Potentially fatal complications of systemic air embolism after computed tomography-guided transthoracic needle biopsy in lung cancer harboring epithelial growth factor receptor mutation: A case report.

Air embolism is a rare, fatal complication of computed tomography (CT)-guided transthoracic needle biopsy (TTNB) of the lung. Here, we report a patient who developed an air embolism after CT-guided TTNB, which led to ST-elevation myocardial infarction and acute cerebral ischemia. The patient recovered completely without critical sequelae and was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma harboring activating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation. The patient responded to subsequent treatment with gefitinib. KEY POINTS: SIGNFICANT FINDINGS OF THE STUDY: Air embolism is a rare, fatal complication of CT-guided transthoracic lung biopsy. Only a few cases have been previously reported where myocardial and cerebral infarction occurred after TTNB, demonstrated not only on CT scan, but also electrocardiogram and electroencephalogram. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS: Detection of driver gene mutation is crucial for planning lung cancer treatment. Despite the need for tissue biopsy, air embolism propagation to vital organs could result in severe end-organ damage and multidisciplinary approaches are needed to improve initial outcomes.

The Effect of Thickness and Chemical Reduction of Graphene Oxide on Nanoscale Friction.

The tribological properties of two-dimensional (2D) atomic layers are quite different from three-dimensional continuum materials because of the unique mechanical responses of 2D layers. It is known that friction on graphene shows a remarkable decreasing behavior as the number of layers increases, which is caused by the puckering effect. On other graphene derivatives, such as graphene oxide (GO) or reduced graphene oxide (rGO), the thickness dependence of friction is important because of the possibilities for technical applications. In this report, we demonstrate unexpected layer-dependent friction behavior on GO and rGO layers. Friction force microscopy measurements show that nanoscale friction on GO does not depend on the number of layers; however, after reduction, friction on rGO shows an inverse thickness dependence compared with pristine graphene. We show that the friction on rGO is higher than that on SiO2 at low load, and that an interesting crossover behavior at higher load occurs because of the lower friction coefficient and higher adhesion of the rGO. We provide a relevant interpretation that explains the effect of thickness and chemical reduction on nanoscale friction.