Lung Cancer resection in the absence of pre-operative histology: The Accuracy of Multidisciplinary Team Consensus.

BACKGROUND: Lung resection remains the gold-standard of treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). British Thoracic Society (BTS) guidelines recommends the pursuit of pre-operative histological diagnosis and staging where possible. In the absence of pre-operative histology, surgical treatment can be offered in conjunction with multidisciplinary team (MDT) and patient consensus. We undertook a single-centre analysis of the accuracy of the lung cancer MDT in recommending surgical resection for those with suspected lung malignancy in the absence of pre-operative histological diagnosis over a six-year period. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed of patients undergoing any pulmonary oncological resection with therapeutic intent without pre-operative histological diagnosis at the recommendation of the lung cancer MDT in our unit between May 2016 and July 2022. RESULTS: 270 consecutive patients underwent lung resection for a lung nodule of indeterminate significance. This accounted for 45% of the oncological resections performed over this period. The mean age of the cohort was 67.9 years, and 47.4% were male. Overall, 10% of resected specimens (n = 27) were benign on final histopathology. 93% of those undergoing a lobectomy received a malignant diagnosis. Across the study cohort, surgical resection was well tolerated with a low complication rate. CONCLUSIONS: Lung cancer resection in the absence of pre-operative histological diagnosis is feasible in a select patient cohort. This approach requires an experienced multi-disciplinary team and careful patient counselling. Our study demonstrates this adapted approach to be a pragmatic solution to the management of indeterminate pulmonary nodules in centres where biopsy is not routinely available due to existing constraints on the health system.

The use of neutrophil lymphocyte ratio to predict complications post cardiac surgery.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac surgery remains the gold standard treatment for select cohorts of patients with coronary artery and valvular heart diseases. It induces an acute systemic inflammatory response due to cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), myocardial arrest, and surgical trauma. There is growing evidence that increased inflammation leads to greater complications and poorer outcomes for patients post cardiac surgery. Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a promising marker of inflammation. This study assessed if NLR could predict postoperative atrial fibrillation and acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery. METHODS: A retrospective review of patients undergoing first-time on-pump cardiac surgery was performed. Postoperative atrial fibrillation and acute kidney injury within 7 days of surgery was recorded. Preoperative, day 1, and day 2 NLR were recorded. Potential confounders such as age, sex, comorbidities, and operative factors were included in univariate analysis. Backwards stepwise multivariate regression analysis was performed to identify independent predictors of these complications. RESULTS: Nine hundred and six patients were included for analysis. Higher preoperative NLR was significantly associated with postoperative atrial fibrillation. Day 1 and day 2 NLR were associated with postoperative atrial fibrillation in analyses including all patients. Older age, male gender, preexisting atrial arrhythmias, and higher EuroSCORE II also had a significant association. Diabetes mellitus was protective for postoperative arrhythmias. Preoperative NLR was not significantly associated with acute kidney injury. Day 2 NLR, older age, higher EuroSCORE II, and longer CPB time were independently associated with acute kidney injury post cardiac surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Higher preoperative and postoperative NLRs are associated with higher rates of complications post cardiac surgery.

Posterior mediastinal Müllerian cyst: a rare cause of pain in a young woman.

Thoracic pain in a young woman carries a wide differential diagnosis. We present the case of a 37-year-old woman who presented with thoracic pain due to a posterior mediastinal Müllerian cyst. Excision was performed by left uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. This is the first report to describe thoracic pain that resolved with excision of the cyst.

An international survey of medical licensing requirements for immigrating physicians, focusing on communication evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: To identify current entry requirements set by international medical licensing bodies for immigrating physicians, focusing on postgraduate level communication skills, clinical and technical skill assessments. METHODS: A standardised, author developed survey was administered to a selection of national, state and provincial licensing institutions across 6 continents. Representative institutions were selected from the most populated regions of each continent. Surveys were administered by email and telephone. The information was also searched by website review. Website information alone was used if no response was received by the targeted institution after 2 phone/2 email attempts. Statistical analysis of the non-parametric data was conducted using SPSS (v.21). RESULTS: Thirty-seven licensing bodies were contacted from 30 countries; verifiable information was available for 29; twenty-six responded to the communication inquiry. Sixty five 65.4% (n=17) surveyed communication skills, 100% involved language proficiency testing; 11.5% tested other forms of communication skills. For clinical and technical skills, 86.2% (n=25) assessed candidates by credential review, 72.4% (n=21) required both credential review and exam and 62.1% (n=18) used country-specific examination. A mentorship period were required by 37.9% (n=11), ranging from 3 months to 1 year. Only 2 countries identified examinations for recertification. No technical/clinical skills nor communication skill evaluation (beyond language proficiency) are routinely assessed at the postgraduate level. CONCLUSIONS: International assessments of migrating physicians are heterogeneous. Communication skills, beyond language proficiency, are not routinely assessed in foreign trained physicians seeking entry. The majority of clinical and technical skills are assessed by credential review only. This study highlights the lack of standardisation of assessment internationally and the need for steps toward a global agreement on training schemes and summative assessment.