Tobacco treatment in the setting of lung cancer screening.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Lung cancer screening by low-dose CT is an increasingly implemented preventive medicine tool. Screening for lung cancer is incomplete without addressing problematic tobacco use, the greatest modifiable risk factor in the development of lung cancer. This review describes recent work related to lung cancer screening and treatment of tobacco use in that context. RECENT FINDINGS: Implementation of lung cancer screening demonstrates socioeconomic disparities in terms of adherence to screening as well as likelihood of successful tobacco dependence treatment. Active tobacco dependence is a common comorbidity for patients undergoing lung cancer screening. The optimal implementation of tobacco dependence treatment in the context of lung cancer screening is still an area of active investigation. SUMMARY: Treatment of tobacco dependence at time of lung cancer screening is a major opportunity for clinicians to intervene to reduce the major modifiable risk factor for lung cancer, tobacco use. Providing comprehensive tobacco dependence treatment is most effective using combination pharmacologic and behavioral interventions. Practices providing comprehensive treatment will benefit from accurate documentation for billing and coding and supplementing with external resources such as state Quit Lines.

Disseminated Cryptococcosis in an Immunocompromised Patient with Altered Mental Status and a Lung Nodule.

Introduction: Disseminated cryptococcosis is an opportunistic infection that commonly affects the central nervous and respiratory systems and is often fatal in immunocompromised host patients. Diagnosing disseminated cryptococcosis is challenging at times due to the nonspecific presentation, resulting in delayed treatment and increased mortality. Case presentation: A 48-year-old man presented with altered mental status and shortness of breath requiring intubation. Medical history was significant for rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, sarcoidosis, and polymyalgia rheumatica. Home medications included prednisone, methotrexate, and tocilizumab. Computed tomography chest revealed multifocal pneumonia with a cavitary nodule with halo sign. One week after extubation, the patient remained confused. Lumbar puncture (LP) was positive for Cryptococcus neoformans within 5 days. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) yielded similar results on fungal culture one month later. Conclusion: An immunocompromised host patient who presents with altered mental status with concomitant lung nodules should have disseminated cryptococcosis as a differential diagnosis. CT chest commonly demonstrate peripheral lung nodules with cavitation, air bronchograms, halo sign, and/or enlarged mediastinal lymphadenopathy, as found in our patient. If the clinical suspicion for disseminated cryptococcosis is high, an LP should be performed, as BAL results may often be delayed since Cryptococcus grows slowly from the lungs. Empiric antifungals should be started immediately, given increased mortality if treatment is delayed.

Human Metapneumovirus Pneumonia Precipitating Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in an Adult Patient.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is often due to direct lung injury, trauma, surgery, or infection. Making a definitive diagnosis may be difficult initially, as clinical manifestations are nonspecific until the disease progresses. We present a case of human metapneumovirus (hMPV) pulmonary infection precipitating ARDS. A 51-year-old woman presented with one week of pleuritic chest pain, dyspnea, wheezing, subjective fever, and productive cough prior to presentation. Her medical history was significant for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) with an unknown CD4 count and viral load, pulmonary sarcoidosis, asthma, and being an active smoker. On admission, the patient was dyspneic and using accessory muscles to breathe. She was afebrile and hypotensive. Physical examination revealed bilateral diffuse crackles. Her white blood cell (WBC) count was 7.7 K/mcL. A chest radiograph demonstrated bilateral lung opacifications suggestive of pneumonia, possibly Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (PJP). Broad-spectrum antibiotics, including PJP treatment, corticosteroids, and fluids, were started. The patient received approximately 4 liters of intravenous fluids; yet, she remained hypotensive and required norepinephrine. Chest computed tomography (CT) demonstrated bilateral consolidations. Arterial blood gas (ABG) showed a partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) of 55 mmHg. The patient was intubated for acute hypoxemic respiratory failure and had a PaO2/fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) < 100. Repeat ABG within 12 hours showed a potential of hydrogen (pH) of 7.34, partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) of 42 mmHg, and a PaO2 of 130 mmHg. Bronchoalveolar lavage revealed only hMPV. The patient was managed supportively and extubated three days later. She was discharged home without oxygen requirement. hMPV causes respiratory infections, most commonly in the extremes of age and immunocompromised patients. The treatment is supportive. Our patient developed acute hypoxemic respiratory failure secondary to an hMPV infection. hMPV pneumonia should be considered as a differential diagnosis in patients with severe respiratory illness and ARDS in order to promote antibiotic stewardship.

A Survey of Academic Intensivists' Use of Neuromuscular Blockade in Subjects With ARDS.

BACKGROUND: Our Cooling to Help Injured Lungs (CHILL) trial of therapeutic hypothermia in ARDS includes neuromuscular blockade (NMB) as an inclusion criterion to avoid shivering. NMB has been used to facilitate mechanical ventilation in ARDS and was shown to reduce mortality in the ACURASYS trial. To assess the feasibility of a multi-center CHILL trial, we conducted a survey of academic intensivists about their NMB use in patients with ARDS. METHODS: We distributed via email a 16-question survey about NMB use in patients with ARDS including frequency, indications, and dosing strategy. RESULTS: 212 (24.3%) of 871 respondents completed the survey: 94.7% were board-certified in internal medicine, 88% in pulmonary and critical care; 90.3% practiced in academic medical centers, with 87% working in medical ICUs; 96.6% of respondents who treat ARDS use NMB, and 39.7% use NMB in ≥ 50% of these patients. Of 4 listed indications for initiating NMB in ARDS, allowing adherence with lung-protective ventilator strategies and patient-ventilator synchrony were cited as the most important reasons, followed by the results of the ACURASYS trial and facilitating prone positioning. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that NMB is frequently used by academic intensivists to facilitate mechanical ventilation in patients with moderate to severe ARDS.

EOLIA trial: the future of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in acute respiratory distress syndrome therapy?

In the EOLIA trial, early use of ECMO did not significantly improve mortality at 60 days in patients with severe ARDS, but when used as a rescue modality ECMO might help improve survival http://bit.ly/2XOjwSE.

Chronic cough and cystic lung disease caused by Bordetella bronchiseptica in a patient with AIDS.

A 24-year-old man with a history of HIV and large B cell lymphoma (currently in remission) presented with fever, dry cough and dizziness. His CD4+ count was undetectable, and the HIV viral load was 109 295 cop/mL. Physical examination revealed fever, hypotension and tachycardia with coarse breath sounds in the middle and lower chest zones bilaterally. Chest imaging showed diffuse abnormal micronodular and patchy infiltrates, without focal consolidation. A cavitary lesion was noted measuring 5×2 cm in axial dimensions within the left lower lobe and multiple small cystic lesions in the background. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid culture grew Bordetella bronchiseptica The patient was empirically treated with vancomycin and piperacillin-tazobactam for multifocal pneumonia with concerns for sepsis and was started on combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) with abacavir/dolutegravir/lamivudine. Symptoms improved after day 3 of therapy, and the patient was discharged home on 2 weeks of moxifloxacin, in addition to the cART and appropriate chemoprophylaxis.

Organizing pneumonia/non-specific interstitial pneumonia overlap is associated with unfavorable lung disease progression.

BACKGROUND: Overlapping forms of interstitial pneumonia have been recognized, but are likely underappreciated, and their clinical, radiologic, and histologic characteristics are not well-defined. METHODS: We identified 38 patients with surgical lung biopsy demonstrating histologic organizing pneumonia (OP) or histologic organizing pneumonia/non-specific interstitial pneumonia overlap (OP/NSIP) who met established multi-disciplinary clinical-radiologic-histologic criteria for OP. For each patient, radiologic and co-histologic findings were assessed, and clinical outcome was characterized as disease resolution (complete or near-complete resolution of radiologic opacities and absence of chronic respiratory symptoms) or unfavorable disease progression (death due to respiratory failure or forced vital capacity < 70% predicted > six months from diagnosis). RESULTS: Seven of 38 patients had clinical-radiologic-histologic focal OP. Focal OP was associated with histologic OP (p = 0.019), and all seven patients demonstrated disease resolution. In the remaining 31 patients with cryptogenic or autoimmune-associated OP, 21 patients had histologic OP/NSIP, and 10 had histologic OP. Histologic OP/NSIP was associated with ground glass opacity (GGO, p = 0.012), reticulation (p = 0.029), traction bronchiectasis (p = 0.029), reactive pneumocytes (p = 0.013), and unfavorable disease progression (p < 0.0001). Histologic OP was associated with consolidation (p = 0.028) and disease resolution (p < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated histologic OP/NSIP (p < 0.001) and radiologic GGO (p = 0.041) to be independently associated with unfavorable disease progression. CONCLUSIONS: OP/NSIP overlap, either idiopathic or autoimmune-associated and identified by histologic and radiologic findings, was associated with unfavorable disease progression, and should therefore be recognized as a characteristic clinical-radiologic-histologic entity.

Myocardial infarction complicated by left ventricular thrombus and fatal thromboembolism following abrupt cessation of dabigatran.

Novel anticoagulants are increasingly utilised in lieu of warfarin to treat non-valvular atrial fibrillation. Their clinical use in other non-FDA approved settings is also increasing. We present a case in which a patient abruptly stopped taking dabigatran due to a small bowel obstruction and shortly thereafter suffered a myocardial infarction complicated by left ventricular thrombosis with fatal embolisation to the superior mesenteric artery. In this context, we discuss the possibility of a rebound phenomenon of hypercoagulability with abrupt cessation of novel anticoagulants.