RESUMEN
Unilateral exudative pleural effusions have been described as a rare complication of polycystic liver disease. Surgical debridement of the main cyst reduces recurrence of the pleural effusion. We describe the case of an elderly Asian woman with recurrent large right-sided pleural effusion and also a large hepatic cyst under her right hemidiaphragm. She was deemed a poor surgical candidate and was treated with an indwelling pleural catheter (IPC). She was discharged from Sengkang General Hospital with improvement in symptoms. An 88-year-old Asian woman presented twice to Sengkang General Hospital with recurrent right-sided exudative pleural effusion. She had a past medical history of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, ischemic heart disease (left ventricle ejection fraction 55%), atrial fibrillation, and chronic kidney disease stage 3 (estimated glomerular filtration rate 53). She denied any family history of polycystic kidney or liver disease. Computer tomography of her chest, abdomen, and pelvis revealed a large right pleural effusion and also a large hepatic cyst. A pleural catheter was inserted and the fluid analysis was consistent with an exudative effusion. The pleural fluid was sterile to culture for bacteria and mycobacterium. The cytology was negative for malignant cells. The pleural effusion recurred quickly despite repeated large-volume drainage from the pleural catheter. Our patient was not suitable for surgical debridement of the hepatic cyst and eventually received an IPC and was discharged. With the advent of IPC, there has been increasing interest in using IPC in the management of non-malignant pleural effusions. While surgical debridement of hepatic cysts is the preferred treatment option in recurrent pleural effusion associated with polycystic liver disease, IPCs now provide another viable and minimally invasive option for clinicians and patients.
RESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) identified individuals at high risk for lung cancer and showed that serial low-dose helical computer tomographic scans (CT) were able to identify lung cancer at an earlier stage and also demonstrated mortality reduction. However, there has been little evidence regarding the effectiveness of the Lung Cancer Screening Criteria in the Asian population. METHODS: To determine lung cancer patients who miss out on Lung Cancer screening criteria, we performed a retrospective audit from January to December 2018 in our hospital, and describe the characteristics of our patients diagnosed with lung cancer. RESULTS: We found that only 38.1% of the patients in our cohort who were diagnosed with lung cancer in 2018 fitted into NLST Criteria strictly by age and smoking criteria. However, those who fitted the inclusion criteria of lung cancer screening would derive significant benefits, as 85.4% presented at advanced stage and 54.6% did not survive one year. We explored using the United States Preventive Services Task Force criteria, which increased sensitivity to 58.7% of identifying our patients with diagnosed lung cancer. 15.5% of females with lung cancer in our cohort fitted into NLST Criteria, but their low smoking quantity is a significant contributing factor for females being excluded. CONCLUSION: Majority of Singapore patients diagnosed with lung cancer would not have been picked up by NLST Criteria, especially female patients. However, those who fitted the inclusion criteria would derive significant benefit, while expanding to an older limit may yield benefits with improved sensitivity.
