Difficult Ventilation in a Patient with a Giant Aortic Aneurysm: A Challenge for the Anesthesiologist

Patients with Marfan syndrome present anatomic variations that may increase the risk of a difficult airway. Moreover, they can present large aortic aneurysms, which may cause extrinsic airway compression. Therefore, difficult ventilation during general anesthesia poses a challenge in that the anesthesiologist has to promptly make a crucial differential diagnosis. Multidisciplinary preoperative assessment and planning of the airway and ventilation management are of utmost importance in such uncommon and highly complex clinical cases. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy is probably a really useful tool in order to assess the severity and extent of the airway compression, both preoperatively and intraoperatively. We present a clinical case where difficult ventilation occurred immediately after the induction of general anesthesia.

Consideraciones anestésicas en pacientes sometidos a cirugía para resección de tumores intratorácicos: reporte de caso / Anesthetic considerations in patients undergoing surgery for intrathoracic tumor resection: case report

Resumen: Las grandes masas mediastínicas aumentan los riesgos asociados con la anestesia general. Las complicaciones más temidas en este tipo de pacientes son el colapso de la vía aérea, seguido del colapso cardiovascular. Presentamos el caso de una paciente de 30 años con diagnóstico de sarcoma sinovial con metástasis pulmonar y con la presencia de dos tumores intratorácicos. El objetivo del caso clínico es revisar las implicaciones anestésicas y su manejo en este grupo de pacientes.

Abstract: Large mediastinal masses increase the risks associated with general anesthesia. The most feared complications in this type of patients are the collapse of the airway, leading to cardiovascular collapse. We present the case of a 30-year-old patient diagnosed with synovial sarcoma with pulmonary metastasis, with the presence of two intrathoracic tumors. The objective of the clinical case is to review the anesthetic implications and their management in this group of patients.

Intrathoracic masses in children and adolescents: a single tertiary pediatric institution experience

OBJECTIVES@#The Cancer and Hematology Division of the PCMC receives an average of 24 cases of pediatric intrathoracic masses annually. Comprehensive data on the demographic status, clinical profile, management, and outcome are still not available. This study aims to determine the clinical features, diagnosis, management and outcome of children and adolescents with intrathoracic masses from 2017 to 2019.@*MATERIALS AND METHODS@#Descriptive study design was utilized. Data were collected by doing a chart review. Possible associations between the clinical features and outcome were described.@*RESULTS@#Sixty-eight (68) cases were referred from January 2017 to December 2019. Mean age at diagnosis is 8.8 years with a 2.4:1 male to female ratio. Severe wasting was seen in 21%. All subjects were symptomatic at presentation, 50% with respiratory compromise. Anterior mediastinal lesions are observed at 82% of cases. Elevated LDH was seen in 50% of the patients. Malignant hematologic lesions are the most common etiology. Steroid pretreatment was given in 40% of patients. Only a small percentage (<20%) underwent definitive treatment. Patients were symptomatic for 18 days on average before consult. It took an average of 18 days for a case to be diagnosed definitively, and 10 days from the diagnosis to start of directed treatment. Mortality rate was high at 57.4%@*CONCLUSION@#Patients with intrathoracic mass and malnutrition are 1.4x more likely to die. Diagnosis is the most significant factor associated with death. Observed data can be used as basis to formulate protocols which can streamline the diagnostic and therapeutic approach in these patients.

Castleman Disease: A Rare and Intriguing Malady: A Case Series

Castleman disease (CD), first described by Benjamin Castleman as angiofollicular mediastinal lymph杗ode hyperplasia, is a rare benign lymphoproliferative disorder with varied modes of presentation. Its common presentation within the mediastinum misleads the clinician and merits special attention since it is essentially a diagnosis of exclusion. We are sharing our experience with three patients, within a relatively short period of 2 years. All three presented with a mediastinal mass, however, each of them came with an entirely different clinical scenario and diagnosis. All three were successfully operated and Castleman disease [hyaline杤ascular (HV) type] was diagnosed only after the final histopathology.

Clinicopathological spectrum of anterior mediastinal lesions with special reference to the role of cytology in diagnosis: A cross-sectional study

Background: Anterior mediastinal tumors comprise only 3% of all chest tumours. They are often of diagnostic challenge to both clinicians and histopathologists owing to their wide variety of clinical presentations and diversity in histomorphological appearance respectively. Hence, there is a need for elaborated studies to make the pathologists and clinicians aware of their diversity. Aim and Objectives: The present study was aimed to evaluate the diverse spectrum of clinical presentations and histomorphological appearances of anterior mediastinal lesions. In addition, cytological and radiological interpretations were correlated with histological diagnosis to assess their comparative role in diagnosis. Materials and Methods: It was a descriptive observational cross-sectional study. Patients diagnosed with anterior mediastinal mass on chest computed tomography (CT) scan were included in this study. Demographic details including clinical presentations and radiological interpretations were recorded. Patients underwent both CT guided Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and needle core/excisional biopsy. Histological diagnosis was correlated with radiological and cytological interpretations. Results: Of 659 patients presented with chest tumours, 19 were detected as having anterior mediastinal mass on chest CT scan indicating the prevalence of 2.88%. The most common presenting symptom was respiratory distress (73.68%), followed by chest pain (36.84%), superior vena cava syndrome (26.32%) and Myasthenic features (5.26%). About 50% of malignant tumours occurred at the 2nd decade of life. Thymic epithelial neoplasms comprise the major tumour type in this study (52.63%) followed by germ cell tumors (15.79%) and lymphomas (10.53%). Cytology was found to be more effective compared to radiology in diagnosis. Conclusion: Anterior mediastinal tumors are extremely heterogeneous in clinical presentation and histomorphological appearance. CT-guided FNAC can play an important role in their diagnosis along with radiology and histology.

Tachypnea without dyspnea in child with giant anterior mediastinal lipoblastoma

Lipoblastoma is a rare, benign, rapidly growing tumor. These lesions are usually asymptomatic or symptomatic due to the compression of surrounding structures. The majority of them were diagnosed in early childhood. We report the case of a 2 years old boy with giant anterior mediastinal lipoblastoma who was apparently asymptomatic except for persistent fast berating. The mass was diagnosed by computed tomography-guided needle biopsy and confirmed after removal by thoracotomy

Diagnostic efficacy of FNAC by liquid based technique versus conventional smear in lung and mediastinal masses

Background: Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) has proven to be less costly and less invasive procedure than biopsy for diagnosing benign and malignant lesions. Of the two methods liquid based cytology (LBC) and conventional cytology (CC), LBC has been standardized as more efficacious in reporting in Gynaecological cases. But, this is still lacking in non-gynaecological cases and many studies are now focusing on studying LBC due to its proven advantages in Pap smear evaluation.Methods: An observational study of 72 patients with lung mass and 11 with mediastinal mass was done for a period of six months in a tertiary care hospital in Gurugram to compare the diagnostic efficacy of LBC and CC in fine needle aspirates from lung/mediastinal mass.Results: Of the 83 cases, reporting of LBC was adequate in 75 cases and CC in only 53 cases. LBC was better when differentiating malignant and benign lesions than CC. CC smears had better cellularity in comparison to LBC smears (36%), but rest cytological features of cytoplasmic detailing, cell architecture, less background debris and blood were all more appreciable in LBC smears than CC preparations.Conclusions: LBC is a better method than conventional smear for smear preparation and processing of aspirates obtained from lung and mediastinal mass.

Schwannoma mediastínico gigante / Giant mediastinal schwannoma

El schwannoma es un tumor neurogénico que se presenta más frecuentemente en el ángulo costovertebral del mediastino posterior, pero también en otras localizaciones dentro del tórax. Habitualmente suele ser una masa única, encapsulada, bien definida, con un tamaño aproximado 2 a 10 cm. Presentamos el caso de un paciente de 66 años, derivado a nuestro hospital por una masa de 13 cm localizada en el hemitórax inferior izquierdo. Se realizó una biopsia, y la resonancia magnética corroboró el diagnóstico de un tumor mediastínico gigante de la vaina neural. Se procedió a su resección completa sin complicaciones.

Schwannomas are neurogenic tumors, commonly located in the costovertebral angle of the posterior mediastinum, but with many intrathoracic locations. They usually present as a solitary, well-circumscribed and encapsulated mass with a size between 2 and 10 cm. We report a case of a 66-year-old male, referred to our hospital for a mass located at the left lower hemithorax with 13 cm in size. A percutaneous biopsy was performed, and magnetic resonance imaging confirmed the diagnosis of a resectable giant mediastinal nerve sheath tumor. Surgery was performed without complications.

A simplified approach for anaesthetic management of diagnostic procedures in children with anterior mediastinal mass

INTRODUCTION@#Children with an anterior mediastinal mass (AMM) need general anaesthesia (GA) or deep sedation for diagnostic procedures more often than adult patients. Anaesthetic management to prevent such complications includes maintenance of spontaneous ventilation (SV) and prebiopsy corticosteroids/radiotherapy.@*METHODS@#We reviewed the medical records of children with AMM who were brought to the operating theatre for diagnostic procedures (prior to chemotherapy) between 2001 and 2013. Our aim was to describe the clinical features, radiological findings and anaesthetic management, as well as determine any association with complications.@*RESULTS@#25 patients (age range 10 months-14 years) were identified during the study period. Corticosteroid therapy was started before the biopsy for one patient. All 25 patients had GA/sedation. A senior paediatric anaesthesiologist was involved in all procedures. Among 13 high-risk patients, SV was maintained in 11 (84.6%) patients, ketamine was used as the main anaesthetic in 8 (61.5%) patients, 6 (46.2%) patients were in a sitting position and no airway adjunct was used for 7 (53.8%) patients. There were 3 (12.0%) minor complications.@*CONCLUSION@#Based on our results, we propose a simplified workflow, wherein airway compression of any degree is considered high risk. For patients with high-risk features, multidisciplinary input should be sought to decide whether the child would be fit for a procedure under GA/sedation or considered unfit for any procedure. Recommendations include the use of less invasive methods, involving experienced anaesthesiologists to plan the anaesthetic technique and maintaining SV.

Idiopathic multilocular thymic cyst-an incidental anterior mediastinal mass

Acquired thymic cyst are multilocular and they occur de novo or in association with mediastinal neoplasm, systemic autoimmune diseases and trauma. Here, we report a case of acquired multilocular thymic cyst due to non-specific inflammatory etiology in a 42-year old gentleman and our approach to diagnosis and management of anterior mediastinal mass. With no specific clinical symptom, he was diagnosed with anterior mediastinal mass incidentally by imaging studies. Definitive diagnosis of multilocular thymic cyst was obtained by tissue diagnosis of the anterior mediastinal mass resected during the surgery.

A case report on incidental finding of thymoma as anterior mediastinal mass

Thymomas are rare tumors in the anterior mediastinum, representing 50% of anterior mediastinal masses and about 20-30% of all mediastinal tumors. They are of unknown etiology; about 50% of patients with thymomas are diagnosed incidentally with chest radiography. Thymoma is classified into different stages, which determine the prognosis and type of management, the standard primary treatment for these tumors is Thymectomy. We present a case of 55-year female presented with shortness of breath, cough with expectoration and fever for past ten days. Chest x-ray revealed mediastinal widening. CECT chest showed a well-circumscribed heterogeneous solid enhancing mass lesion. FNAC was planned that showed features in favour of thymoma. Biopsy was done that confirmed lymphocyte rich type B thymoma.

Clinical analysis of thoracoscopic anterior mediastinal tumor resection in lithotomy position via subxiphoid approach or lateral position via transthoracic approach / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective    To discuss the safety, feasibility and short-term clinical efficacy of thoracoscopic anterior mediastinal mass resection in lithotomy position via subxiphoid approach or lateral position via transthoracic approach. Methods    A total of 44 patients suffering anterior mediastinal tumor enrolled, including 21 patients (10 males and 11 females as a trial group) with an average age of 43.6±11.8 years who have been performed thoracoscopic anterior mediastinal tumor resection in lithotomy position via subxiphoid approach and 23 patients (13 males and 10 females as a control group) with an average age of 45.3±10.8 years who have been performed thoracoscopic anterior mediastinal tumor resection in lateral position via transthoracic approach. The clinical efficacy of the two groups was compared. Results    Postoperative chest drainage time (3.8±1.3 d vs. 5.0±1.8 d, P=0.017), postoperative drainage volume (238.8±66.2 mL vs. 467.2±120.0 mL, P=0.000), postoperative mean  visual analogue score at 24 h (2.5±0.9 point vs. 4.9±1.0 point, P=0.000), times of self-pressure analgesic pump (3.7±0.9 vs. 8.4±2.0, P=0.000), duration of postoperative hospital stay (4.7±1.3 d vs. 7.4±3.1 d, P=0.000) and hospitalization cost (34±8 kyaun vs. 44±11 kyuan P=0.001) in the trial group were all better than those in the control group. There was no significant difference between the two groups in surgical duration (59.0±18.1 min vs. 60.4±16.4 min) (P>0.05). During follow-up, no recurrence or metastasis occurred in either group. Conclusion    Compared with the lateral position through the transthoracic approach, the lithotomy position through subxiphoid approach of thoracoscopic anterior mediastinal mass resection is safe and feasible, and has certain advantages.

A large thymic mass with persistent active tissue in an elderly cadaver / 대한해부학회지

Thymus is an encapsulated organ having its bilateral origin from the third pharyngeal pouch. It appears to be a single organ but actually it is bilobed. It attains its maximum development at puberty and then it begins to involute. The parenchyma is replaced by adipocytes and lymphocyte production declines. Here we present a large thymus with a small area of persistent active tissue in it which was obtained during routine undergraduate dissection class. Tissues taken from different quadrants of the large thymic mass were processed, embedded in paraffin and sections were taken for hematoxylin and eosin staining which showed presence of thymic tissue in only one quadrant. Further sections from that quadrant was treated with cytokeratin to confirm its epithelial origin. Therefore knowledge of a large persistent thymus will be helpful to the radiologists and surgeons for making differential diagnosis and in avoiding unnecessary surgical intervention.

Clinics in diagnostic imaging (194). SVC aneurysm

A 68-year-old woman presented with weight loss of 7 kg over two years. Clinical examination revealed no specific abnormality and the patient was otherwise asymptomatic. Chest radiography performed to screen for malignancy revealed a soft tissue opacity projected over the mediastinum. Computed tomography of the thorax showed an enhancing anterior mediastinal mass with heterogeneous enhancement and contrast pooling in the arterial phase, followed by homogeneous enhancement in the venous phase, consistent with an aneurysm arising from the superior vena cava. This case highlights superior vena cava aneurysms as extremely rare causes of anterior mediastinal masses. Other causes of anterior mediastinal masses were also discussed.

Da Vinci robot assistance surgical coordination for the resection of azygous vein aneurysm: a case report / 中国实用护理杂志

Objective Summary of a patient who was diagnosed as an azygous vein aneurysm during Da Vinci robotic surgery,which continue to complete surgical resection of varicose veins by Da Vinci robot assistance. Methods After the patient is diagnosed as the azygos vein aneurysm during the operation, the emergency plan is started immediately, and the nursing cooperation is determined according to the operative coordination of the main problems during the operation. Results With the close cooperation of the medical team, an azygous vein aneurysm with a size of approximately 5 cm×4 cm×3 cm was successfully removed with the Da Vinci robot assistance, no complications occurred after surgery, and good recovery occurred, the patient was discharged on the fourth postoperative day. Conclusions It is essential to make corresponding emergency plan and exercise for Da Vinci robot operation , and to start contingency plan immediately when needed, which is an important guarantee to continue to complete misdiagnosis surgery under the aid of Da Vinci robot.

A Whole-Tumor Histogram Analysis of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Maps for Differentiating Thymic Carcinoma from Lymphoma

OBJECTIVE: To assess the performance of a whole-tumor histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps in differentiating thymic carcinoma from lymphoma, and compare it with that of a commonly used hot-spot region-of-interest (ROI)-based ADC measurement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Diffusion weighted imaging data of 15 patients with thymic carcinoma and 13 patients with lymphoma were retrospectively collected and processed with a mono-exponential model. ADC measurements were performed by using a histogram-based and hot-spot-ROI-based approach. In the histogram-based approach, the following parameters were generated: mean ADC (ADCmean), median ADC (ADCmedian), 10th and 90th percentile of ADC (ADC10 and ADC90), kurtosis, and skewness. The difference in ADCs between thymic carcinoma and lymphoma was compared using a t test. Receiver operating characteristic analyses were conducted to determine and compare the differentiating performance of ADCs. RESULTS: Lymphoma demonstrated significantly lower ADCmean, ADCmedian, ADC10, ADC90, and hot-spot-ROI-based mean ADC than those found in thymic carcinoma (all p values < 0.05). There were no differences found in the kurtosis (p = 0.412) and skewness (p = 0.273). The ADC10 demonstrated optimal differentiating performance (cut-off value, 0.403 × 10−3 mm2/s; area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC], 0.977; sensitivity, 92.3%; specificity, 93.3%), followed by the ADCmean, ADCmedian, ADC90, and hot-spot-ROI-based mean ADC. The AUC of ADC10 was significantly higher than that of the hot spot ROI based ADC (0.977 vs. 0.797, p = 0.036). CONCLUSION: Compared with the commonly used hot spot ROI based ADC measurement, a histogram analysis of ADC maps can improve the differentiating performance between thymic carcinoma and lymphoma.

Surgical strategy for giant mediastinal mass / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective    To introduce the surgical and perioperative strategy for giant mediastinal mass. Methods    The clinical data of 21 patients with giant mediastinal mass who underwent surgical treatment in Xinhua Hospital of Shanghai from January 2007 to July 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. There were 14 males and 7 females, with a mean age of 34.62 ± 22.95 years (range: 11 months to 79 years), and mean weight of 58.07±22.24 kg (range: 10.8 to 90.5 kg). Their clinical manifestation, anesthesia methods, surgical treatment and the prognosis were analyzed. Results    The tumor volume ranged from 8 cm×6 cm×6 cm to 25 cm×25 cm×8 cm. For surgical approach, 12 patients received median sternotomy, 5 anterior lateral incision, 1 posterior lateral incision, 2 "L"-shape sternotomy, 1 cervical and thoracic "]"-shape incision. All patients were given mass radical resection, except one patient with two-stage resection. Twelve patients needed other tissues resection besides the single tomor resection. The operation time was 55-480 (207.86±87.67) min, blood loss volume 700 (10-4 000) ml, intraoperative blood transfusion 800 (0-4 100) ml, postoperative mechanical ventilation time 4.75 (0-87) h, postoperative drainage time 3-12 (7.43±2.66) d, the total drainage volume 295-4 940 (1 584.76±1 173.98) ml, average daily drainage volume 62-494 (204.90±105.76) ml, and postoperative hospital stay 7-47 (11.86±8.51) d. The postoperative complications included pericardial effusion in 1 patient, Horner   syndrome in 1, left recurrent laryngeal nerve injury with the left phrenic nerve injury in 1, right phrenic nerve injury in 1 and delayed wound healing in 1. The remaining patients recovered well. All patients were followed up for 1 month to 9 years. Till September 1, 2016, 5 patients died and 2 suffered recurrent tumor. Conclusion    It is safe to perform surgical treatment after comprehensive evaluation of patients with giant mediastinal mass, perioperative mortality is low, and prognosis in patients with benign tumor is good.

CT-guided percutaneous biopsy for the diagnosis of mediastinalmass lesion / 医学研究生学报

Objective Few reports are seen on the application of CT-guided percutaneous biopsy ( CT-PB) in the diagnosis of mediastinal mass lesion ( MML) .This study aimed to investigate the clinical application value and safety of CT-PB in detection of MML. Methods This retrospective study included 81 patients hospitalized in our Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medi-cine, who underwent CT-PB for MML.We performed cytological and histological examinations of the biopsy specimens and immunohisto-chemical staining on the morphologically malignant samples .With the final diagnosis as the gold standard ,we analyzedthe accuracy , speci-ficity, sensitivity, positive and negative predictive values , and com-plications of CT-PB in the diagnosis of MML . Results CT-PBwas successfully performed in all the 81 cases,definite diagnosis achieved in 77 (95.1%),malignancy detected in 68 (84%), benign lesions in 10 (12.3%),and fibrous hyperplasia /massive necrosis in 2 (2.5%).The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were 94.4%, 100%, 100%and 69.2%, respectively. All the patients were well tolerated without serious complications . Conclusion For patients with mediastinalmass lesion , CT-guided percutaneous biopsy is an efficient and safe diagnostic tool with high sensitivity , specificity , and diagnostic accuracy , which may con-tribute to the subsequent treatment .

Mediastinal pancreatic pseudocyst naturally drained by esophageal fistula / 영남의대학술지

Mediastinal pancreatic pseudocyst is a rare complication of acute or chronic pancreatitis. Pleural effusion and pneumonia are two of the most common thoracic complications from pancreatic disease, while pancreaticopleural fistula with massive pleural effusion and extension of pseudocyst into the mediastinum is a rare complication of the thorax from pancreatic disease. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no case reports of mediastinal pancreatic pseudocyst-induced esophageal fistula in Korea to date. Here in, we report a case about 43-year-old man of mediastinal pancreatic pseudocyst-induced esophageal fistula presenting with chest pain radiating toward the back and progressive dysphagia. The diagnosis was confirmed by an esophagogastroduodenoscopy and abdomen computed tomography (CT). The patient was treated immediately using a conservative method; subsequently, within 3 days from treatment initiation, symptoms-chest pain and dysphagia-disappeared. In a follow-up gastroscopy 7 days later and abdomen CT 12 days later, mediastinal pancreatic pseudocyst showed signs of improvement, and esophageal fistula disappeared without any complications.