Prognostic Factors for Discharge Directly Home in Patients With Thoracoscopic Surgery for Empyema: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery is a widely recommended treatment for empyema in advanced stages. However, only a few studies have evaluated prognostic factors among patients with empyema who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. Furthermore, no studies have evaluated predictors of direct discharge home. Patients and Methods: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included 161 patients with empyema who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery in five acute-care hospitals. The primary outcome was the probability of direct discharge home. The secondary outcome was the length of hospital stay after surgery. We broadly assessed pre-operative factors and performed univariable logistic regression for the direct discharge home and univariable gamma regression for the length of hospital stay after surgery. Results: Of the 161 included patients, 74.5% were directly discharged home. Age (>70 years; -24.3%); altered mental status (-33.4%); blood urea nitrogen (>22.4 mg/dL; -19.4%); and pleural pH (<7.2; -17.6%) were associated with high probabilities of not being directly discharged home. Fever (15.2%) and albumin (> 2.7 g/dL; 20.2%) were associated with high probabilities of being directly discharged home. The median length of stay after surgery was 19 days. Age (>70 years; 6.2 days); altered mental status (5.6 days); purulence (2.7 days); pleural thickness (>2 cm; 5.1 days); bronchial fistula (14.6 days); albumin (>2.7 g/dL; 3.1 days); and C-reactive protein (>20 mg/dL; 3.6 days) were associated with a longer post-operation hospital stay. Conclusions: Physicians should consider using these prognostic factors to predict non-direct discharge to the home for patients with empyema.

Subjective and objective image quality of low-dose CT images processed using a self-supervised denoising algorithm.

This study aimed to assess the subjective and objective image quality of low-dose computed tomography (CT) images processed using a self-supervised denoising algorithm with deep learning. We trained the self-supervised denoising model using low-dose CT images of 40 patients and applied this model to CT images of another 30 patients. Image quality, in terms of noise and edge sharpness, was rated on a 5-point scale by two radiologists. The coefficient of variation, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) were calculated. The values for the self-supervised denoising model were compared with those for the original low-dose CT images and CT images processed using other conventional denoising algorithms (non-local means, block-matching and 3D filtering, and total variation minimization-based algorithms). The mean (standard deviation) scores of local and overall noise levels for the self-supervised denoising algorithm were 3.90 (0.40) and 3.93 (0.51), respectively, outperforming the original image and other algorithms. Similarly, the mean scores of local and overall edge sharpness for the self-supervised denoising algorithm were 3.90 (0.40) and 3.75 (0.47), respectively, surpassing the scores of the original image and other algorithms. The CNR and SNR for the self-supervised denoising algorithm were higher than those for the original images but slightly lower than those for the other algorithms. Our findings indicate the potential clinical applicability of the self-supervised denoising algorithm for low-dose CT images in clinical settings.

Effectiveness of Immediate Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery for Empyema: A Multicentre, Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Because of limitations in previous randomised controlled trials and observational studies, the effectiveness of immediate video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for patients with empyema in real-world settings remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate whether immediate VATS improves clinical outcomes in patients with empyema. METHODS: This multicentre retrospective cohort study included 744 patients with physician-diagnosed empyema from six hospitals between 2006 and 2021. The exposure was VATS performed within 3 days of empyema diagnosis, the primary outcome was 30-day mortality, and secondary outcomes were 90-day mortality, length of hospital stay, and time from diagnosis to discharge. We used propensity score weighting to account for potential confounders. For outcome analyses, we used logistic regression for mortality outcomes and gamma regression for the number of days. RESULTS: Among the 744 patients, 53 (7.1%) underwent VATS within 3 days, and 691 (92.9%) initially received conservative treatment. After propensity score weighting, the differences in 30- and 90-day mortalities between the immediate VATS and initial conservative treatment groups were 1.18% (95% confidence interval [CI], -10.7 to 13.0%) and -0.08% (95% CI, -10.3 to 10.2%), respectively. The differences in length of hospital stay and time from diagnosis to discharge were -3.22 (95% CI, -6.19 to -0.25 days) and -5.04 days (95% CI, -8.19 to -1.90 days), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our real-world study showed that immediate VATS reduced the length of hospital stay and the time from diagnosis to discharge. Considering the small sample and differences in protocols between countries, further large-scale studies are warranted.

A 65-Year-Old Man With Massive Hemoptysis.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 65-year-old man experienced a cough and mild hemoptysis suddenly one morning. He was prescribed tranexamic acid and carbazochrome salicylate by the local clinic at the first visit, and his hemoptysis stopped. However, 2 days later, he experienced recurrent hemoptysis that was prolonged intermittently. He had slight dyspnea and chest discomfort, but no other symptoms, such as sputum, fever, or chest pain. He was referred to our hospital for further assessment of hemoptysis. He had experienced mild hemoptysis of unknown causes 8 years earlier without recurrence until this episode. He had bronchial asthma that was treated with an inhaled corticosteroid and hypertension and hyperuricemia that were untreated with medication. He had no known allergies or family history of lung disease. He did not smoke. The patient denied alcohol consumption, any recent travel, or exposure to TB.

Prognostic Value of Computed Tomography in Empyema: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study.

Rationale: Chest computed tomography is performed in patients with empyema for various reasons. However, its predictive ability for patient outcomes in empyema has not been evaluated. Objectives: To evaluate the predictive ability of computed tomography findings (pleural thickness, loculation, interlobar pleural effusion, lung abscess, and bronchopleural fistula) for 90-day mortality in empyema. Methods: This multicenter retrospective cohort study was conducted across six acute care hospitals in Japan. We included patients with confirmed empyema diagnoses who underwent chest computed tomography within 7 days of diagnosis. Imaging findings were defined as pleural thickness, loculation, interlobar pleural effusion, lung abscess, or bronchopleural fistula. One radiologist interpreted the computed tomography scans without patient information. The primary outcome was 90-day mortality. We calculated the differences in 90-day mortality between the presence and absence of each computed tomography finding using logistic regression with or without adjustment for early thoracic surgery. Results: A total of 711 patients were included in our study. Thoracic surgery was performed in 27% of patients, and the 90-day mortality rate was 10%. The differences (95% confidence intervals) in 90-day mortality without and with adjustment for early thoracic surgery were as follows: pleural thickness, 3.09% (-1.35% to 7.54%) and 2.70% (-1.80% to 7.20%); loculation, -4.01% (-8.61% to 0.60%) and -3.80% (-8.41% to 0.81%); interlobar pleural effusion, -9.15% (-14.58% to -3.72%) and -8.96% (-14.39% to -3.53%); lung abscess, 7.04% (-1.16% to 15.2%) and 6.86% (-1.34% to 15.05%); and bronchopleural fistula, 13.80% (7.66% to 19.94%) and 13.63% (7.50% to 19.77%), respectively. Conclusions: Although interlobar pleural effusion predicted lower 90-day mortality regardless of early thoracic surgery, the presence of bronchopleural fistula predicted higher 90-day mortality with empyema. Our results warrant further validation.

Prognostic factors of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis: A retrospective cohort of 264 patients from Japan.

BACKGROUND: Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) develops in various underlying pulmonary conditions. There is scarce data evaluating interstitial lung disease (ILD)/abnormalities (ILA) as such conditions, and it has not been explored much whether non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD) is a prognostic factor for mortality in CPA patients. Few reports had investigated prognostic factors of CPA including underlying pulmonary conditions. OBJECTIVES: To explore prognostic factors of CPA including pulmonary conditions. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 264 CPA patients from a center for pulmonary aspergillosis in Japan. RESULTS: Survival rates were 78.7%, 61.0%, and 47.4% at 1, 3, and 5 years, respectively. Of 264 patients, 53 (20.1%) and 87 (33.1%) were complicated with ILA and NTM-PD. Several independent prognostic factors were identified by multivariate Cox proportional analysis: ILA (HR 1.76, 95%CI 1.06-2.92, p = 0.029), age (1.05, 1.02-1.08, p<0.001), male sex (2.48, 1.34-4.59, p = 0.004), body mass index of <18.5 kg/m2 (1,87, 1.20-2.90, p = 0.005), presence of aspergilloma (1.59, 1.04-2.45, p = 0.033), and lower serum albumin (0.56, 0.38-0.83, p = 0.004). NTM-PD was not associated with higher mortality (0.85, 0.52-1.38, p = 0.51). CONCLUSIONS: The poor prognosis of CPA and several prognostic factors were revealed. Early diagnosis and intervention is required with reference to such factors.

Long-Term Outcomes of Bronchial Artery Embolization for Patients with Non-Mycobacterial Non-Fungal Infection Bronchiectasis.

BACKGROUND: There is no study on the predictive factors of recurrent haemoptysis after bronchial artery embolization (BAE) with the long-term outcomes in patients with bronchiectasis (BE). OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the long-term outcomes of BAE in BE patients without accompanying refractory active infection of mycobacteriosis and aspergillosis with analysis for the predictive factors of recurrent haemoptysis. METHODS: Data of 106 patients with BE who underwent BAE using coils between January 2011 and December 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. The cumulative haemoptysis control rate was estimated using Kaplan-Meier methods with log-rank tests to analyze differences in recurrence-free rate between groups based on technical success and failure, bacterial colonization status, number of BE lesions, and vessels embolized to bronchial arteries (BAs) or BAs + non-bronchial systemic arteries (NBSAs). RESULTS: Bacterial colonization was detected in approximately 60% of patients. Computed tomography showed bronchiectatic lesions with 2.9 ± 1.4 lobes. In the first series of BAE, embolization was performed in the BAs alone and BAs + NBSAs in 65.1 and 34.9% of patients, respectively, with 2.4 ± 1.4 embolized vessels in total. The median follow-up period was 1,000 (7-2,790) days. The cumulative haemoptysis control rates were 91.3, 84.2, 81.5, and 78.9% at 1, 2, 3, and 5 years, respectively. The haemoptysis control rates were higher in the technical success group than in the technical failure group (p = 0.029). CONCLUSIONS: High haemoptysis control rates for long-term periods were obtained by embolization for all visualized abnormal arteries, regardless of the colonization status, number of bronchiectatic lobes, and target vessels, irrespective of NBSAs.

[A case of multiple and metachronous pleural tuberculomas during the course of anti-tuberculous chemotherapy and follow-up of a caseous pneumonia].

A 21-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of high fever, a productive cough and general fatigue. Her chest radiography scan revealed dense consolidation with air-bronchograms in the left lower lobe. Bacterial pneumonia was diagnosed and she was treated with antibiotics, although the specific cause could not be identified. After one month, a bronchoscopy was performed due to lack of improvement of consolidation in chest radiography. A smear examination of the bronchial washing specimen was positive for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) was confirmed by PCR. After anti-tuberculous drugs (INH, RFP, EB, and PZA) were prescribed for 6 months, chest X-ray findings improved markedly. Two pleural tuberculomas were found in the left upper and lower lung fields 3 months after beginning therapy, and a new pleural tuberculoma appeared in the left upper lung fields 6 months after finishing therapy. Histopathological findings (HE stain) of a CT-guided needle lung biopsy showed epithelioid cell granulomas without caseous necrosis with multinuclear giant cells which were negative for acid-fast bacterium. All of the pleural tuberculomas improved without any additional therapy 18 months after finishing therapy. It was thought that such cases of multiple and metachronous pleural tuberculomas during the course of anti-tuberculous chemotherapy and follow-up of caseous pneumonia are rare. We suggest the possibility that the pleural tuberculomas were due to a paradoxical or hypersensitive reaction to the anti-tuberculous chemotherapy in this case.

[The sequential changes of the serum levels of KL-6, SP-D, and DLCO were followed for a long term in a case of acute bird fancier's lung].

The sequential changes of the serum levels of KL-6, SP-D, and DLco were followed for a long term in a case of acute bird fancier's lung, A 52 years-old-male was admitted to our hospital because of cough, dyspnea on exertion and fever. He has been breeding 12 pigeons in home for the last five years. HRCT of the chest demonstrated diffuse centrilobular nodules and ground-glass opacities with mosaic pattern in bilateral lung fields. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) showed an increased number of lymphocytes with a increased CD4/CD8 ratio, and transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) specimen revealed alveolitis with infiltration of lymphoid cells and Masson body in the air spaces. He was diagnosed as having bird fancier's lung because of the elevated antibodies against pigeon dropping extracts (PDE) in the serum and BALF. Respiratory failure continued after complete avoidance of contact with pigeons for a week. Clinical symptoms and chest X-ray findings improved markedly after administration of steroid, and he left the hospital to move into a new house. The serum levels of KL-6 and SP-D were unchanged by antigen avoidance, although those were returning to normal gradually after treatment of steroid. SP-D and KL-6 returned to normal in 8 months and 18 months respectively and DLco was also improved slowly in parallel with a decrease of these markers. These results suggest that the serum KL-6 level and DLco reflect the disease activity showing gradual recovery of alveolitis in such a long period.