Because inadvertent damage of parathyroid glands can lead to postoperative hypocalcemia, their identification and preservation, which can be challenging, are pivotal during total thyroidectomy. OBJECTIVE To determine if intraoperative imaging systems using near-infrared autofluorescence (NIRAF) light to identify parathyroid glands could improve parathyroid preservation and reduce postoperative hypocalcemia. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This randomized clinical trial was conducted from September 2016 to October 2018, with a 6-month follow-up at 3 referral hospitals in France. Adult patients who met eligibility criteria and underwent total thyroidectomy were randomized. The exclusion criteria were preexisting parathyroid diseases. INTERVENTIONS Use of intraoperative NIRAF imaging system during total thyroidectomy. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was the rate of postoperative hypocalcemia (a corrected calcium <8.0 mg/dL [to convert to mmol/L, multiply by 0.25] at postoperative day 1 or 2). The main secondary outcomes were the rates of parathyroid gland autotransplantation and inadvertent parathyroid gland resection. RESULTS A total of 245 of 529 eligible patients underwent randomization. Overall, 241 patients were analyzed for the primary outcome (mean [SD] age, 53.6 [13.6] years; 191 women [79.3%]): 121 who underwent NIRAF-assisted thyroidectomy and 120 who underwent conventional thyroidectomy (control group). The temporary postoperative hypocalcemia rate was 9.1% (11 of 121 patients) in the NIRAF group and 21.7% (26 of 120 patients) in the control group (between-group difference, 12.6% [95% CI, 5.0%-20.1%]; P = .007). There was no significant difference in permanent hypocalcemia rates (0% in the NIRAF group and 1.6% [2 of 120 patients] in the control group). Multivariate analyses accounting for center and surgeon heterogeneity and adjusting for confounders, found that use of NIRAF reduced the risk of hypocalcemia with an odds ratio of 0.35 (95% CI, 0.15-0.83; P = .02). Analysis of secondary outcomes showed that fewer patients experienced parathyroid autotransplantation in the NIRAF group than in the control group: respectively, 4 patients (3.3% [95% CI, 0.1%-6.6%) vs 16 patients (13.3% [95% CI, 7.3%-19.4%]; P = .009). The number of inadvertently resected parathyroid glands was significantly lower in the NIRAF group than in the control group: 3 patients (2.5% [95% CI, 0.0%-5.2%]) vs 14 patients (11.7% [95% CI, 5.9%-17.4%], respectively; P = .006). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The use of NIRAF for the identification of the parathyroid glands may help improve the early postoperative hypocalcemia rate significantly and increase parathyroid preservation after total thyroidectomy.

The CUSUM tool is not yet properly reported in the surgical literature. Therefore, reporting of the CUSUM should be clarified and standardised before its use widens.

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In preoperatively N0 PTC patients, LN metastases are frequent in central and ipsilateral lateral compartments. Prophylactic LND in the central and ipsilateral lateral compartments should therefore be recommended in the presence of PTC to identify high-risk patients.

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The size of the elderly population and the incidence of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) in this group appear to be rapidly increasing, although published information based on more detailed older age groupings are lacking.This study aimed to determine the clinical features and outcomes of elderly patients in PTC.All consecutive patients who received surgery for PTC in our Department from 1978 to 2014 were included. We compared 3 patient groups: young (<65 years), older (65–75 years), and very old patients (>75 years). Total thyroidectomy was performed with lymph node (LN) dissection in most cases, and radioiodine therapy was administered as needed.A total of 3835 patients (3257 young patients, 450 older patients, and 128 very old patients) were identified. Very old patients were more likely to have advanced (III/IV) tumor, nodes, metastases (TNM) stage, greater tumor size, number of tumors, and extracapsular invasion compared with young and older patients. For the 2289 patients with LN dissection (60%), metastatic LNs were more frequent in the very old group (44%) than in the other groups (34% young and 33% older patients) (P = 0.01). Very old patients had more frequent distant metastases (5%) than the older (2%) and young groups (1%) (P < 0.001). The overall postoperative morbidity was not significantly different between the 3 age groups. Recurrence was documented in 202 (6.2%) young, 29 (6.4%) older, and 15 (11.7%) very old PTC patients (P = 0.04). The 5-year disease-free survival was 81.3% for very old, 92.9% for older, and 94.7% for young group (P < 0.001).Very old patients should be considered high-risk PTC patients and their therapeutic strategy may benefit from aggressive treatment.