Development of organized pleural empyema as a result of occult foreign body aspiration.

Foreign body (FB) aspiration is a rare incident in adults. Many patients cannot recall the episode of aspiration and are hospitalized with complications of an endobronchial FB.

EGFR mutation status yield from bronchoalveolar lavage in patients with primary pulmonary adenocarcinoma compared to a venous blood sample and tissue biopsy.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, there has been a revolution in the genomic profiling and molecular typing of lung cancer. A key oncogene is the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The gold standard for determining EGFR mutation status is tissue biopsy, where a histological specimen is taken by a bronchoscopic or surgical method (transbronchial biopsy, forceps biopsy, etc.). However, in clinical practice the tissue sample is often insufficient for morphological and molecular analysis. Bronchoalveolar lavage is a validated diagnostic method for pathogenic infections in the lower respiratory tract, yet its diagnostic value for oncogenic mutation testing in lung cancer has not been extensively investigated. This study aims to compare the prevalence of EGFR mutation status in bronchoalveolar lavage and peripheral blood referring to the gold standard - tissue biopsy in patients with primary lung adenocarcinoma. METHODS: Twenty-six patients with adenocarcinoma were examined for EGFR mutation from tissue biopsy, peripheral blood sample and bronchoalveolar lavage. RESULTS: Thirteen patients had wild type EGFR and the other 13 had EGFR mutation. EGFR mutation from a peripheral blood sample was identified in 38.5% (5/13) of patients, whereas EGFR mutation obtained from bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was identified in 92.3% (12/13). This study demonstrates that a liquid biopsy sample for EGFR status from BAL has a higher sensitivity compared to a venous blood sample.

Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in non-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - a step forward in cardiovascular comorbidome.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) augments the likelihood of having left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD)-precursor of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). LVDD shares overlapping symptomatology (cough and dyspnea) with COPD. Stress induced LVDD is indicative of masked HFpEF. Our aim was to evaluate the predictive value of inflammatory, oxidative stress, cardio-pulmonary and echocardiographic parameters at rest for the diagnosis of stress LVDD in non-severe COPD patients, who complain of exertional dyspnea and are free of overt cardiovascular diseases. A total of 104 COPD patients (26 patients with mild and 78 with moderate COPD) underwent echocardiography before cardio-pulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and 1-2 minutes after peak exercise. Patients were divided into two groups based on peak average E/e': patients with stress induced left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD)-E/e' > 15 masked HFpEF and patients without LVDD-without masked HFpEF. CPET and echocardiographic parameters at rest were measured and their predictive value for stress E/e' was analysed. Markers for inflammation (resistin, prostaglandine E2) and oxidative stress (8-isoprostanes) were also determined. Stress induced LVDD occurred in 67/104 patients (64%). Those patients showed higher VE/VCO2 slope. None of the CPET parameters was an independent predictor for stress LVDD.Except for prostglandine E2, none of the inflammatory or oxidative stress markers correlated to stress E/e'. The best independent predictors for stress LVDD (masked HFpEF) were RAVI, right ventricular parasternal diameter and RV E/A >0.75. Their combination predicted stress LVDD with the accuracy of 91.2%. There is a high prevalence of masked HFpEF in non-severe COPD with exertional dyspnea, free of overt cardiovascular disease. RAVI, right ventricular parasternal diameter and RV E/A >0.75 were the only independent clinical predictors of masked HFpEF. 288.

Treatment Optimization of Post-pneumonectomy Pleural Empyema.

INTRODUCTION: Pleural empyema after pneumonectomy still poses a serious postoperative complication. A bronchopleural fistula is often detected. Despite various therapeutic options developed during the last five decades it remains a major surgical challenge. RESULTS: There is no widely accepted treatment for post-pneumonectomy pleural empyema (PPE) and the management depends mostly on the presence or absence of broncho-pleural fistula (BPF) and the patient's general condition. In the absence of BPF, the role of surgery is still not clear because of its high morbidity and impossibility to prevent recurrences. In the earlier period, the definitive treatment consisted of open window thoracostomy followed by obliteration of the pleural cavity with antibiotic solution at the time of chest wall closure. Subsequently, the proposed different methods and modifications improved the outcome. There is an association between hospital volume and operative mortality after the lung resection. Hospital volume and the surgeon's specialty have more influence on the outcome than the individual surgeon's volume. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment management of PPE should be individualized. Definitive treatment options comprise aggressive surgery that is not possible in quite a high proportion of impaired patients. Hospital volume, surgeon's volume and surgeon's specialty may influence the prognosis.

Epidemiology, Etiology and Prevention of Postpneumonectomy Pleural Empyema.

BACKGROUND: Pleural empyema after pneumonectomy still poses a serious postoperative complication. A broncho-pleural fistula is often detected. Despite various therapeutic options developed over the last five decades it remains a major surgical challenge. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A literature search in MEDLINE database was carried out (accessed through PubMed), by using a combination of the following key-words and MeSH terms: pneumonectomy, postoperative, complications, broncho-pleural fistula, empyema, prevention. The following areas of intervention were identified: epidemiology, etiology, prevention. RESULTS: Pleural empyema in a post-pneumonectomy cavity occurs in up to 16% of patients with a mortality of more than 10%. It is associated with broncho-pleural fistula in up to 80% of them, usually in the early postoperative months. Operative mortality could reach 50% in case of broncho-pleural fistula. Unfavourable prognostic factors are: benign disease, COPD, right-sided surgery, neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy, time of chest tube removal, long bronchial stump and mechanical ventilation. Bronchial stump protection with vascularised flaps is of utmost importance in the prevention of complications. CONCLUSION: Postpneumonectomy pleural empyema is a common complication with high mortality. The existing evidence confirms the role of bronchopleural fistula prevention in the prevention of life-threatening complications.

Therapeutic approaches to the treatment of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis of the aerodigestive tract (a clinical study).

Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is a rare disease, characterized by recurrent proliferation of benign squamous cell papillomas in the larynx as well as in the other parts of the aerodigestive tract. We have compared different treatment options for RRP of the aerodigestive tract including surgical, conservative and combined approaches. A total of 43 patients with papillomatosis that received a combined therapy were followed in the period from 2009 to 2013. The treatment included electrosurgery and CO2 laser surgery alongside with either immunotherapy with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) (Calgevax) or α-interferon. In the control group without immunotherapy (n = 16) we used conventional microlaryngeal surgery. During the follow-up, relapse occurred in two patients for the CO2 laser surgery with Calgevax immunotherapy group (n = 16). In the group treated with α-interferon preceded by CO2 laser surgery (n = 9) and electrosurgery (n = 2), relapse had occurred in three patients. Among the control group, recurrence was observed in six patients. This required re-operation. Our data showed a three times more frequent relapses among patients who were operated with conventional surgery as compared to those operated with CO2 laser surgery and Calgevax immunotherapy, and two times more often relapses in patients operated with conventional surgery as compared to those with electrosurgery and CO2 laser surgery and application of α-interferon therapy. Conventional and laser surgeries have a palliative effect, though playing an important role in ensuring the airway patency. While specific antivirus treatment for human papilloma viruses does not exist, the immune modulation with Calgevax considerably reduces the frequency of relapses, by stimulating cellular immune effector mechanisms. The combined protocol allows rarefication of relapses and improvement of patients' quality of life, but not complete healing.