Hyperbaric oxygen combined with hydrogen-rich saline protects against acute lung injury.

Background: This study sought to investigate therapeutic effects of hydrogen-rich saline (HRS) combined with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) in an experimental rat model of acute lung injury (ALI). Method: Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham, LPS, LPS + HBO2, LPS + HRS, and LPS + HBO2 + HRS groups. After an intratracheal injection of LPS-induced ALI, the rats were given a single-agent HBO2 or HRS or HBO2 + HRS treatment. The treatments were continued for three days in this experimental rat model of ALI. At the end of experiment, the lung pathological, inflammatory factors, and cell apoptosis in the pulmonary tissue were detected by Tunel method and cell apoptosis rate was calculated accordingly. Results: In the groups treated with HBO2 + HRS, pulmonary pathological data, wet-dry weight ratio, and inflammatory factors of pulmonary tissues and alveolar lavage fluid were significantly superior to those of the sham group (p≺0.05). Cell apoptosis detection revealed that no single agent treatment of HRS or HBO2, or combination treatment, could alleviate all cell apoptosis. HRS combined with HBO2 treatment was superior to single treatment (p≺0.05). Conclusion: HRS or HBO2 single treatment could decrease inflammatory cytokines release in lung tissue, reduce the accumulation of oxidative products and alleviate apoptosis of pulmonary cells, then lead to positive therapeutic effects on ALI induced by LPS. Furthermore, HBO2 combined with HRS treatment presented a synergy effect on cell apoptosis decrease and a decline in inflammatory cytokine release and related inflammatory product generation, compared with a single treatment.

Lung cancer coexisting with Papiliotrema flavescens infection diagnosed by next-generation sequencing: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Papiliotrema flavescens is a rare environmental yeast, which has been isolated from air, trees, kernels of wheat and corn, fermenting soya sauce, and cerebrospinal fluid of patient with AIDS. Additionally, it is also reported to cause subcutaneous infection in a dog. In this case, we describe primary lung adenocarcinoma coexisting with Papiliotrema flavescens infection in a female patient diagnosed by next-generation sequencing (NGS) technique, which is the first such reported case. CASE PRESENTATION: The patient was a 52-year-old female with recurrent cough for 3 months. Chest CT examination revealed a ground glass nodule of 17 * 23 * 18 mm in the right upper lung, and 3 new pulmonary nodules appeared around it 2 months later. The patient underwent right upper lobe lobectomy and pathology confirmed that the primary 2-cm-lesion in the right upper lobe was invasive lung adenocarcinoma, and two of the three surrounding lung nodules were pathologically suggestive of pulmonary fungal infection (not known in specific fungal types). Hence, the patient received empirical anti-fungal treatments with fluconazole 400 mg/day for a week and follow-up CT scanning showed no tumor progression and no relapse of fungal infection. The specific pathogen was eventually identified as Papiliotrema flavescens by the next-generation sequencing of pathogen. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: We first reported that lung cancer coexisting with Papiliotrema flavescens infection in a female patient. The diagnosis of lung cancer with typical CT imaging features is relatively simple, while the diagnosis of lung cancer coexisting with rare fungal infection is challenging. NGS technique is an effective supplementary technique for clinical diagnosis of bacterial or fungal infectious diseases, enabling precise clinical decision-making and appropriate treatment. In this case, the lung cancer may result in a degree of immune suppression, at least locally, resulting in the formation of pulmonary fungal nodular lesions around the tumor.

Clinical application of a multi-groove silicone drain combined with unidirectional negative-pressure drainage system in single-operating-port video-assisted thoracoscopic lung cancer surgery: a comparison study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of a new negative-pressure drainage system in thoracoscopic lung cancer surgery; thereby, providing a new option for postoperative drainage. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed data for 200 patients who underwent thoracoscopic surgery between May 2018 and October 2019. According to the thoracic drainage method, the patients were divided into the thoracic tube group and the new system group. The epidemiological and clinicopathological data were compared before operation, and the clinical effect of thoracic drainage was compared after operation. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in epidemiological and clinicopathological data between the two groups. There was also no significant difference in drain removal time, hospital stay, and complication rates between the two groups. However, the incidences of pleural effusion and poor incision healing in the new system group were lower than in the thoracic tube group. Visual analog scale (VAS) scores in the new system group were lower than those in the thoracic tube group at each postoperative interval; therefore, the new system group required less analgesia. CONCLUSION: The new system was not inferior to thoracic tubes regarding the drainage effect after thoracoscopic lung cancer surgery. Hence, the system is an alternative to traditional thoracic tubes.