Development of the ProPal-COPD tool to identify patients with COPD for proactive palliative care.

BACKGROUND: Our objective was to develop a tool to identify patients with COPD for proactive palliative care. Since palliative care needs increase during the disease course of COPD, the prediction of mortality within 1 year, measured during hospitalizations for acute exacerbation COPD (AECOPD), was used as a proxy for the need of proactive palliative care. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients were recruited from three general hospitals in the Netherlands in 2014. Data of 11 potential predictors, a priori selected based on literature, were collected during hospitalization for AECOPD. After 1 year, the medical files were explored for the date of death. An optimal prediction model was assessed by Lasso logistic regression, with 20-fold cross-validation for optimal shrinkage. Missing data were handled using complete case analysis. RESULTS: Of 174 patients, 155 patients were included; of those 30 (19.4%) died within 1 year. The optimal prediction model was internally validated and had good discriminating power (AUC =0.82, 95% CI 0.81-0.82). This model relied on the following seven predictors: the surprise question, Medical Research Council dyspnea questionnaire (MRC dyspnea), Clinical COPD Questionnaire (CCQ), FEV1% of predicted value, body mass index, previous hospitalizations for AECOPD and specific comorbidities. To ensure minimal miss out of patients in need of proactive palliative care, we proposed a cutoff in the model that prioritized sensitivity over specificity (0.90 over 0.73, respectively). Our model (ProPal-COPD tool) was a stronger predictor of mortality within 1 year than the CODEX (comorbidity, age, obstruction, dyspnea, and previous severe exacerbations) index. CONCLUSION: The ProPal-COPD tool is a promising multivariable prediction tool to identify patients with COPD for proactive palliative care.

The use of iodine seed (I-125) as a marker for the localisation of lung nodules in minimal invasive pulmonary surgery.

AIM: Video assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) is an important tool in the field of thoracic pathology both for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. The standard technique for localisation of non-visible or non-palpable lung lesions is the use of image guided insertion of a guide-wire. However, this method is associated with complications such as pneumothorax, bleeding and wire-dislocation. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using of iodine seeds (I-125) as a marker of lung lesions during VATS. METHODS: 28 consecutive patients with parenchymal lung lesions had I-125 seed localisation performed prior to VATS. After seed placement all patients underwent VATS with wedge resection. RESULTS: During surgery all lesions could be identified and radically resected. In six (21.4%) patients the seed was not placed optimally but none of these cases were associated with seed dislocation after placement. In four and in 5 patients the placement of the I-125 seed was complicated by a haematoma and pneumothorax respectively. However, in all of these patients a wait-and-see policy would have been justified. In one patient a conversion to a thoracotomy was necessary due to seed displacement. CONCLUSION: In patients with parenchymal lung lesions undergoing VATS and wedge resection I-125 seed localisation is a feasible technique. Complication rates are comparable to standard guide-wire localisation. Although I-125 seeds can be positioned under CT-guidance an optimal placement is of utmost importance for VATS wedge resection. Further research is needed to investigate the possible advantages of this technique.

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis caused by occupational exposure to phytase.

A 43-yr-old male presented with a 6-month history of episodes of coughing, shortness of breath and fever. He suffered from dyspnoea on minor exertion. The patient worked in a cattle feed factory and noticed that he had more complaints after his working hours. His symptoms could be ascribed to hypersensitivity pneumonitis due to contact with phytase, an enzyme added to cattle feed to strengthen bone and diminish phosphorus excretion. The diagnosis was supported by bibasal lung crackles on physical examination, restrictive ventilatory defect (with decreased diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide), typical radiographical findings, lymphocytosis in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and a positive exposure test performed at the workplace. Blood examination showed high immunoglobulin G levels to phytase. After treatment and cessation of phytase contact the patient became symptom free and lung function normalised. Phytase should be considered as a cause of occupational hypersensitivity pneumonitis in the animal feed industry.

Diagnosis of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in HIV-positive patients. Bronchoalveolar lavage vs. bronchial brushing.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the contribution of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and bronchial brushing (BB) and the use of different tinctorial stains in the detection of Pneumocystis carinii (PC) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients. STUDY DESIGN: In a retrospective study, 195 HIV-positive patients suspected of a pulmonary infection underwent bronchoscopy with BAL. In 143 cases subsequent BB was performed. On 135 BAL fluid cytocentrifuge preparations four staining techniques were applied simultaneously: May-Grünwald-Giemsa (MGG), toluidine blue-O (TOL), Papani-colaou (PAP) and Grocott methenamine silver (GRO). RESULTS: PC was recovered in 79 (40.5%) cases. The yields of MGG and TOL were identical (33.3%). PAP and GRO showed lower results, 31.1% and 29.6%, respectively. These differences were not statistically significant. The combination of BAL and BB revealed 64 cases of PC infection. BAL was positive in the vast majority of cases (63, 44.1%). BB was positive in 54 (37.8%). The combination of positive BB with negative BAL was present in one case. However, 10 cases of PC were found with the use of BAL and not detected by BB (P < .01). CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that to confirm a PC infection in HIV-positive patients, the use of bronchoalveolar lavage with a single staining technique is appropriate. Bronchial brushing seems to be of limited additional value.