Surgical Interventions in Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pleural and Pulmonary Complications: A Case Series of the Tertiary Thoracic Surgery Center Experience.

Background: In most cases of pulmonary or pleural post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) complications, surgical interventions are performed to treat these complications, but the method of the surgery and its outcome in these patients is not clearly defined. We present 40 patients with pulmonary and pleural complications after COVID-19 who required surgical intervention. Patients and Methods: In this case series, patients' data were prospectively collected from April to August 2022 at Masih Daneshvari Hospital. Inclusion criteria were patients with COVID-19 who were referred to the thoracic surgery department because of pleural effusion, pneumothorax, empyema, infected or non-infected pneumatocele, and lung cavity with suspected fungal infections. The required intervention for each patient was assessed. Results: Patients' mean age was 49.21 ± 11.5 (30-69 years). Nine patients (22.5%) were female. Pure pleural effusion was reported in five (12.5 %), pneumothorax in eight (20%), empyema in 29 (72.5%), and infected pneumatocele in two patients (5%). Twelve patients had bronchial fistulas that were clarified at the time of surgery that needed repair after resection. In 13 patients (32.5%) because of pleural effusion or pneumothorax, a chest tube was inserted and after two weeks lungs were fully expanded. All patients with pneumothorax were managed by chest tube initially but in the presence of continuous air leakage and non-expanding lungs surgical thoracotomy or video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) were considered for correction. In 10 patients who required thoracotomy, the chest tube was necessary for more than one month. In most of the patients, there were small cystic lesions or peripheral bronchopleural fistula. In 17 (42.5%) cases of empyema, necrotic pneumonia was documented and eight patients (20%) had aspergillus infection in the pathology report and two patients had a pulmonary abscess. Conclusions: Pleural COVID-19 complications can be treated with conventional surgical methods such as chest tube insertion, and debridement of infected tissue with no mortality and further complications.

Fatal Outcome of Ruptured Pulmonary Hydatid Cyst.

Most authors believe that the optimal treatment for pulmonary hydatid cyst is surgery. Albendazole has been used as a prophylactic measure for reducing recurrence rate but there are some controversies about this strategy. Some researchers have described the increased risk of spontaneous rupture of cysts following albendazole treatment. In this case report, we present a case of spontaneous rupture of pulmonary hydatid cyst with fatal outcome that may be the adverse cause of albendazole.

Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion: Establishment and Operationalization in Iran.

OBJECTIVES: Although the number of lung transplants is limited because of general shortage of organ donors, ex vivo lung perfusion is a novel method with 2 main benefits, including better evaluation of lung potential and recovery of injured lungs. The main aim of this study was to establish and operationalize ex vivo lung perfusion as the first experience in Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a prospective operational research study on 5 cases, including 1 pig from Vienna Medical University and 4 patients from Masih Daneshvari Hospital. All organ donations from brain dead donors were evaluated according to lung transplant or ex vivo lung perfusion criteria from May 2013 to July 2015 in Tehran, Iran. If a donor did not have any sign of severe chest trauma or pneumonia but had poor oxygenation due to possible atelectasis or neurogenic pulmonary edema, their lungs were included for ex vivo lung perfusion. RESULTS: A successful trend in the difference between the pulmonary arterial Po2 and the left atrial Po2 was observed, as well as an increasing pattern in other functional parameters, including dynamic lung compliance and a decreasing trend in pulmonary vascular resistance. CONCLUSIONS: These initial trials indicate that ex vivo lung perfusion can lead to remarkable progress in lung transplant in Iran. They also provide several important pieces of guidance for successful ex vivo lung perfusion, including the necessity of following standard lung retrieval procedures and monitoring temperature and pressure precisely. The development of novel methods can provide opportunities for further research studies on lungs of deceased donors and lead to undiscovered findings. By keeping this science up to date in Iran and developing such new and creative methods, we can reveal effective strategies to promote the quality of donor lungs to support patients on transplant wait lists.

Normothermic Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion in Brain-dead Donors Reduces Inflammatory Cytokines and Toll-like Receptor Expression.

Inflammatory responses and innate immunologic reactions play an important role in the respiratory system. Ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) is considered a novel method in the evaluation and reconditioning of donor lungs prior to transplantation. However, EVLP's effect on inflammatory and metabolic markers of human lung tissue is unknown.  This study investigated how the performance of EVLP on brain-dead (BD) donor lungs affects the production and release of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-a), inflammatory cells and toll-like receptors (TLR) -2, 4. This study was conducted with an animal subject for qualification of EVLP team and then EVLP was performed on 4 human cases referred to Masih Daneshvari Hospital (Tehran,Iran), from May 2013 to July 2015. Two of these cases, who had acceptable lung function parameters, were enrolled in this study for immunologic investigations. Bronchoalveolar lavages (BAL) were taken before and after EVLP. Cytokines were quantitatively measured before lung retrieval, at the end of the lung removal, at the start of EVLP, and at the end of the each hour of EVLP. TLR expression was measured on the cells obtained by flow cytometry. TNF-a, IL-6 and IL-8 decreased in each stage of washing perfusate in both cases, and the level of cytokines in serum was in the normal range. Flow cytometry analysis revealed a decreasing expression of CD3, CD4/8, CD19, and CD16+56, as well as TLR-2 and TLR-4 in both cases. Intra-capillary pools of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-a) were determined to contribute to the lung injury during prolonged lung perfusion. This raises the possibility that EVLP donor lungs could be less immunogenic than standard lungs. However, to assess EVLP's effects on lung grafts and optimize recipient outcomes, further studies with a sufficient number of lungs are required.