[Intention to Delegate Clinical Practice of Medical Specialists in Accordance with the Enactment of the Scope of Practice for Advanced Practice Nurses].

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the nationwide intention to delegate clinical practice of medical specialists in accordance with the enactment of the scope of practice for advanced practice nurses (APNs). METHODS: Data were collected from October to December 2021 using Google Surveys. In total, 147 medical specialists from 12 provinces responded to the survey. The survey questionnaire was categorized into four legislative draft duties, according to the scope of practice (a total of 41 tasks): Twenty-nine tasks on treatments, injects, etc., performed under the guidance of a physician and other activities necessary for medical treatment (treatment domain); two tasks on collaboration and coordination; six tasks on education, counseling, and quality improvement; four regarding other necessary tasks. Participants were asked whether they were willing to delegate the tasks to APN. RESULTS: The intention to delegate tasks to APN was higher for non-invasive tasks such as blood sampling (97.3%) or simple dressing (96.6%). Invasive tasks such as endotracheal tube insertion (10.2%), sampling: bone marrow biopsy & aspiration (23.8%) showed low intention to delegate in the treatment domain. Participants who were older, male, and had more work careers with APN, showed a higher intention to delegate tasks. CONCLUSION: To prevent confusion in the clinical setting, a clear agreement on the scope of APN practice as APN delegated by physicians should be established. Based on this study, legal practices that APN can perform legally should be established.

Solid part size is an important predictor of nodal metastasis in lung cancer with a subsolid tumor.

BACKGROUND: Candidates for preoperative or intraoperative nodal assessment among patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) manifesting as a subsolid tumor are not established. The present study was conducted to demonstrate the distribution of nodal metastasis rate according to newly proposed T categories for subsolid tumors, and we further aimed to identify radiologic parameters that can be predictive of nodal metastasis. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed cases of NSCLC manifesting as a subsolid tumor in computed tomography scans in a university-affiliated tertiary hospital between April 2013 and August 2016. All patients underwent mediastinal lymph node dissection during resection surgery. Multivariate analysis was performed among clinical and radiologic parameters. RESULTS: Of the 269 eligible patients, T-categories were classified as cTis (n = 23, 8.6%), cT1 (n = 203, 75.5%), and cT2 (n = 43, 16.0%). Ten patients (3.7%) had nodal metastasis: pN1 (n = 5, 1.9%), pN2 (n = 5, 1.9%). Nodal metastasis was not observed in tumors with a solid part ≤1.0 cm (cT1mi and cT1a) or in nonsolid tumors ≤3.0 cm (cTis). The nodal metastasis rate in cT1b, cT1c, and cT2 tumors was 6.1% (4/65), 8.3% (1/12), and 11.7% (5/43), respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that a solid part size > 1.5 cm [odds ratio, 5.89; 95% confidence interval, 1.25-27.68, p = 0.025] was significantly associated with nodal metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: We observed nodal metastasis from cT1b tumors (solid part size > 1 cm) among proposed T categories for subsolid tumors and a solid part size is an important radiologic parameter predictive of nodal metastasis in NSCLC manifesting as a subsolid tumor. Considering the low rate of nodal metastasis, pathologic nodal assessment may be unnecessary in early T category tumors with a small solid part size.

Successful removal of endobronchial blood clots using bronchoscopic cryotherapy at bedside in the intensive care unit.

Acute airway obstruction after hemoptysis occurs due to the presence of blood clots. These conditions may result in life-threatening ventilation impairment. We report a case of obstruction of the large airway by endobronchial blood clots which were removed using bronchoscopic cryotherapy at the bedside of intensive care unit. A 66-year-old female with endometrial cancer who had undergone chemotherapy, was admitted to the intensive care unit due to neutropenic fever. During mechanical ventilation, the minute ventilation dropped to inadequately low levels and chest radiography showed complete opacification of the left hemithorax. Flexible bronchoscopy revealed large blood clots obstructing the proximal left main bronchus. After unsuccessful attempts to remove the clots with bronchial lavage and forceps extraction, blood clots were removed using bronchoscopic cryotherapy. This report shows that cryotherapy via flexible bronchoscopy at the bedside in the intensive of intensive care unit is a simple and effective alternative for the removal of endobronchial blood clots.

The long-term course of ground-glass opacities detected on thin-section computed tomography.

BACKGROUND: Focal ground-glass opacity (GGO) is becoming a major concern because of its possible association with lung cancer. In this study, we analyzed the long-term progression of GGOs that persisted for more than 2 years. METHODS: We reviewed focal GGOs identified by thin-section computed tomography that persisted for more than 2 years. RESULTS: We enrolled a total of 114 patients with 175 GGO lesions. The median patient age was 61 years (range, 37-92 years) and 42 (36.8%) patients were male. Mean initial GGO size was 7.8 ± 4.4 mm. Median follow-up duration was 45 months. Forty-six (26.3%) GGOs had significant size increases (≥2 mm in the longest diameter) with a mean volume doubling time of 1041 days. In a multivariate analysis, large size (≥10 mm), the presence of a solid portion (mixed GGO) and old age (≥65 years) were risk factors for significant size increase, with odds ratios (95% CI) of 6.46 (2.69-15.6), 2.69 (1.11-6.95) and 2.55 (1.13-5.77), respectively. GGOs with character changes from pure to mixed or mixed to solid showed more rapid volume expansion. CONCLUSIONS: GGOs which persisted for several years showed an indolent course. Large lesions with a solid portion and GGOs in male or elderly individuals may be cause for more concern, as these factors were associated with size increase. Resection should be considered if GGOs show character changes, as these may be associated with rapid size progression.