Predictive Value of BRAF^V600E Mutation for Lymph Node Metastasis in Papillary Thyroid Cancer:A Meta-analysis

BRAF^V600E mutation has been thought to be a valuable molecular marker that may predict a worse prognosis for papillary thyroid cancer (PTC).But whether BRAF^V600E mutation is associated with lymph node metastasis (LNM)remains controversial. Different surgical strategies may bring a bias in demonsstrating the association between them.In order to delineate a risk stratification to guide a tailored initial approach to tumors that express BRAF^V600E mutation,we performed this meta-analysis by using the articles in which total or near-total thyroidectomy plus bilateral central lymph node dissection was routinely performed to avoid the bias from the surgical strategy.We searched the Medline,Embase and CNKI database for eligible studies from January 2003 to May 2018.Meta-analysis was performed using the STATA 12.0 software.Odds ratios (ORs)and 95% confidence intervals (CIs)were calculated under fixed-effects or random-effects models.Fifteen clinical studies were included with a total of 4909 PTC patients. Our meta-analysis results reported that BRAF^V600E mutation was associated with LNM (OR=1.34;95% CI:1.09-1.65;P=0.005),as well as central LNM (OR=1.59;95% CI: 1.35-1.88;P<0.00001).Moreover,in patients with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma, we also confirmed the predictive value of BRAF^V600E mutation for LNM (OR=3.49;95% CI:2.02-6.02;P<0.00001).This meta-analysis demonstrates that BRAF^V600E mutation is closely related to LNM in PTC patients.The results suggest that BRAF^V600E mutation can be considered as a risk factor for LNM in PTC.Moreover,combining BRAF^V600E mutation with other risk factors to determine the initial surgical treatment may bring benefits for PTC patients.

Healthcare for Patients with Hepatitis B Virus:Analysis of 367381 Inpatient Cases in China

Objective Hepatitis B virus(HBV)infection,which has been recognized as an international public health challenge,has caused significant morbidity for the entire world.This research focused on patients with HBV in China to examine health utilization and expenses.Methods Patients hospitalized with HBV from 2017 to 2019 in tertiary hospitals in Hubei,a province located in central China,were selected as the study population.Healthcare information was collected from the provincial inpatient electronic system database.Univariate and regression analyses were performed to describe the basic situation of healthcare services and determine the influencing indicators of inpatient service expenditure.Results A total of 367381 cases of HBV infection were identified in the study area.Most of these cases were patients who were married(90.2%)and males(63%).With the great efforts by the universal coverage of the basic medical insurance(BMI)in China,the increasing rate of inpatient hospitalization for HBV was 3.5 times higher than that of the total inpatient health service cases in the study area.The average age of this group was 52.84±14.10 years and 11.1%of patients paid for their own medical expenditures without insurance.The average length of stay(LOS)was 11.10 days,and the average cost per patient was 15712.05 RMB.Both values were higher than the average level in study area.Gender,marital status,career,payment type,and kind of hospitals significantly influenced healthcare utilization.Males and the elderly might incur higher healthcare costs than their counterparts.Conclusion The BMI operated by government has played a role in the utilization release of health services for HBV carriers.However,researchers must pay more attention to the continuing increase in the medical expenses of this group.