The Nine-Year Survival of Patients Operated for Non-Small-Cell Lung Carcinoma in a Tertiary Centre: The Impact of the Tumour Stage and Other Patient-Related Parameters.

Background and Objectives: The mainstay treatment of non-small-cell lung carcinoma is still surgery, but its impact on survival beyond nine years has never been reported/analysed in Romania. Therefore, we studied the clinical characteristics and the short- and long-term survival of a population of 1369 patients diagnosed and treated in a single institution, with the variables included in the database being collected retrospectively. Materials and Methods: In this paper, we aimed to study a number of factors that might influence prognosis and survival in non-small bronchopulmonary carcinoma. Consequently, we analysed a series of parameters such as the age of patients, their sex, the histopathological type, the tumour stage, the presence of bronchial invasion, and the completeness of surgical resection. Results: All patients underwent major lung resection for curative purposes (pneumonectomy, lobectomy, or bilobectomy) between January 2015 and January 2023. The vital status of patients included in the study was obtained by checking the DGEP (General Directorate for Persons Record) database and verifying the reporting of "non-deceased" by the hospital administrative database, as well as by telephone interviews (with patients or their relatives). On univariate analysis, predictors of worse survival were the following: male sex (the hazard of death was 1.54 times higher in men); pT (compared to pT1 tumours, pT2 tumours have a 1.60 times higher hazard of death, pT3 tumours have a 2.16 times higher hazard, and pT4 tumours have a 2.97 times higher hazard); maximum tumour size (a 10 mm increase in tumour size is associated with a 10% increase in the hazard of death); the degree of differentiation (compared to patients with G1 tumours, those with G3 tumours have a 2.16 times higher hazard of death); resectability (compared to R0, R1 B+ has a 1.84 times higher hazard of death, R1 V+ has a 1.82 times higher hazard of death, and R1 B+&V+ has a 2.40 times higher hazard of death). Conclusions: As a result, long-term survival can be achieved after complete surgery for NSCLC, and factors that classically predict overall survival suggest that both the initial tumour aggressiveness and host characteristics act beyond the period usually considered in oncology.

Navigating the Maze: Exploring Non-Oncological Complexities in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Pulmonary oncological pathologies are an important public health problem and the association with other pulmonary lesions may pose difficulties in diagnosis and staging or require different treatment options. To address this complexity, we conducted a retrospective observational study at the Marius Nasta Institute of Pneumophthisiology, Bucharest, Romania. Our study focused on patients admitted in 2019 with non-small-cell lung carcinoma and associated pulmonary lesions identified through surgical resection specimens. Among the 314 included patients, multiple pulmonary nodules were observed on macroscopic examination, with 12% (N = 37) exhibiting nonmalignant etiologies upon microscopic examination. These findings underscore the challenge of preoperative staging. Patients with coexisting nonmalignant lesions were similar in age, smoking habits, and professional or environmental exposure by comparison with those who presented only malignant lesions. The presentation of coexisting malignant and nonmalignant lesions may pose difficulties in diagnosing and staging pulmonary cancer.

Spontaneous Pulmonary Hematoma: Case Report of a Giant Post-COVID-19 Hematoma and Literature Review.

Pulmonary hematomas are a rare pathology. Although they are usually reported post-traumatically, there are also spontaneous forms in pulmonary pathologies or during drug therapy. In these spontaneous entities, primitive forms are rarely described, although the contributory local pulmonary pathological terrain or a specific associated medication has not yet been identified. We present the case of a patient who developed a giant pulmonary hematoma that appeared spontaneously during recovery from COVID-19 infection. It appeared in one of the two bullae-like cystic lung lesions developed during secondary COVID-19 infection. The clinical impact was major, with hypotension and anemia being observed, requiring hemodynamic support and the adjustment of drug therapy. The clinical course was favorable, with a quasi-complete resolution of both the hematoma and a second cystic lesion being observable at 8 months by pulmonary remodeling. Spontaneous pulmonary hematomas may constitute a pathological entity associated with a post-COVID-19 remodeling process of the lung and the related anticoagulant treatment, which should be recognized, especially in the actual COVID-19 pandemic or in the widespread use of anticoagulant treatment. Conservative treatment is the method of choice, even in giant lung forms.

Imagistic Findings Using Artificial Intelligence in Vaccinated versus Unvaccinated SARS-CoV-2-Positive Patients Receiving In-Care Treatment at a Tertiary Lung Hospital.

BACKGROUND: In December 2019 the World Health Organization announced that the widespread severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection had become a global pandemic. The most affected organ by the novel virus is the lung, and imaging exploration of the thorax using computer tomography (CT) scanning and X-ray has had an important impact. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We assessed the prevalence of lung lesions in vaccinated versus unvaccinated SARS-CoV-2 patients using an artificial intelligence (AI) platform provided by Medicai. The software analyzes the CT scans, performing the lung and lesion segmentation using a variant of the U-net convolutional network. RESULTS: We conducted a cohort study at a tertiary lung hospital in which we included 186 patients: 107 (57.52%) male and 59 (42.47%) females, of which 157 (84.40%) were not vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2. Over five times more unvaccinated patients than vaccinated ones are admitted to the hospital and require imaging investigations. More than twice as many unvaccinated patients have more than 75% of the lungs affected. Patients in the age group 30-39 have had the most lung lesions at almost 69% of both lungs affected. Compared to vaccinated patients with comorbidities, unvaccinated patients with comorbidities had developed increased lung lesions by 5%. CONCLUSION: The study revealed a higher percentage of lung lesions among unvaccinated SARS-CoV-2-positive patients admitted to The National Institute of Pulmonology "Marius Nasta" in Bucharest, Romania, underlining the importance of vaccination and also the usefulness of artificial intelligence in CT interpretation.

Pulmonary Crohn's Disease or Crohn's Disease with Lung Sarcoidosis? A Case Report and Literature Review.

BACKGROUND: Crohn's disease and ulcerative hemorrhagic colitis are forms of granulomatous inflammatory intestinal disease, which usually affects the gastrointestinal tract. There are also reported rare localizations at the skin, kidney, joints, liver and eye level. Pulmonary involvement is relatively rare, and it is most commonly reported in suppuration with bronchiectasis. On the other hand, sarcoidosis is, in principle, a thoracic localization of a granulomatosis disease, although bowel, skin and intestinal disorders are described. There is not a clear line to separate Crohn's disease from sarcoidosis with, possibly because they are, in fact, considered to have the same inflammatory granulomatosis disease pathology. The diagnoses of the two entities, sarcoidosis and Crohn's disease, are based on non-pathognomonic, inclusive clinical and paraclinical criteria, without elements of the mutual exclusion of typical locations. CASE REPORT: We present a very rare case of a young male, already diagnosed with small-bowel Crohn's disease. Granulomatous lung disease with major hemoptysis requires emergency surgery. An intraoperative assessment revealed a necrotic hemorrhagic lesion located in the left lower lobe and a lobectomy was performed. The final pathological report showed the presence of non-caseous granulomatous inflammation, with the identification of specific multinucleated giant cells. CONCLUSIONS: The identical diagnostic principles of Crohn's disease and sarcoidosis, Crohn's disease as a predecessor to pulmonary lesions, the clinical picture and the necrotico-hemorrhagic appearance of the unilateral pulmonary lesion, which are similar to aggressive necrotico-hemorrhagic or perforating intestinal forms, are arguments in favor of the diagnosis of pulmonary Crohn's disease and not pulmonary sarcoidosis. At the same time, in general, the two diseases have overlapping elements, suggesting they are, in fact, not the same disease with different facets.