Idiopathic Lymphocytic Pleuritis Responding to Corticosteroid Therapy.

An 83-year-old man presented with chronic dyspnea, and chest X-ray showed bilateral pleural effusion. Right thoracentesis revealed lymphocyte-predominant exudate with no malignancy; bacterial and mycobacterial cultures were negative. Thoracoscopy via the right chest and a biopsy of the same site were performed; these showed lymphoplasmacytic infiltration and fibrosis, ruling out malignancy or tuberculosis. We decided to start corticosteroid therapy for the diagnosis of idiopathic lymphocytic pleuritis (ILP). The patient was discharged after clinical improvement, and steroids were tapered off. An early diagnosis by thoracoscopy and the exclusion of other diseases are important for initiating steroid therapy in patients with ILP.

Left Main Bronchus Obstruction in a Patient with Small-cell Lung Cancer Successfully Treated with Venovenous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

Lung cancer can cause fatal central airway obstruction. Rapid airway clearance is necessary in some cases, but ventilator management may be insufficient to maintain oxygenation levels. Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) may be an effective rescue therapy for respiratory failure, but its efficacy in treating tumor-related airway obstruction is unknown. We herein report a case of central airway obstruction and severe acute respiratory failure due to small-cell lung cancer successfully treated with VV-ECMO, bronchoscopic airway intervention, and chemotherapy. VV-ECMO can be an effective option for the treatment of central airway obstruction with acute respiratory failure due to lung cancer.

Association between intrapleural urokinase monotherapy and treatment failure in patients with pleural infection: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Pleural infection, an infection of the pleural space, is frequently treated with antibiotics and thoracic tube drainage. In case of insufficient drainage, an intrapleural fibrinolytic agent is considered before surgical intervention. However, the effectiveness of fibrinolytic monotherapy is still controversial. Therefore, we aimed to examine the association between urokinase monotherapy and treatment failure in patients with pleural infection. METHODS: In this retrospective observational study, patients with pleural infection underwent chest tube insertion were divided into two groups including patients treated with or without intrapleural instillation of urokinase. The propensity score overlap weighting was used to balance the baseline characteristics between the groups. Treatment failure was defined by the composite primary outcome of in-hospital death and referral for surgery. RESULTS: Among the 94 patients, 67 and 27 patients were in the urokinase and non-urokinase groups, respectively. Urokinase monotherapy improved the composite outcome between the groups (19.4% vs. 48.1%, p = 0.01). After adjusting using propensity score overlap weighting, urokinase monotherapy improved the composite outcome compared to the non-urokinase group (19.0% vs. 59.5%, p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Urokinase monotherapy can be an important nonsurgical treatment option for patients with pleural infection. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The participants were retrospectively registered.

Immunogenicity and safety of COVID-19 vaccine in lung cancer patients receiving anticancer treatment: A prospective multicenter cohort study.

This study assessed the immunogenicity and safety of the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine in lung cancer patients receiving anticancer treatment. We enrolled lung cancer patients receiving anticancer treatment and non-cancer patients; all participants were fully vaccinated with the BNT162b2 vaccine. Blood samples were collected before the first and second vaccinations and 4 ± 1 weeks after the second vaccination. Anti-severe respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein S1 subunit receptor-binding domain antibody titers were measured using the Architect SARS-CoV-2 IgG II Quant and Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S assays. Fifty-five lung cancer patients and 38 non-cancer patients were included in the immunogenicity analysis. Lung cancer patients showed significant increase in the geometric mean antibody concentration, which was significantly lower than that in the non-cancer patients after the first (30 vs. 121 AU/mL, p < .001 on Architect; 4.0 vs 1.2 U/mL, p < .001 on Elecsys) and second vaccinations (1632 vs. 3472 AU/mL, p = .005 on Architect; 213 vs 573 A/mL, p = .002 on Elecsys). The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for seroprotection was significantly lower (p < .05) in lung cancer patients than that in non-cancer patients. Analysis of the anticancer treatment types showed that the aOR for seroprotection was significantly lower (p < .05) in lung cancer patients receiving cytotoxic agents. They showed no increase in adverse reactions. BNT162b2 vaccination in lung cancer patients undergoing anticancer treatment significantly increased (p < .05) antibody titers and showed acceptable safety. Immunogenicity in these patients could be inadequate compared with that in non-cancer patients.

The relationship between chest tube position in the thoracic cavity and treatment failure in patients with pleural infection: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Pleural infection is an infection of the pleural space that is usually treated with antibiotics and source control. Chest tube insertion is the most popular and widely used drainage technique. We typically attempt to place the tube at the bottom of the thoracic cavity to consider the effects of gravity; however, the effectiveness of this practice is not well-defined. Therefore, we aimed to examine whether the position of the tip of the thoracic tube affects treatment failure in patients with pleural infection. METHODS: In this retrospective observational study, patients with pleural infection who underwent thoracic tube insertion were divided into two groups: those with the tip of the tube positioned below the 10th thoracic vertebra at the level of the diaphragm (lower position group) and those with the tip placed above the 9th thoracic vertebra (upper position group). We compared whether the position of the tube tip affected treatment failure. Stabilized inverse probability treatment weights (SIPTW) were used to balance the baseline characteristics between the groups. Treatment failure showed a composite outcome of hospital death, referral to surgeons for surgery, and additional chest tube insertion. RESULTS: Among the 87 patients, 41 and 46 patients were in the lower and upper groups, respectively. No significant difference was observed in the composite outcomes between the groups (46.3% vs. 54.3%, P = 0.596). There was also no significant difference in the composite outcome between both groups after adjusting for SIPTW (52.3% vs. 68.8%, P = 0.286). CONCLUSIONS: There were no significant differences in the treatment failure in this study addressing pleural infection treatment, in which the drain tip position was stratified by the 9th and 10th thoracic vertebrae. The position of the tip of the thoracic tube may not be important for pleural infection treatment providing that it is in the thoracic cavity. Trial registration The participants were registered retrospectively.

Febrile neutropenia in a patient with non-small-cell lung cancer treated with atezolizumab: A case report.

Hematological immune-related adverse events (hem-irAEs) related to immunotherapy have not been extensively characterized, and there is no report of neutropenia caused by atezolizumab administration. Herein, we report a case of febrile neutropenia caused by a hem-irAEs due to atezolizumab, which was treated with granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) and antibiotic prophylaxis. It is important that oncologists be aware of the hematological toxicities of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Furthermore, antibiotics and G-CSF should be administered until absolute neutrophil count recovery in cases of febrile neutropenia complicated by atezolizumab. Systemic corticosteroids should not be administered because they can accentuate the risk of infection.

[ADOPTION OF ENHANCED RECOVERY AFTER SURGERY (ERAS) PROTOCOL FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS UNDERGOING RADICAL CYSTECTOMY IN JAPAN].

(Objectives) The Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols are standardized and multimodal perioperative care pathways designed to improve surgical outcomes by minimizing stress response and inflammation following surgery. First adopted in colorectal surgery, ERAS is now being employed in various other types of surgeries, most recently in patients undergoing radical cystectomy (RC). Implementation of ERAS protocols resulted in reductions in perioperative complication rates and length of hospital stay (LOS). However, information on the adoption of ERAS in patients undergoing RC in Japan is limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ERAS implemented in the Toyohashi Municipal Hospital in 2017 for the management of patients with RC. (Patients and methods) This was a retrospective study of 103 patients who underwent RC and urinary diversion from January 2012 to March 2019. Of the 103 patients, 71 underwent surgery prior to the introduction of the ERAS were allocated to the 'traditional' group, while 32 were exposed to the ERAS protocol were allocated to the 'ERAS' group. In this study, ERAS included no bowel preparation, preoperative carbohydrate loading, preoperative fluid reduction, preoperative fasting, reduced drainage use, no nasogastric intubation, and early postoperative drinking and eating. A comparative analysis was performed to evaluate LOS and postoperative complication rate (Clavien classification ≥2) after RC between the 'traditional' and 'ERAS' groups. (Results) Patient characteristics and intraoperative variables such as median age, sex, body mass index, clinical and pathological cancer stage, amount of bleeding, need for transfusion, and technique of urinary diversion did not differ between groups. However, duration of surgery was significantly shorter in the ERAS group than in the traditional group (402 min vs. 470 min; P = 0.03). Further, rate of complication was significantly lower (43.8% vs. 67.6%; P=0.03) and LOS after RC was significantly shorter (21 days vs. 28 days; P<0.001) in the ERAS group compared to the traditional group. Moreover, ERAS was an independent factor affecting shorter LOS after RC (OR, 5.22; 95% CI, 1.52-17.90; P = 0.009) in multivariate analyses. (Conclusions) It is possible that the ERAS protocol adopted in this study reduced the LOS and postoperative complication rate after RC at this site in Japan.

Efficacy of zoledronic acid in older prostate cancer patients undergoing androgen deprivation therapy.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of annual zoledronic acid treatment in Japanese patients with nonmetastatic prostate cancer during androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). METHODS: This is a single institution 12-month study. Between 2016 and 2019, patients aged 70 years or older on ADT for nonmetastatic prostate cancer had bone mineral density (BMD) measured and 10-year probability of fracture calculated using fracture risk assessment tool (FRAX). Patients who showed osteopenia or had a 10-year hip fracture risk ≥ 3% or a 10-year probability of major osteoporotic fracture ≥ 20% were offered treatment with zoledronic acid 5 mg intravenously (ZA group). The patients who did not receive treatment were set as the control group. Lumbar and hip BMD were measured 6 and 12 months after treatment in the ZA group and 12 months after baseline in the control group. The yearly BMD change of both groups was compared. RESULTS: The mean ages of the ZA group (n = 26) and control group (n = 12) were 80.5 ± 9.1 and 76.1 ± 6.7 years, respectively. In the ZA group, lumbar and hip BMD changes at 12 months were +2.1% and +0.8%, respectively. In the control group, lumbar and hip BMD changes were -0.9% and -4.9%, respectively. There were statistically significant differences between the 2 groups in BMD percent changes (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Without intervention, BMD tends to continue to decrease during ADT. Our findings suggest that administration of zoledronic acid enables maintenance of BMD in the older adults.

[Questionnaire survey of peri-operative management of radical prostatectomy for the educational institutions of Japanese urological association].

OBJECTIVES: The perioperative management of radical prostatectomy in Japan has not been investigated previously. It would be significant to document present management practices. METHODS: A questionnaire survey of 1,213 educational institutions of Japanese urological association was conducted by mail. RESULTS: Questionnaires were returned from 722 (60%) institutions and responses indicated that radical prostatectomy was performed in 657 of these institutions (91%). Admission to hospital was most frequently scheduled on preoperative day 2; walking was most frequently planned to be initiated on postoperative day (POD) 1; beginning of food intake on POD 2; termination of continuous drip infusion and drain removal on POD 3, removal of the Foley catheter on POD 7; intravenous antibiotics for three days; oral antibiotics for 7 days; and discharge from hospital on POD 14. However, the duration of the indwelling drain and Foley catheter, antibiotic administration and hospitalization varied widely. CONCLUSION: There was great variety in the perioperative management of radical prostatectomy among hospitals. We need to obtain consensus on 1) the timing of drain removal, 2) duration of antibiotics, and 3) the timing of catheter removal, in order to uniformly provide medical care of good quality in Japan.