Viscum pleurodesis is as effective as talc pleurodesis and tends to have less adverse effect.

PURPOSE: Many patients diagnosed with advanced cancer have malignant pleural effusion that does not respond to chemotherapy or radiation therapy. These patients often have respiratory symptoms, especially dyspnea. In order to relieve these symptoms, various procedures including chemical pleurodesis have been performed. Although talc is the most widely used and effective sclerosing agent, there it has various adverse effects. The objective of this study was to determine whether Viscum (ABNOVA Viscum® Fraxini Injection, manufactured by ABNOVA GmbH, Germany) could be used as an agent to replace talc in clinical practice. METHODS: Data of 56 patients with malignant pleural effusion who received chemical pleurodesis after tube thoracostomy from January 2003 to December 2017 were retrospectively reviewed to analyze clinical course and response after pleurodesis with each agent. RESULTS: After pleurodesis, changes in numeric rating scale (NRS) was 1.4 ± 1.6 in the talc group and 0.5 ± 1.5 in the Viscum group (p = 0.108). Changes in white blood cell counts after pleurodesis were 4154.8 ± 6710.7 in the talc group and 3487.3 ± 6067.7 in the Viscum group (p = 0.702). Changes in C-reactive protein (CRP) were 9.03 ± 6.86 in the talc group and 6.3 ± 7.5 in the Viscum group (p = 0.366). The success rate of pleurodesis was 93.3% in the talc group and 96% in the Viscum group (p = 0.225). CONCLUSION: Viscum pleurodesis showed comparable treatment results with talc pleurodesis while its adverse effects such as chest pain and fever tended to be relatively weak.

Video-assisted thoracic surgery for spontaneous pneumothorax under two-lung ventilation and single-lumen endotracheal tube intubation.

Background: This study investigated the feasibility of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) performed under two-lung ventilation (TLV) and single-lumen endotracheal tube (SLET) intubation in patients with spontaneous pneumothorax. Methods: From January 2016 to December 2019, 344 patients who underwent VATS with spontaneous pneumothorax, whether primary or secondary, were enrolled. The surgery was performed through TLV using SLET intubation or one-lung ventilation (OLV) using double-lumen endotracheal tube (DLET) intubation. Patient data were collected retrospectively from medical records and compared with an emphasis on the time required for anesthesia and surgery. Results: The average anesthesia time was 72.6±17.8 min for TLV and 89.9±24.3 min for OLV (P<0.001). The average operating time was 42.1±16.2 min for TLV and 54.7±23.8 min for OLV (P<0.001). The average time from the onset of anesthesia to incision was 23.6±7.0 min for TLV and 27.6±9.5 min for OLV (P<0.001). There was no case of conversion to OLV using DLET intubation during surgery with TLV using SLET intubation. Removal of the chest tube took 1.6±1.1 days for the TLV group and 2.3±3.6 days for the OLV group (P=0.017). Patients were discharged at 2.7±1.2 days after surgery for the TLV group and 3.2±2.3 days after surgery for the OLV group (P=0.009). Conclusions: TLV using SLET intubation could shorten the time required for anesthesia-related procedures and surgery. In addition, it can be a beneficial surgical and anesthetic option for pneumothorax.

Relationship between Systemic Inflammatory Markers, GLUT1 Expression, and Maximum 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Uptake in Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma and Their Prognostic Significance.

BACKGROUND: Factors involved in inflammation and cancer interact in various ways with each other, and biomarkers of systemic inflammation may have a prognostic value in cancer. Glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) plays a pivotal role in glucose transport and metabolism and it is aberrantly expressed in various cancer types. We evaluated the differential expression of GLUT1, along with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and then analyzed their prognostic significance. METHODS: A total of 163 patients with resectable NSCLC were included in this study. Tumor sections were immunohistochemically stained for GLUT1 and GLUT3. Maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) was measured by preoperative FDG-PET, and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and lymphocyte-monocyte ratio (LMR) were derived from pretreatment blood count. RESULTS: GLUT1 and GLUT3 was positively expressed in 74.8% and 6.1% of the NSCLC tissues, respectively. GLUT1 expression was significantly correlated with squamous cell carcinoma histology, poor differentiation, high pathologic stage, old age, male, smoking, and high SUVmax (>7) (all p < 0.05). The squamous cell carcinoma and smoker group also showed significantly higher SUVmax (both p < 0.001). Systemic inflammation markers, including NLR, PLR, and LMR, were positively correlated with high SUVmax (all p < 0.05). High GLUT1 expression, high SUVmax, high NLR, and low LMR, were significantly associated with poor overall survival in patients with NSCLC. However, in the multivariate survival analysis, LMR was an independent prognostic factor overall (HR 1.86, 95% CI 1.05-3.3) and for the stage I/II cohort (HR 2.3, 95% CI 1.24-4.3) (all p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Systemic inflammatory markers-NLR, PLR, and LMR are strongly correlated with the SUVmax and are indicators of aggressive tumor behavior. Specifically, LMR is a promising prognostic biomarker in NSCLC patients.

Clinical outcome after pulmonary metastasectomy from primary hepatocellular carcinoma: analysis of prognostic factors.

AIM: To review the surgical outcomes in terms of the surgical indications and relevant prognostic factors. METHODS: Sixteen patients underwent therapeutic lung surgery between March 1999 and May 2006. The observation period was terminated on May 31, 2007. The surgical outcomes and the clinicopathological factors were compared. RESULTS: There was no mortality or major morbidity encountered in this study. The mean follow-up period after metastasectomy was 26.7 +/- 28.2 (range: 1-99 mo), and the median survival time was 20 mo. The 1- and 5-year survival rates were 56% and 26%, respectively. At the end of the follow-up, 1 patient died from hepatic failure without recurrence, 6 died from hepatic failure with a recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and 4 died from recurrent HCC with cachexia. Among several clinical factors, Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that liver transplantation as a treatment for the primary lesion, grade of cell differentiation, and negative evidence HBV infection were independent predictive factors. On Cox's proportional hazard model, there were no significant factors affecting survival after pulmonary metastasectomy in patients with HCC. CONCLUSION: A metastasectomy should be performed before other treatments in selected patients. Although not significant, patients with liver transplantation of a primary HCC survived longer. Liver transplantation might be the most beneficial modality that can offer patients better survival. A multi-institutional and collaborative study would be needed for identifying clinical prognostic factors predicting survival in patients with HCC and lung metastasis.

A laceration of left internal mammary artery caused by an amateur golfer's swing.

We report the rare case of a patient presenting with a spontaneous laceration of left internal mammary artery (LIMA) after playing golf. The patient had no specific history except for cardiac surgery, and there were no results that caused bleeding on preoperative examination. A computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest demonstrated an anterior mediastinal hematoma and a left hemothorax with active extravasation close to LIMA. Through thoracotomy, hematoma evacuation and clipping for lacerated artery were performed. The patient was discharged in stable condition on the sixteenth postoperative day. This is the first reported case of a spontaneous laceration of internal mammary artery (IMA) after playing golf.

Blockade of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway by U0126 attenuates neuronal damage following circulatory arrest.

OBJECTIVES: The extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway of the mitogen-activated protein kinase signal transduction cascade has been implicated in the neuronal and endothelial dysfunction witnessed following cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase is activated by mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2. We evaluated the ability of a mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2-specific inhibitor (U0126) to block extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation and mitigate ischemic neuronal damage in a model of deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. METHODS: Piglets underwent normal flow cardiopulmonary bypass (control, n = 4), deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (n = 6), and deep hypothermic circulatory arrest with U0126 (n = 5) at 20 degrees C for 60 minutes. The deep hypothermic circulatory arrest with U0126 group was given 200 microg/kg of U0126 45 minutes prior to initiation of bypass followed by 100 microg/kg at reperfusion. Following 24 hours of post-cardiopulmonary bypass recovery, brains were harvested. Eleven distinct cortical regions were evaluated for neuronal damage using hematoxylin and eosin staining. A section of ischemic cortex was further evaluated by immunohistochemistry with rabbit polyclonal antibody against phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2. RESULTS: The deep hypothermic circulatory arrest and deep hypothermic circulatory arrest with U0126 groups displayed diffuse ischemic changes. However, the deep hypothermic circulatory arrest with U0126 group possessed significantly lower neuronal damage scores in the right frontal watershed zone of cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, and thalamus (P < or =.05) and an overall trend toward neuroprotection versus the deep hypothermic circulatory arrest group. This neuroprotection was accompanied by nearly complete blockade of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase in the cerebral vascular endothelium. CONCLUSIONS: In this experimental model of deep hypothermic circulatory arrest, U0126 blocked extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation and provided a significant neuroprotective effect. These results support targeting of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway for inhibition as a novel therapeutic approach to mitigate neuronal damage following deep hypothermic circulatory arrest.

Modification of thoracoscopic surgery for spontaneous pneumothorax.

Morbidity, use of analgesics, postoperative drainage, and hospital stay are reduced after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for pneumothorax. However, some surgeons prefer a minithoracotomy because the rate of recurrence after thoracoscopic surgery is 5%-10%. A modified thoracoscopic bullectomy is described, which has the advantages of both conventional video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and a minithoracotomy. Of 69 patients who underwent surgery for pneumothorax from January 2002 to February 2003, 13 were treated by conventional video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and 21 by the modified thoracoscopic bullectomy. The mean ages were 20.6 years in the conventional group and 23.0 years in the modified group, with follow-up of 25.8 +/- 1.8 months in the conventional group and 20.6 +/- 1.3 months in the modified group. The duration of operation was similar in both groups (49.3 +/- 16.0 vs. 44.2 +/- 19.2 min). Significantly fewer staples were used in the modified group (1.62 +/- 0.74 vs. 2.92 +/- 1.19). The duration of chest tube drainage and postoperative hospital stay were significantly reduced in the modified group. The modified thoracoscopic bullectomy is an effective procedure for the treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax.