Table 1.
Demographic data, indications for surgery, and selected details of the procedures
| Visual RLN identification (2011, and 04-12/2012-2014) | RLN identification with IONM (01-03/2012–2014) | p value | Visual RLN identification 2011 | Visual RLN identification (01-03/2012) | Visual RLN identification (01-03/2013) | Visual RLN identification (01-03/2014) | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of patients | 396 | 236 | NC | 119 | 93 | 108 | 76 | NC |
| RLNs at risk | 727 | 434 | NC | 235 | 166 | 188 | 138 | NC |
| Mean age ± SD, years | 53.88 ± 14.43 | 53.99 ± 13.36 | 0.925a | 55.36 ± 14.00 | 55.24 ± 14.09 | 51.58 ± 14.18 | 53.16 ± 15.65 | 0.012b |
| Sex ratio (F:M) | 4.3:1 | 4.6:1 | 0.752c | 3.8:1 | 5.6:1 | 5:1 | 3.2:1 | 0.436d |
| Nodular goiter, no. (%) | 257 (64.9 %) | 166 (70.34 %) | 0.163c | 83 (69.75 %) | 60 (64.52 %) | 66 (61.11 %) | 48 (63.16 %) | 0.320d |
| Thyroid cancer, no. (%) | 27 (6.82 %) | 35 (14.83 %) | 0.001c | 7 (5.88 %) | 4 (4.30 %) | 9 (8.34 %) | 7 (9.21 %) | |
| Grave’s disease, no. (%) | 11 (2.77 %) | 9 (3.81 %) | 0.488c | 1 (0.84 %) | 3 (3.23 %) | 2 (1.85 %) | 5 (6.58 %) | |
| Toxic nodular goiter, no. (%) | 101 (25.51 %) | 26 (11.02 %) | <0.001c | 28 (23.53 %) | 26 (27.95 %) | 31 (28.7 %) | 16 (21.05 %) | |
| Primary surgery, no. (%) | 372 (93.94 %) | 199 (84.32 %) | 0.001c | 108 (90.76 %) | 86 (92.47 %) | 104 (96.3 %) | 74 (97.37 %) | 0.165d |
| Secondary surgery, no. (%) | 24 (6.06 %) | 37 (15.68 %) | 11 (9.24 %) | 7 (7.53 %) | 4 (3.7 %) | 2 (2.63 %) | ||
| Goiter’s volume, mean ± SD, ml | 38.56 ± 29.13 | 41.25 ± 34.79 | 0.466e | 43.87 ± 35.84 | 42.57 ± 35.24 | 38.4 ± 30.74 | 38.8 ± 26.87 | 0.171b |
| Retrosternal goiter, no. (%) | 79 (19.94 %) | 52 (22.03 %) | 0.612c | 23 (19.33 %) | 18 (19.35 %) | 22 (20.37 %) | 16 (21.05 %) | 0.989d |
| Compressio tracheae, no. (%) | 177 (80.06 %) | 112 (47.45 %) | 0.510c | 52 (43.7 %) | 47 (50.54 %) | 37 (34.26 %) | 40 (52.63 %) | 0.045d |
| Operating time, mean ± SD, min | 108.5 (±30.47) | 111.7 (±31.37) | 0.596c | 96.3 (±25.44) | 121.3 (±20.6) | 107.8 (±34.08) | 93.82 (±28.56) | <0.001f |
p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant
IONM intraoperative neuromonitoring, RLN recurrent laryngeal nerve, NC not calculated
a t test
bANOVA test
cFisher’s exact test
dChi-square test
eMann- Whitney test
fKruskall- Walis test