A Strange Case of Traumatic Pleural Effusion: Pleural Empyema Due to Actinomyces meyeri, a Case Report.

BACKGROUND: Actinomycosis by Actinomyces meyeri is rare and scarcely reported in the literature. The lung is the main organ involved. Penicillin and amoxicillin are the first-choice treatments. Surgery is indicated when empyema and abscesses are resistant to medical treatment. CASE PRESENTATION: We report an underdiagnosed case of pleural empyema due to A. meyeri in a patient with closed chest trauma. The patient, a male, 47 years old, presented with a dry cough, thoracic pain, and dyspnea a month after the trauma. A chest X-ray showed a left lower lobe pleural effusion, so he was subjected to a thoracentesis, leading to a partial re-expansion of the left lung. The patient also complained about gum discomfort; thus, a dental x-ray scan was taken, which showed the presence of vertical bone resorption in a periodontal pocket. The patient was treated with levofloxacin 500 mg orally once a day, which was continued for 15 days after discharge. Two months after the accident, he presented again with intermittent fever, a worsening cough, and dyspnea. A CT scan showed thickening of the left pleura and a loculated pleural effusion with partial collapse of the left lower lobe. A decision was made to refer the patient to the Thoracic Unit to undergo surgery via a left thoracoscopic uniportal approach. The lung was thoroughly decorticated, and the purulent fluid was aspirated. The postoperative course was uneventful. Cultures showed the growth of Actinomyces meyeri, which is sensitive to imipenem and amoxicillin. The patient started a proper antibiotic regimen and, whenever possible, was discharged. At 12 months follow-up, a chest X-ray showed a complete resolution of the left pleural effusion with complete re-expansion of the left lung. CONCLUSIONS: Although rare, Actinomycetes infections must be considered especially in front of non-solving empyema or severe pneumonia of unknown cause because in the majority of cases, with the proper treatment, the restitutio ad integrum is possible.

Robotic surgery vs. open surgery for thymectomy, a retrospective case-match study.

The robotic approach in the treatment of thymus diseases has been described in many papers, but few studies have compared the early outcome of patients after robotic and open transsternal procedure. Our study aims to confirm the non-inferiority of the robotic technique in terms of feasibility, safety and postoperative patient recovery compared to the open standard. This is a retrospective cohort study in which we compare 114 patients who underwent thymectomy for a thymus disease at our thoracic surgery unit. Our robotic surgery programme started in February 2012 with the treatment of mediastinal diseases. Since then, we have performed 57 robotic thymectomies (Group A). This series was compared with 57 patients who underwent open thymectomies (Group B) performed before 2012, and all were properly matched through a propensity score. Hospital and ICU stay, postoperative pain, use of painkillers, operative time and complications rate were analysed. Postoperative pain, evaluated through the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), was significantly lower in the robotic surgery group (p < 0.001), which was associated with a trend to lower use of painkillers in Group A, although it was not significant (p = 0.06). No statistical differences were observed between the two groups in terms of ICU stay (p = 0.080), although the total hospital stay was significantly longer in Group B (p = 0.003). No statistical differences were observed in operative time (p = 0.492) and complications rate (p = 0.950). The robotic-assisted technique showed the same operative time and complications rate compared with open surgery, thereby confirming its safety and feasibility in myasthenic patients as well as in Masaoka I-II thymomas. The lower postoperative pain and the shorter hospital stay associated with prompt mobilisation and faster chest drainage removal showed the great advantage of the minimally invasive robotic approach in these patients.

Accidental neck and chest penetration by a metal sliver derived from an axe for wood chopping: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Penetrating neck and chest trauma is a very common entity in emergency medicine that usually requires surgical treatment. Our case report illustrates the case of a 27-year-old Arabian man with hemopneumothorax associated with pneumomediastinum due to an unusual occupational injury. CASE PRESENTATION: A metal sliver, coming from an axe using for wood chopping, penetrated the neck of a 27-year-old Arabian man in the left supraclavicular region mimicking a gun bullet; the entrance hole was at the left pleural dome where the sliver had just penetrated the apex of the lung passing through the upper lobe of his left lung creating an exit wound in the dorsal segment of the same lobe arriving in the posterior thoracic wall. Biportal video-assisted thoracic surgery was performed to remove blood clots and the unusual foreign body.  CONCLUSION: In the literature, there are several case series about this topic, with some of them reporting unusual foreign bodies that lead to penetrating trauma. However, to the best of our knowledge, no cases like the one we have reported are described in the current literature.

Long-term results after surgical treatment of the dominant lung adenocarcinoma associated with ground-glass opacities.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the effect of first-time and eventual reiterative surgery on overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in Caucasian patients affected by an invasive adenocarcinoma (ADC) with at least another ground-glass opacity (GGO). METHODS: We analysed 47 patients operated on for lung ADC, identified as main cancer (MC), with at least one synchronous GGO, from January 2003 to March 2017. Characteristics associated with the evolution of GGOs were investigated with logistic regression and overall and DFS were evaluated with Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: Forty-two (89%) patients received an anatomic resection of the MC, 5 patients were treated by a single or multiple wedge resections. In total, 9 (19.1%) patients had all the lesions resected undergoing simultaneous resection of ipsilateral GGOs at first surgery while the remaining 38 (80.9%) patients still had at least one GGO that was followed up by serial CT scan. At the median follow-up of 41 months, GGO evolved in 16 (42.1%) patients. The presence of solid component at the initial CT scan was the only risk factor for evolution of the GGO. Thirteen patients underwent surgical resection showing an invasive ADC in 9 patients, MIA in 3 and AIS in 1. New GGOs developed in 7 (14.9%) patients, in which three underwent surgery showing the presence of solid ADC, MIA and AAH. OS rate at 5 years was 97.4%. DFS at 3 years was 82% and was significantly influenced by the stage of MC. CONCLUSIONS: Patients affected by an invasive ADC with at least another GGO nodule enjoy good OS and DFS with a surgical reiterative approach. Part-solid GGO is associated with GGO progression requiring treatment, but OS is not influenced by the new onset or evolution of GGOs. DFS is affected by the stage of the MC which dictates the treatment strategy.

The prognostic significance of proliferative indices in surgically resected IIIA-N2 non-small cell lung cancer after induction chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic significance of Mib1 expression, Mitosis (Mi) and Apoptosis (Ai) in residual tumour cells after induction chemotherapy in surgically resected IIIA-N2 patients. METHODS: Between January 2002 and November 2008, we reviewed 50 consecutive patients (39 males) with histologically proven stage IIIA-N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), who underwent radical resection following induction chemotherapy. Five-year survival in the series was evaluated in relation to lymph node downstaging, histology, extent of resection, number of chemotherapy cycles, pT status, sex and age. It was then also evaluated in relation to the proliferative indexes (Mi, Ap and Mib 1 expression), dividing the patients into two groups according to whether they were above or below the 50th percentile for each parameter. The associations between mortality and the abovementioned prognostic factors were explored using the Kaplan-Meier method, the log-rank test, and Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: The monovariate analysis confirmed the positive prognostic role of lymph node downstaging in terms of 5-yr survival: 31% vs. 12% (P=0.018). However Mi and Mib1 expression under the 50th percentile were also associated with better 5-yr survival: respectively 46% vs. 5% (P=0.007) and 40% vs. 6% (P=0.017). Neither apoptosis nor the other prognostic factors showed any statistical impact on long-term survival. The multivariate analysis showed Mi to be an independent prognostic factor (P=0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Although lymph node downstaging has been considered the principal prognostic factor after induction chemotherapy and surgical resection, Mi and Mib1 expression in residual tumor can predict long-term survival more accurately.

Prognostic factors and clinical outcome in patients with surgically resected peripheral N0 adenocarcinoma <3 cm.

BACKGROUND: Many reports emphasize the role of sub-lobar resections in the treatment of small peripheral lung cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate a range of prognostic factors, including the extension of resection, which may affect the prognosis in a homogeneous group of patients. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of 279 patients affected by N0 small peripheral adenocarcinoma (ADK) <3 cm that underwent surgery between 2000 and 2010. Eleven patients were excluded due to non-tumour-related death. RESULTS: There were 176 (66%) males and 92 (34%) females with a median age of 74 years (range 47-93). In the series, 229 (85%) patients received a lobar resection and only 39 (15%) a sub-lobar resection. One hundred ninety-five patients (72%) resulted stage IA while 73 (28%) stage IB. No differences in 5-year survival were observed according to: age (P=0.32), sex (P=0.42), T1a vs. T1b (P=0.31), stage IA vs. IB (P=0.51) and type of resection (P=0.29). Patients affected by ADK with a predominant lepidic growth showed a better 5-year survival (91.3% vs. 81.5%; P=0.044). The multivariate analysis confirmed the growth pattern as an independent risk factor (P=0.048). In patients with visceral pleura infiltration, the sub-lobar resection was associated with a significantly lower 5-year survival compared to lobectomy (63% vs. 90%; P=0.033). The visceral pleural infiltration was independent from ADK growth pattern, predominant lepidic vs. non-lepidic (P=0.51), but it was significantly more frequent in the ADK>2 cm (P=0.012). CONCLUSIONS: Small peripheral (<3 cm) N0 lung ADK can be easily resected by wedge or anatomical segmentectomy. The lepidic growth pattern is the main prognostic factor independently from the extension of resection however, in case of visceral pleural involvement, lobectomy reduces significantly the risk of recurrence.