[Pneumocystis Pneumonia-induced Pneumothorax Treated with Surgery and Insertion of an Endobronchial Watanabe Spigot;Report of a case].

Pneumothorax induced by Pneumocystis jirovecii( P. jirovecii) pneumonia is often refractory to treatment. A man in his 30's who had malignant lymphoma and received chemotherapy developed P. jirovecii pneumonia. A month after treatment for pneumonia, he developed a secondary pneumothorax. Since drainage was not effective, he underwent right lower lobectomy and bulla resection. Air leakage stopped after surgery but recurred on postoperative day 5. Chest computed tomography showed a new bulla on his right lung. On postoperative day 15, we inserted an endobronchial Watanabe spigot( EWS),and air leakage completely stopped.

Pneumocystis pneumonia in a patient with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with pemetrexed containing regimen.

Pneumocystis pneumonia is typically life-threatening in immunocompromised patients. It is relatively uncommon in patients with lung cancer. We report a case of pneumocystis pneumonia in a patient with advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) following treatment with concurrent chemoradiation with a pemetrexed containing regimen. To our knowledge, this is the first report on pneumocystis pneumonia following administration of pemetrexed containing regimen.

The role of tracheostomy in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Tracheostomy tube (TT) insertion for respiratory failure in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome has been associated with an early mortality rate of 100%. We have reviewed our experience with tracheostomy to determine if there is a role for this procedure among certain subgroups. METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted of 47 patients diagnosed with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome who underwent tracheostomy from 1988 to 1995. Patients were divided into three groups based on indications for tracheostomy: group 1, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP); group 2, non-PCP pneumonia; and group 3, others (including neurosyphilis, endocarditis, and trauma). RESULTS: All groups were similar with regard to demographic details and laboratory values (mean age, 38 +/- 1.4 years; 95% male; CD4 count = 21.8 +/- 3.6 cells/microL). In the vast majority of cases the decision to place a TT was elective. Forty-three percent of all patients had signed do not resuscitate orders before endotracheal tube intubation. The mean time from endotracheal tube to TT insertion was 14.1 +/- 1.6 days. Early mortality after TT placement was dismal (91%) for group 1 patients but significantly better (47%) in group 2 patients (p = 0.04). Early mortality usually occurred within 3 weeks of TT placement (range, 1 to 54 days). The cause of pneumonia (PCP versus non-PCP) was the only statistically significant variable in predicting outcome. For those who survived to TT removal (26%), the average time to removal of TT was 67 +/- 11 days. Long-term survival was noted in 8 group 2 patients (mean, 584 days) and in 2 group 1 patients (450 days). CONCLUSIONS: Outcome after tracheostomy in patients with AIDS is generally poor. Patients with PCP should not undergo TT placement; however, patients with non-PCP pneumonia have a reasonable expected survival and should undergo the operation.

[The surgical management of pneumothorax in patients with AIDS]. / Prise en charge chirurgicale des pneumothorax chez les patients au stade de SIDA.

The occurrence of a pneumothorax occurring as a complication of AIDS is a poor prognostic sign. We have undertaken a review of 26 patients admitted to hospital for a pneumothorax of whom 25 were admitted for therapy: five resolved under simple drainage; twenty required a pleurodesis which was performed on thirteen under video thoracoscopy: these were recurrent pneumothoraces and were bilateral in half the patients; all had failed under simple drainage. The hospital mortality was 30%; the follow-up was unusually long in the majority of cases and only 20% had a simple follow-up. The analysis of this population showed that the results were not tied to the proposed treatment but to the state of the disease and to the pre-existence of pulmonary lesions most often in relation to pneumocystis. Video thoracoscopy enables one to inspect the lung and to resect the diseased area at the origin of the air leak. The technique also enables the pleurodesis to be achieved and a pleural or lung biopsy to be obtained in a relative non-invasive fashion.

[Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia with recurrent pneumothorax and pleuritis]. / Pneumocystis carinii Pneumonie mit Rezidivpneumothorax und Pleuritis.

A report on three HIV-positive patients with recurrent pneumothorax in pneumocystis carinii pneumonia on whom partial parietal pleurectomy and in two cases also a wedge-shaped pulmonary resection were performed. Histology revealed granulomatous necrotising pneumonia involving the visceral pleura, and a partly honeycomb-shaped metaplasia of the pulmonary tissue. A fibrinous and partly granulomatous necrotising pneumocystis carinii pleuritis of both pleural membranes was seen, being the morphological correlate of an in all cases prolonged exudation to the pleural cavity. Conservative treatment remained unsuccessful due to the marked lung and pleura involvement in the inflammatory process, necessitating surgical revision.

[Minimally invasive surgery in persistent pneumothorax and pneumocystis carinii infection]. / Minimal-invasive Chirurgie bei persistierendem Pneumothorax und Pneumocystis-carinii-Infektion.

The most frequent pulmological complication of AIDS is pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), which in 2% of cases will cause a spontaneous pneumothorax. Every AIDS patient who develops a pneumothorax is highly suspicious for a pneumocystis carinii pneumonia too. We describe the case of an AIDS patient who suffered from pneumothorax caused by PCP. Conventional tube thoracostomy with continuous suction and tetracycline pleurodesis were unsuccessful. The patient recovered however after resection of PCP cysts in the apical upper lobe and talcum pleurodesis by means of minimally invasive surgery.

[Etiology and therapy of pneumothorax in AIDS patients]. / Atiologie und Therapie des Pneumothorax bei AIDS-Patienten.

Pneumothoraces in patients with AIDS are a rare, acute and severe complication. Between January 1989 and December 1991 3 patients with spontaneous pneumothorax were operated after a 2-week treatment with chest tube drainage only had failed. The average follow-up time after the operation was 7 months. There was no recurrence. Within the same 3 years 3 patients were treated in the Clinic for Internal Medicine by means of tube drainage only. Thus, only one case was successful. The average survival after receiving the tube was 3 weeks. Their death was not related on their pneumothorax. The mean age of the 6 patients was 34 years (23-49). In 5 patients the pneumothorax was associated with Pneumocystis carinii-pneumonia and in 3 of them also with prophylactic pentamidine aerosol therapy. A minimal invasive operation of operable AIDS-patients with pneumothorax shows good results, shortens the time of therapy and is possible despite the bad prognosis of the disease.

Surgical management of pneumothorax in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome may cause severe alveolar damage, resulting in pneumothoraces that are often bilateral, recurrent, and refractory to accepted methods of treatment. The clinical features, management, and follow-up results were assessed in 22 consecutive patients who presented with a pneumothorax and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Seventeen patients died within the time frame of this study. Their average survival time was 147 days. Five surviving patients have lived an average of 366 days. We proposed an algorithm to assist in the management of pneumothoraces in these patients. We concluded that pneumothorax in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is prognostic of short-term survival. The results in the treatment of pneumothorax in the patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome are related to the pathologic lesions of the lung that are associated with Pneumocystis pneumonia and not to the surgical treatment that is employed.

Pneumocystis pneumonia: the importance of early open lung biopsy.

Pulmonary infection due to Pneumocystis carinii is now recognized as the leading cause of death from infection in patients with a hematologic malignancy who are in remission. Effective treatment requires suspicion of the infection in susceptible patients and rapid identification of the organism. In most patients, open lung biopsy performed through a small anterior thoracotomy provides immediate identification or exclusion of the organism, thus allowing treatment of infected patients and avoidance of inappropriate therapy in patients without the disease. We feel that the use of early thoracotomy, in spite of the fact that it exposes these very ill patients to a major surgical procedure and general anesthesia, is ultimately the safest therapeutic course.