-19 pandemic period (450 versus 1055 cases, p<0.00001). There was a significant decrease in the number of surgical reinterventions (0.9% in the POSTCOVID group versus 2.9% in the PRECOVID group, p=0.01) and a significant increase in the number of total thyroidectomies (84.9% in the POSTCOVID group versus 80.1% in the PRECOVID group, p=0.02). We also observed a higher incidence of malignant/borderline tumors in the POSTCOVID group compared to the PRECOVID group (p=0.04) and a significantly higher frequency of aggressive forms of thyroid cancer in the POSTCOVID group (p=0.0006). Discussion: The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the surgical management of nodular thyroid disease, resulting in a decrease in surgeries and a change in the type of surgical interventions performed. The higher incidence of malignant/borderline tumors diagnosed during the pandemic highlights the importance of timely diagnosis and treatment of thyroid nodules to prevent cancer progression.

Indexed as

COVID-19Thyroid NeoplasmsThyroid NoduleHumansPandemicsRetrospective StudiesRomaniaCOVID-19healthcare systemnodular thyroid diseasesurgerythyroid cancer

Identifiers

PMID37497351
PMCPMC10368367
OpenAlexW4383874376

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.