Parvovirus B19 infection after kidney transplantation: A single centre experience.

Background: Parvovirus B19 is an uncommon cause of anaemia in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). The study aims to determine the incidence, clinical presentation, laboratory findings and outcome of parvovirus B19-related anaemia in KTR. Method: We conducted a 12-year retrospective, single-centre study describing the clinical profile of KTRs with parvovirus B19-related anaemia. Result: Amongst the 714 patients who underwent kidney transplantation between January 2011 and January 2023, (cumulative follow-up: 1287 patient-years), six females and one male, developed parvovirus B19-related anaemia. The incidence proportion (risk) is 0.98% with an incidence rate of 5.43 cases per 1000 patient-year. The median duration from transplant to development of anaemia was 6 weeks (range: 4-40 weeks). The mean fall in haemoglobin was 2.88 ± 1.55 gm/dl; concomitant leukopenia and thrombocytopenia were observed in 57.1 and 28.6% of patients. Three patients responded to a reduction in immunosuppression, the four non-responders required the administration of low-dose intravenous immunoglobulin. The mean duration from initiation of therapy to a sustained rise in haemoglobin was 7.71 ± 2.62 weeks. None of the patients had a relapse of the infection. Conclusions: Parvovirus B19 infection is an uncommon cause of post-transplant refractory anaemia. The key to successfully managing such patients includes a high index of suspicion, early diagnosis and reduction of immunosuppression with or without administration of intravenous immunoglobulin.

The Use of POCUS to Manage ICU Patients With COVID-19.

Since the advent of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, clinicians have had to modify how they provide high-value care while mitigating the risk of viral spread. Routine imaging studies have been discouraged due to elevated transmission risk. Patients who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 often have a protracted hospital course with progression of disease. Given the need for close follow-up of patients, we recommend the use of ultrasonography, particularly point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), to manage patients with COVID-19 through their entire ICU course. POCUS will allow a clinician to evaluate and monitor cardiac and pulmonary function, as well as evaluate for thromboembolic disease, place an endotracheal tube, confirm central venous catheter placement, and rule out a pneumothorax. If a patient improves sufficiently to perform weaning trials, POCUS can also help evaluate readiness for ventilator liberation.

The Impact of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure upon Pleural Fluid Pressures during Thoracentesis.

BACKGROUND: Excessive drop of pleural pressure (Ppl) during therapeutic thoracentesis may be related to adverse events and/or to repeated procedures due to incomplete drainage. OBJECTIVE: This was a pilot study of the impact of the application of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) at +5 cm H2O upon the Ppl profile during thoracentesis. METHODS: This was a prospective, controlled study of 49 consecutive adults who underwent thoracentesis. Enrollment was via alternation on a one-to-one basis. Pleural manometry was used to compare serial Ppl in patients using CPAP at +5 cm H2O (CPAP group) with Ppl in patients without CPAP (control group). RESULTS: Mean volumes drained were comparable between CPAP and control groups (1,380 vs. 1,396 mL). Patients in the CPAP group had a significantly greater change in volume per centimeter water column pressure (p = 0.0231, 95% confidence interval 6.41-82.61). No patient in the CPAP group had a Ppl less than -20 cm H2O at termination of the procedure, while 8 (33%) control group patients developed a pressure lower than -20. No patient in either group developed re-expansion pulmonary edema. CONCLUSION: The application of CPAP at +5 cm H2O mitigates the decreases in Ppl caused by thoracentesis via an increase in pleural compliance. The clinical implications of this finding merit study.

Real-time Tracheal Ultrasound for the Confirmation of Endotracheal Intubations in the Intensive Care Unit: An Observational Study.

OBJECTIVES: Current methods to confirm endotracheal tube (ETT) placement have varying degrees of effectiveness and time to completion. We aimed to study the accuracy of real-time tracheal ultrasound (US) to confirm ETT placement in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting. METHODS: This work was a prospective study completed at 2 academic tertiary care centers. Patients in the adult ICU requiring emergent intubation were enrolled in the trial. During the intubation process, a US team performed a tracheal US examination to determine, in real time, whether the ETT was placed into the trachea or the esophagus. RESULTS: A total of 75 patients were enrolled in the study and were available for analysis. There were 12 (16%) esophageal intubations and 63 (84%) tracheal intubations. One hundred percent of the tracheal intubations and 83% of the esophageal intubations were correctly identified. The positive and negative predictive values of US to detect an esophageal intubation were 100% and 97%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Tracheal US can be highly accurate in identifying the location of the ETT, in real time, in ICU patients undergoing emergent intubation. Although our study shows a great potential of real-time US use during emergent intubations, larger studies would be needed to further evaluate the accuracy of this technique.

Usefulness and safety of transbronchial biopsy with large forceps during flexible bronchoscopy.

Transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) using forceps is one of the most common procedures used to obtain lung tissue. The procedure's usefulness remains limited when diagnosing interstitial lung diseases. This retrospective descriptive study analyzed the feasibility and safety of using large forceps for TBLB in all patients who underwent TBLB from 2014 to 2018 for diffuse lung disease where the diagnosis could not be made by high-resolution chest computed tomography. We excluded patients with radiographic features of usual interstitial pneumonia. Among the 35 study patients, 7 were men and 28 were women. Diagnoses included respiratory associated bronchiolitis (7), diffuse alveolar damage (4), organizing pneumonia (4), nonspecific interstitial pneumonitis (3), acute fibrinous organizing pneumonia (3), sarcoidosis (2), hypersensitivity pneumonitis (2), IgG4 interstitial lung disease (1), eosinophilic pneumonia (1), pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (1), pulmonary fibrosis (1), pneumocystis (1), plasma-rich bronchiolitis (1), and diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (1). In three cases, the biopsies were nondiagnostic. Two patients developed a pneumothorax, and one required chest tube placement. There was one episode of minor bleeding. No escalation of care or hospitalization was required. Large-forceps TBLB is a feasible and safe method for obtaining parenchymal lung biopsies.

Usefulness of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in status asthmaticus with severe tracheal stenosis.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, traditionally used to treat refractory hypoxemic respiratory failure due to acute respiratory distress syndrome, is being used to treat other etiologies of severe respiratory failure refractory to conventional mechanical ventilation. We present a 30-year-old woman with concomitant life-threatening airway obstruction due to severe tracheal stenosis and status asthmaticus treated effectively with veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

Successful rigid bronchoscopic resection of recurrent pulmonary inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor after complete surgical resection.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor, previously named inflammatory pseudotumor, is a biologically borderline mesenchymal neoplasm often associated with an inflammatory infiltrate. The incidence of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor has been found to range from 0.04% to 1.2%, with endobronchial cases being extremely rare. The treatment of choice for pulmonary inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor is complete surgical resection. However, disease recurrence has been reported. Modalities used to treat recurrent and metastatic disease include surgical resection and corticosteroids. We present a case of recurrent endobronchial inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor that was successfully treated endoscopically with rigid bronchoscopy and laser debulking without need for further surgical intervention.

Cisatracurium dosing in a patient with hyperthermia.

PURPOSE: A case report involving varying cisatracurium dosing requirements in a hyperthermic patient undergoing prone ventilation who subsequently received active cooling as part of targeted temperature management is presented. SUMMARY: Cisatracurium is known to be primarily metabolized via pH- and temperature-dependent Hofmann elimination. Previous reports in the literature described cases of decreased dosing requirements for both cisatracurium and its parent compound, atracurium, for patients in hypothermic states. While augmented atracurium dosing requirements in hyperthermic states have been reported, a literature search found no such reports concerning cisatracurium administration. In the case described here, a patient was initiated on cisatracurium for treatment of symptoms suggestive of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and septic shock. An initial dosing requirement of 12 µg/kg/min (adjusted to a goal of 2-4 twitches per train-of-four monitoring) was needed to achieve adequate paralysis while the patient remained hyperthermic (a bladder temperature of 40.1°C). This cisatracurium infusion rate exceeded maximum reported and maximum institutional infusion rates (10 µg/kg/min). After initiation of cooling and lowering of the bladder temperature to 37.8°C, the cisatracurium rate requirement decreased to 5 µg/kg/min. CONCLUSION: A hyperthermic patient thought to have ARDS and septic shock required a high rate of cisatracurium infusion for adequate paralysis during mechanical ventilation. The cisatracurium did not appear to cause prolonged neuromuscular blockade.

Impact of Moderate Sedation versus Monitored Anesthesia Care on Outcomes and Cost of Endobronchial Ultrasound Transbronchial Needle Aspiration.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The ideal type of sedation for endobronchial ultrasound transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is not known. Two previous studies comparing the diagnostic yield between moderate sedation (MS) and deep sedation/general anesthesia (DS/GA) had provided conflicting results with one study clearly favoring the latter. No study had addressed cost. This is concerning for pulmonologists without routine access to anesthesia services. Our objective was to assess the impact of MS and Monitored Anesthesia Care (sedation administered and monitored by an anesthesiologist) on the outcomes and cost of EBUS-TBNA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of prospectively collected data on consecutive EBUS-TBNA performed under two different types of sedation in a single academic center. A diagnostic TBNA was defined as an aspirate yielding any specific diagnosis or if subsequent surgery or follow-up of nondiagnostic/normal aspirates showed no pathology. Current Medicare time-based allowances were used for professional charges calculation. RESULTS: There was no difference observed between MS and MAC in regards of the diagnostic yield (92.9% versus 91.9%), procedure duration, number, location, and size of lymph node (LN) sampled, but there were more passes per LN with MAC. The average charges were 74.30 USD for MS and 319.91 for MAC. There were more hypotensive and desaturations episodes with MAC but none required escalation of care. CONCLUSIONS: When performed under MS, EBUS-TBNA has similar diagnostic yield as under MAC but may be associated with less side effects. The difference in sedation cost is modest; however, an additional 245$ for each EBUS done under MAC would have significant cost implications on the health system. These findings are of critical importance for bronchoscopists without routine access to anesthesia services and for optimization of healthcare cost and resource utilization.

A system-based intervention to reduce Black-White disparities in the treatment of early stage lung cancer: A pragmatic trial at five cancer centers.

BACKGROUND: Advances in early diagnosis and curative treatment have reduced high mortality rates associated with non-small cell lung cancer. However, racial disparity in survival persists partly because Black patients receive less curative treatment than White patients. METHODS: We performed a 5-year pragmatic, trial at five cancer centers using a system-based intervention. Patients diagnosed with early stage lung cancer, aged 18-85 were eligible. Intervention components included: (1) a real-time warning system derived from electronic health records, (2) race-specific feedback to clinical teams on treatment completion rates, and (3) a nurse navigator. Consented patients were compared to retrospective and concurrent controls. The primary outcome was receipt of curative treatment. RESULTS: There were 2841 early stage lung cancer patients (16% Black) in the retrospective group and 360 (32% Black) in the intervention group. For the retrospective baseline, crude treatment rates were 78% for White patients vs 69% for Black patients (P < 0.001); difference by race was confirmed by a model adjusted for age, treatment site, cancer stage, gender, comorbid illness, and income-odds ratio (OR) 0.66 for Black patients (95% CI 0.51-0.85, P = 0.001). Within the intervention cohort, the crude rate was 96.5% for Black vs 95% for White patients (P = 0.56). Odds ratio for the adjusted analysis was 2.1 (95% CI 0.41-10.4, P = 0.39) for Black vs White patients. Between group analyses confirmed treatment parity for the intervention. CONCLUSION: A system-based intervention tested in five cancer centers reduced racial gaps and improved care for all.

Iron pill pneumonitis with reactive lymph nodes.

Iron pill pneumonitis can result from accidental aspiration. It usually presents as a triad of airway inflammation, aspiration, and hemosiderin deposition. We report a case of an elderly woman with chronic cough, infiltrates, and lymphadenopathy on imaging alongside nonnecrotizing granulomas on biopsy diagnosed with iron pill pneumonitis.

Pleural-based granular cell tumor.

Granular cell tumors are rare tumors of Schwann cell origin that arise from tissues of neural crest and mesenchymal origin. We report the clinical, radiographic, and pathological features of a pleural-based granular cell tumor in a 60-year-old African American man.

A case report of lung ultrasound missing a pneumothorax due to patient positioning.

Lung ultrasound is increasingly utilized as a diagnostic tool for the detection of a pneumothorax. The effect of small changes in patient positioning on the accuracy of lung ultrasound to detect a pneumothorax is not well studied. We present the first known case of lung ultrasound missing a pneumothorax because of suboptimal patient positioning, and discuss the implications of our findings for clinicians that utilize lung ultrasound and for future research.

Endobronchial valves for bronchopleural fistula: pitfalls and principles.

BACKGROUND: Placement of endobronchial valves for bronchopleural fistula (BPF) is not always straightforward. A simple guide to the steps for an uncomplicated procedure does not encompass pitfalls that need to be understood and overcome to maximize the efficacy of this modality. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to discuss examples of difficult cases for which the placement of endobronchial valves was not straightforward and required alterations in the usual basic steps. Subsequently, we aimed to provide guiding principles for a successful procedure. METHODS: Six illustrative cases were selected to demonstrate issues that can arise during endobronchial valve placement. RESULTS: In each case, a real or apparent lack of decrease in airflow through a BPF was diagnosed and addressed. We have used the selected problem cases to illustrate principles, with the goal of helping to increase the success rate for endobronchial valve placement in the treatment of BPF. CONCLUSIONS: This series demonstrates issues that complicate effective placement of endobronchial valves for BPF. These issues form the basis for troubleshooting steps that complement the basic procedural steps.

Bronchial stenosis secondary to epidermolysis bullosa successfully treated with bronchoscopic balloon dilatation.

Epidermolysis bullosa rarely affects lower airways. We present a case of lower airway involvement and stenosis successfully managed with flexible bronchoscopy and balloon dilation.

A case report on the diagnosis of a rare pleural tumor with endobronchial ultrasound: breaking new boundaries.

Convex endobronchial ultrasound (C-EBUS)-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) is an effective tool for the diagnosis of hilar, mediastinal, and central parenchymal lung lesions. However, it has a limited utility for pleural-based masses. We report a unique case of a pleural synovial sarcoma recurrence that was diagnosed by C-EBUS. The patient had a history of inguinal synovial sarcoma. He presented with cough and chest pain. Imaging of chest revealed large right pleural mass. Bronchoscopy with EBUS-TBNA diagnosed pleural recurrence of synovial sarcoma. He underwent radical resection and pathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of pleural synovial sarcoma. He experienced complete recovery and resolution of symptoms. Synovial sarcoma should be included in the differential diagnosis of pleural masses. Convex EBUS-guided biopsies can provide adequate diagnosis of large pleural tumors adjacent to the central airways without need for more invasive diagnostic procedures.

Organising pneumonia in common variable immunodeficiency.

Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is the most common of the primary immunodeficiency disorders. Pulmonary manifestations are characterised by recurrent rhinosinusitis, respiratory tract infections and bronchiectasis. Less commonly the lung may be affected by lymphoid disorders and sarcoid-like granulomas. Organising pneumonia (OP) is a rare pulmonary manifestation. We report the case of a 32-year-old woman with CVID who presented with fever, dyspnoea and persistent lung infiltrates despite antibiotic therapy. CT of the chest showed bilateral patchy alveolar infiltrates. Pulmonary function tests revealed moderate restriction and reduction in diffusion capacity. Initial bronchoscopy with transbronchial biopsies did not yield a diagnosis but surgical lung biopsies identified OP. Significant clinical, radiographic and physiological improvement was achieved after institution of corticosteroid therapy.