Aftercare in patients with Cushing’s disease and acromegaly: is there room for improvement?

Purpose  

Evaluation of aftercare, medical therapy and remission rate for Cushing′s disease (CD) and acromegaly (AC).     

Pulmonary vein analysis using three-dimensional computed tomography angiography for thoracic surgery

Objective  

Little information is available regarding the variations in pulmonary vein anatomy for the purpose of thoracic or video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). To learn about the types and frequency of pulmonary vein variations for VATS, we reviewed a “tailor-made virtual lung” of patients that was constructed using three-dimensional multidetector computed tomography (3D-MDCT) angiography.     

Polymorphisms in the 5�� flank of COL1A1 gene and osteoporosis: meta-analysis of published studies

Summary  

A meta-analysis of studies was conducted involving 24,511 participants with 7,864 fractures in which polymorphisms in the 5′ flank of COL1A1 (rs1107946, rs2412298, and rs1800012) were related to osteoporosis phenotypes. Polymorphisms of all three sites were associated with BMD, and rs1800012 was associated with fracture but effect sizes were modest.     

Biological Factors, Tumor Growth Kinetics, and Survival After Metastasectomy for Pulmonary Melanoma

Introduction  

Approximately 23% of melanoma patients will eventually develop pulmonary metastases and have a median survival of only about 7–11 months. Because pulmonary metastasectomy can improve this statistic, we investigated clinicopathologic features and biological correlates that might be used to identify surgical candidates.     

Sequential surgical resection of hepatic and pulmonary metastases from colorectal cancer

Background  

Resection of isolated hepatic or pulmonary metastases from colorectal cancer is widely accepted and associated with a 5-year survival rate of 25–40%. The value of aggressive surgical management in patients with both hepatic and pulmonary metastases still remains a controversial area.     

Pulmonary valve preservation in Tetralogy of Fallot with a mildly hypoplastic annulus-should we do it?

Background  

The decision to preserve the pulmonary valve during intracardiac repair of Tetralogy of Fallot [TOF] is traditionally based on the intra-operative measurement of pulmonary annulus by a Hegar dilator as per Rowlatt’s table. We sought to evaluate if there can be flexibility in not using a transannular patch repair in Indian population with mildly hypoplastic pulmonary annulus.     

Outcome after Resection of Hepatic and Pulmonary Metastases of Colorectal Cancer

Introduction  

Multimodal therapies (especially surgery of metastases and “aggressive” chemotherapy) in patients with metastases of colorectal cancers (CRC) are increasingly performed and may provide long-term survival in selected patients with more than one location of metastases. In the current literature, there are only few studies with relatively low patient numbers reporting on the outcome after resection of both hepatic and pulmonary metastases of CRC. We therefore evaluated survival of patients who underwent sequential resection of hepatic and pulmonary metastases under potentially curative intention.     

Inhalation of corticosteroid and β-agonist for persistent cough following pulmonary resection

Background  

Patients undergoing pulmonary resection often suffer from a dry, hacking cough, which is usually refractory to opioid cough suppressors such as codeine. The cough is often painful and impairs the quality of life of the patients. The efficacy of an inhaled corticosteroid plus β2-agonist against the persistent cough after pulmonary resection was evaluated in this study.     

Renal reserve in the oldest old

Introduction  

Decline in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is one of several changes in renal physiology in the elderly. Renal reserve (RR) is the kidney′s capacity to increase its basal GFR by at least 20% after a protein overload. Even though it has already been reported that RR is preserved in healthy old people, there is no information whether RR is also preserved in the healthy very old one (older than 74 of age), which we decided to study and report our findings in this paper.     

Efficacy of low-dose landiolol,an ultrashort-acting β-blocker,on postoperative atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing pulmonary resection for lung cancer

Purpose  

Postoperative atrial fibrillation is the most common complication encountered during the early postoperative period following a pulmonary resection procedure. Landiolol is a newly developed, ultrashortacting, β-adrenoceptor antagonist. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of low-dose landiolol for postoperative atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing pulmonary resection for lung cancer.     

Incisional hernia in patients at risk: can it be prevented?

Introduction  

Incisional hernia is a long-term complication of laparotomy. Its exact frequency varies according to different authors, but is always around 10–15%. There are patients who present with systemic associated diseases [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), obesity, severe cardiopathies, immunodeficiencies, etc.] that favour or increase the risk of appearance of an incisional hernia. The aim of the present study was to assess whether the prophylactic placement of a polypropylene mesh in patients at risk can reduce or avoid the appearance of an incisional hernia.     

Utility of flexible bronchoscopy with polymerase chain reaction in the diagnosis and management of pulmonary infiltrates in allogeneic HSCT patients

Objectives

Pulmonary infiltrates in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo‐HSCT) patients are potentially life‐threatening and require early diagnosis and treatment. We aimed to retrospectively explore the clinical efficacy of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in conjunction with flexible bronchoscopy (FB) in allo‐HSCT patients with pulmonary infiltrates.

Patients and methods

We retrospectively reviewed all patients undergoing FB after allo‐HSCT at the Peking University Institute of Hematology from January 2013 to December 2016. We used PCR to detect various viruses in FB specimens, particularly for 27 viruses.

Results

One hundred forty‐nine diagnostic FBs were performed in 130 patients. The overall diagnostic yield was 58%. Eighty‐nine percent of the patients with a positive FB result were diagnosed with a pulmonary infection. Viruses were the most common infectious diagnosis (70%), followed by fungi (48%), bacteria (38%), and Pneumocystis jirovecii (12%). Multivariate analyses showed that a chest computed tomography (CT) finding of diffuse pulmonary infiltrates (P = .012) and positive results in assisted microbiological and serological analyses (P = .000) predicted a positive FB result. FB results prompted a treatment modification in 61% of cases.

Conclusions

FB in conjunction with PCR is efficient in the rapid diagnosis and management of pulmonary infiltrates in allo‐HSCT patients.     

Growing PET positive nodule in a patient with histoplasmosis: case report

Background  

Pulmonary histoplasmosis is a mycotic infection that often resembles pulmonary malignancy and continues to complicate the evaluation of pulmonary nodules.     

Radio-guided thoracoscopic surgery (RGTS) of small pulmonary nodules

Background  

The demand for adequate tissue sampling to determine individual tumor behavior is increasing the number of lung nodule resections, even when the diagnosis is already recognized. Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) is the procedure of choice for diagnosis and treatment of small pulmonary nodules. Difficulties in localizing smaller and deeper nodules have been approached with different techniques. Herein we report our 13-years’ experience with radio-guided thoracoscopic resection.     

Cost-effectiveness and Budget Impact of Obesity Surgery in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes in Three European Countries(II)

Background  

This study aimed to establish a payer-perspective cost-effectiveness and budget impact model of adjustable gastric banding (AGB) and gastric bypass (GBP) vs. conventional treatment (CT) in patients with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 35 kg.m⁻² and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Austria, Italy, and Spain.     

Benefits of video-assisted thoracic surgery for repeated pulmonary metastasectomy

Purpose  

The use of repeated pulmonary resection for metachronous pulmonary metastasis has increased. We assessed whether video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) produced greater benefits than classic thoracotomy for repeated pulmonary metastasectomy procedures.     

Clinical article: mortality associated with severe head injury in the elderly

Background  

Age is an important factor in determining prognosis following severe head injury (SHI), although mortality in patients ≥65 years is poorly reported. The aim of this study was to document mortality in patients with SHI ≥65 years.     

Preoperative predictors of postoperative pulmonary complications in neuromuscular scoliosis

Background  

Neuromuscular scoliosis (NMS) is associated with progressive restrictive lung disease and an increased risk of prolonged ventilation following surgery. This study reports the experiences of a single institution and evaluates whether preoperative pulmonary function tests (PFT) can predict the development of postoperative pulmonary complications.     

Long-Term Survival and Prognostic Factors after Pulmonary Metastasectomy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background  

The lung is the most common site of extrahepatic recurrence from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the standard treatment for pulmonary metastasis (PM) from HCC has not been established. We analyzed patients who underwent pulmonary resection for HCC metastases to evaluate long-term survival and prognostic factors.     

Laparoscopic TME in rectal cancer – electronic supplementary: op-video

Background  

Laparoscopic total mesorectal excision (TME) for rectal cancer has been proved in various studies. The minimal invasive procedure is feasible and safe which was demonstrated in many studies. However, the results of prospective, randomized studies providing valuable evidence are still not available. Compared to conventional surgery, the laparoscopic technique has short-term advantages including less pain, shorter duration of postoperative ileus, less fatigue, better pulmonary function, and less blood loss (Leung et al., Lancet 363:1187–1192, 2004; Braga et al., Dis Colon Rectum 48:217–223, 2005; Jayne et al., J Clin Oncol 25:3061–3068, 2007; Agha et al., Surg Endosc 22:2229–2237, 2008).