A rare case of tumor-to-tumor metastasis from thymic carcinoma to an ovarian mature teratoma.

Metastasis from one neoplasm to another is referred to as tumor-to-tumor metastasis (TTM). TTM is rarely observed. Here, we present a patient with TTM from a thymic carcinoma to an ovarian mature teratoma. A 25-year-old woman, diagnosed with unresectable thymic carcinoma, presented with a cyst with a solid tumor component in her right ovary. Laparoscopic cystectomy of the right ovary revealed that the solid tumor was a distant metastasis of the thymic carcinoma in an ovarian mature teratoma. The possibility of malignant transformation of the ovarian mature teratoma was ruled out, enabling accurate staging of the thymic carcinoma. This case emphasizes the need for clinicians to consider TTM and the importance of pathological confirmation of TTM when investigating potential distant metastases.

Prognostic Factors for Discharge Directly Home in Patients With Thoracoscopic Surgery for Empyema: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery is a widely recommended treatment for empyema in advanced stages. However, only a few studies have evaluated prognostic factors among patients with empyema who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. Furthermore, no studies have evaluated predictors of direct discharge home. Patients and Methods: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included 161 patients with empyema who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery in five acute-care hospitals. The primary outcome was the probability of direct discharge home. The secondary outcome was the length of hospital stay after surgery. We broadly assessed pre-operative factors and performed univariable logistic regression for the direct discharge home and univariable gamma regression for the length of hospital stay after surgery. Results: Of the 161 included patients, 74.5% were directly discharged home. Age (>70 years; -24.3%); altered mental status (-33.4%); blood urea nitrogen (>22.4 mg/dL; -19.4%); and pleural pH (<7.2; -17.6%) were associated with high probabilities of not being directly discharged home. Fever (15.2%) and albumin (> 2.7 g/dL; 20.2%) were associated with high probabilities of being directly discharged home. The median length of stay after surgery was 19 days. Age (>70 years; 6.2 days); altered mental status (5.6 days); purulence (2.7 days); pleural thickness (>2 cm; 5.1 days); bronchial fistula (14.6 days); albumin (>2.7 g/dL; 3.1 days); and C-reactive protein (>20 mg/dL; 3.6 days) were associated with a longer post-operation hospital stay. Conclusions: Physicians should consider using these prognostic factors to predict non-direct discharge to the home for patients with empyema.

Effectiveness of Immediate Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery for Empyema: A Multicentre, Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Because of limitations in previous randomised controlled trials and observational studies, the effectiveness of immediate video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for patients with empyema in real-world settings remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate whether immediate VATS improves clinical outcomes in patients with empyema. METHODS: This multicentre retrospective cohort study included 744 patients with physician-diagnosed empyema from six hospitals between 2006 and 2021. The exposure was VATS performed within 3 days of empyema diagnosis, the primary outcome was 30-day mortality, and secondary outcomes were 90-day mortality, length of hospital stay, and time from diagnosis to discharge. We used propensity score weighting to account for potential confounders. For outcome analyses, we used logistic regression for mortality outcomes and gamma regression for the number of days. RESULTS: Among the 744 patients, 53 (7.1%) underwent VATS within 3 days, and 691 (92.9%) initially received conservative treatment. After propensity score weighting, the differences in 30- and 90-day mortalities between the immediate VATS and initial conservative treatment groups were 1.18% (95% confidence interval [CI], -10.7 to 13.0%) and -0.08% (95% CI, -10.3 to 10.2%), respectively. The differences in length of hospital stay and time from diagnosis to discharge were -3.22 (95% CI, -6.19 to -0.25 days) and -5.04 days (95% CI, -8.19 to -1.90 days), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our real-world study showed that immediate VATS reduced the length of hospital stay and the time from diagnosis to discharge. Considering the small sample and differences in protocols between countries, further large-scale studies are warranted.

Prognostic Value of Computed Tomography in Empyema: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study.

Rationale: Chest computed tomography is performed in patients with empyema for various reasons. However, its predictive ability for patient outcomes in empyema has not been evaluated. Objectives: To evaluate the predictive ability of computed tomography findings (pleural thickness, loculation, interlobar pleural effusion, lung abscess, and bronchopleural fistula) for 90-day mortality in empyema. Methods: This multicenter retrospective cohort study was conducted across six acute care hospitals in Japan. We included patients with confirmed empyema diagnoses who underwent chest computed tomography within 7 days of diagnosis. Imaging findings were defined as pleural thickness, loculation, interlobar pleural effusion, lung abscess, or bronchopleural fistula. One radiologist interpreted the computed tomography scans without patient information. The primary outcome was 90-day mortality. We calculated the differences in 90-day mortality between the presence and absence of each computed tomography finding using logistic regression with or without adjustment for early thoracic surgery. Results: A total of 711 patients were included in our study. Thoracic surgery was performed in 27% of patients, and the 90-day mortality rate was 10%. The differences (95% confidence intervals) in 90-day mortality without and with adjustment for early thoracic surgery were as follows: pleural thickness, 3.09% (-1.35% to 7.54%) and 2.70% (-1.80% to 7.20%); loculation, -4.01% (-8.61% to 0.60%) and -3.80% (-8.41% to 0.81%); interlobar pleural effusion, -9.15% (-14.58% to -3.72%) and -8.96% (-14.39% to -3.53%); lung abscess, 7.04% (-1.16% to 15.2%) and 6.86% (-1.34% to 15.05%); and bronchopleural fistula, 13.80% (7.66% to 19.94%) and 13.63% (7.50% to 19.77%), respectively. Conclusions: Although interlobar pleural effusion predicted lower 90-day mortality regardless of early thoracic surgery, the presence of bronchopleural fistula predicted higher 90-day mortality with empyema. Our results warrant further validation.

Predictive factors and clinical impact of ICU-acquired weakness on functional disability in mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Patients with critical COVID-19 often require invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) and admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), resulting in a higher incidence of ICU-acquired weakness (ICU-AW) and functional decline. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the causes of ICU-AW and functional outcomes in critically ill patients with COVID-19 who required IMV. METHODS: This prospective, single-center, observational study included COVID-19 patients who required IMV for ≥48 h in the ICU between July 2020 and July 2021. ICU-AW was defined as a Medical Research Council sum score <48 points. The primary outcome was functional independence during hospitalization, defined as an ICU mobility score ≥9 points. RESULTS: A total of 157 patients (age: 68 [59-73] years, men: 72.6%) were divided into two groups (ICU-AW group; n = 80 versus non-ICU-AW; n = 77). Older age (adjusted odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.05 [1.01-1.11], p = 0.036), administration of neuromuscular blocking agents (7.79 [2.87-23.3], p < 0.001), pulse steroid therapy (3.78 [1.49-10.1], p = 0.006), and sepsis (7.79 [2.87-24.0], p < 0.001) were significantly associated with ICU-AW development. In addition, patients with ICU-AW had significantly longer time to functional independence than those without ICU-AW (41 [30-54] vs 19 [17-23] days, p < 0.001). The development of ICU-AW was associated with delayed time to functional independence (adjusted hazard ratio: 6.08; 95% CI: 3.05-12.1; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Approximately half of the patients with COVID-19 requiring IMV developed ICU-AW, which was associated with delayed functional independence during hospitalization.

Longitudinal changes in mental health outcomes after COVID-19 hospitalization: A prospective study.

BACKGROUND: The long-term trends of COVID-19 mental sequelae remain unknown. Thus, this study aimed to survey the one-year temporal trends of PTSD and health-related quality of life of COVID-19 survivors. METHODS: Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were followed up at three, six, and 12 months after discharge. Patients with COVID-19 who were able to communicate and complete the questionnaires were included in the study. All participants were asked to complete the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health (SF-36) survey and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). The cutoff point of 24/25 of IES-R was defined as preliminary PTSD. Patients exhibiting PTSD symptoms at six months or later were regarded as "delayed patients," while those exhibiting PTSD symptoms at all the time points were "persistent patients." RESULTS: Of the 98 patients screened between June and November 2020, 72 participated in the study. A total of 11 (15.3%) had preliminary PTSD at three months, 10 (13.9%) at six months, and 10 (13.9%) at 12 months; delayed and persistent patients were four patients (7.54%) each. Patients with preliminary PTSD had lower mental summary scores in SF-36; 47 (IQR 45, 53) for patients with preliminary PTSD and 60 (49, 64) without preliminary PTSD at three months, 50 (45, 51) and 58 (52, 64) at six months, and 46 (38, 52) and 59 (52, 64) at 12 months. CONCLUSION: Healthcare providers should care about the courses of PTSD in COVID-19 survivors and be aware that patients with PTSD symptoms may have a lower health-related quality of life.

Management of Already Inserted Ventilation Tubes During Pediatric Cochlear Implantation: To Remove or Leave the Tube?

OBJECTIVE: Ventilation tube (VT) insertion is usually recommended before cochlear implantation (CI) in pediatric cochlear implant candidates with recurrent acute otitis media (AOM) or chronic otitis media with effusion (OME). However, there is no consensus on whether the VT is beneficial even after CI, that is, whether the tube should be removed or left in place during CI. This study aimed to assess the effect of tube placement after CI, especially on the incidence of post-CI AOM, in pediatric cochlear implant recipients who had undergone VT insertion before CI because of recurrent AOM or chronic OME. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective medical record review. SETTING: A tertiary referral cochlear implant center. PATIENTS: This study recruited 58 consecutive ears of children who underwent VT insertion followed by CI at age 7 years or younger between 2004 and 2021. Before October 2018, we removed the VT simultaneously with CI (removed group, 39 ears), while since then, the tube has remained in place during CI (retained group, 19 ears). INTERVENTION: Therapeutic. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The primary outcome was the proportion of ears that developed AOM at post-CI 6 months in the removed and retained groups. RESULTS: The age at CI was significantly higher in the removed group than in the retained group (mean [standard deviation]: the removed group, 2.9 [1.2] yr; the retained group: 1.5 [0.8] yr; p < 0.001). The removed group showed a significantly higher proportion of ears with post-CI AOM (8 of 39 ears; 20.5%) than the retained group (none of 19 ears; 0%) 6 months after CI ( p = 0.044). The AOM-free proportion at post-CI 12 months was 76.9% in the removed group and 83.3% in the retained group, demonstrating no significant difference ( p = 0.49), probably because the VT was spontaneously extruded in the retained group at a median of 6.5 months after CI. Throughout the study period, 17 ears (13 from the removed group) were affected by post-CI AOM. Of these, three ears in the removed group and two in the retained group after spontaneous extrusion of the VT were hospitalized and treated with intravenous antibiotics for AOM that had failed to respond to oral antibiotic therapy. Only one ear in the removed group required an explanation of the infected implant. None suffered from chronic perforation of the tympanic membrane or secondary cholesteatoma after VT insertion or meningitis associated with post-CI AOM. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that in CI for children who already have a VT because of a recurrent AOM or chronic OME, retaining the tube in position, rather than removing the tube, may decrease the incidence of AOM at least within 6 months after CI, during which most cochlear implant device infection was reported in the pediatric population.

Unilateral Reduction of 18F-FDG Accumulation in Brown Adipose Tissue by Sympathectomy for Hyperhidrosis.

ABSTRACT: A 30-year-old woman with left breast cancer underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT for staging. Intense FDG uptake was observed in the primary lesion, as well as on the left side of the neck to the supraclavicular fossa and left paravertebral region. History taking revealed that she had undergone a right thoracic sympathectomy for hyperhidrosis, which resulted in attenuated FDG uptake in the right-sided brown adipose tissue (BAT). With another examination keeping adequate warming, the accumulation of BAT was reduced and a diagnosis of cT1N1M0 was made. Unilateral sympathetic blockade can cause asymmetric FDG accumulation in BAT, which interferes with interpretation in tumors.

Influence of social isolation and loneliness on the prognosis of advanced lung cancer patients: a prospective cohort study.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of social isolation and loneliness on the overall survival and death at home in patients with lung cancer. METHODS: This prospective cohort study was conducted in a Japanese tertiary hospital. The enrollment period was from April 2018 to March 2020. Patients with pathologically diagnosed advanced lung cancer were included in this study. The primary outcome was overall survival, whereas the secondary outcome was death at home. The exposures were social isolation and loneliness. RESULTS: A total of 211 patients were enrolled and divided into two groups and further into quartiles according to their social isolation and loneliness level, respectively. The hazard ratios of social isolation were 1.65 (95% confidence interval; 1.12 to 2.44) and 1.87 (95% confidence interval; 1.15 to 3.03) in the univariate analysis, while 1.40 (95% confidence interval; 0.92 to 2.13) in the multivariate analysis with complete case and multiple imputation. The odds ratio of death at home with social isolation was 3.47 (95% confidence interval; 1.08 to 11.1) in the multivariate analysis with multiple imputation. Loneliness was not associated with overall survival or death at home. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that social isolation may be related to overall survival and death at home among patients with advanced lung cancer. More attention should be given to such patients at the time of diagnosis.

Predicting in-hospital death in pneumonic COPD exacerbation via BAP-65, CURB-65 and machine learning.

INTRODUCTION: There is no established clinical prediction model for in-hospital death among patients with pneumonic COPD exacerbation. We aimed to externally validate BAP-65 and CURB-65 and to develop a new model based on the eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) algorithm. METHODS: This multicentre cohort study included patients aged ≥40 years with pneumonic COPD exacerbation. The input data were age, sex, activities of daily living, mental status, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respiratory rate, heart rate, peripheral blood eosinophil count and blood urea nitrogen. The primary outcome was in-hospital death. BAP-65 and CURB-65 underwent external validation using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) in the whole dataset. We used XGBoost to develop a new prediction model. We compared the AUROCs of XGBoost with that of BAP-65 and CURB-65 in the test dataset using bootstrap sampling. RESULTS: We included 1190 patients with pneumonic COPD exacerbation. The in-hospital mortality was 7% (88 out of 1190). In the external validation of BAP-65 and CURB-65, the AUROCs (95% confidence interval) of BAP-65 and CURB-65 were 0.69 (0.66-0.72) and 0.69 (0.66-0.72), respectively. XGBoost showed an AUROC of 0.71 (0.62-0.81) in the test dataset. There was no significant difference in the AUROCs of XGBoost versus BAP-65 (absolute difference 0.054; 95% CI -0.057-0.16) or versus CURB-65 (absolute difference 0.0021; 95% CI -0.091-0.088). CONCLUSION: BAP-65, CURB-65 and XGBoost showed low predictive performance for in-hospital death in pneumonic COPD exacerbation. Further large-scale studies including more variables are warranted.

The prognostic factors of in-hospital death among patients with pneumonic COPD acute exacerbation.

BACKGROUND: Pneumonic acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD-AE) is associated with worse outcomes compared with non-pneumonic COPD-AE. We aimed to explore prognostic factors among patients with pneumonic COPD-AE. METHODS: This multicentered retrospective cohort study was conducted across five hospitals in Japan. Hospitalized patients ≥40 years of age with pneumonic COPD-AE who were administered systemic corticosteroids during hospitalization were included. Patients with other causes of respiratory failure, daily systemic steroid users, and patients who were not treated with systemic steroids were excluded. Based on existing clinical prediction models, the following potential prognostic factors were selected in advance: age, blood eosinophil count, blood urea nitrogen, respiratory rate, diastolic blood pressure, and altered mental status. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted to determine the association between potential prognostic factors and in-hospital death. RESULTS: After excluding 897 patients based on the exclusion criteria, 669 patients with pneumonic COPD-AE who were administered systemic corticosteroids were included. The in-hospital mortality rate was 5.1%. Altered mental status was associated with mortality (odds ratio, 4.47; 95% confidence intervals, 2.00 to 10.00), and eosinophilia was associated with a lower risk of mortality (odds ratio, 0.19; 95% confidence intervals: 0.06 to 0.56). CONCLUSIONS: Altered mental status may be a prognostic factor for in-hospital death among patients with pneumonic COPD-AE who were administered systemic corticosteroids. Moreover, eosinophilia may be a prognostic factor for lower in-hospital mortality rate among these patients.

Effectiveness of empirical anti-pseudomonal antibiotics for recurrent COPD exacerbation: a multicenter retrospective cohort study.

Although frequent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation has been associated with the isolation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) in sputum cultures, it remains unknown whether the empirical use of anti-pseudomonal antibiotics can improve outcomes in patients with frequent COPD exacerbations. This multicenter retrospective cohort study evaluated whether the empirical use of anti-pseudomonal antibiotics improves the length of the hospital stay in patients with recurrent COPD exacerbation (≥ 2 admissions from April 1, 2008 to July 31, 2020). For statistical analysis, a log-linked Gamma model was used. Parameters were estimated using a generalized estimating equation model with an exchangeable correlation structure accounting for repeated observations from a single patient. Covariates included age, body mass index, home oxygen therapy use, respiratory rate, heart rate, oxygen use on admission, mental status, systemic steroid use, activities of daily living, and the number of recurrences. Hospital-specific effects were specified as fixed effects. In total, 344 patients and 965 observations of recurrent COPD exacerbations were selected. Anti-pseudomonal antibiotics were used in 173 patients (18%). The estimated change in the length of the hospital stay between anti-pseudomonal and non-anti-pseudomonal antibiotics groups was 0.039 days [95% confidence interval; - 0.083, 0.162]. Anti-pseudomonal antibiotics could not shorten the length of the hospital stay.

Influence of loneliness and social isolation on the diagnosis and treatment of Japanese patients with advanced lung cancer: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Social determinants of health (SDHs) are social factors that affect human health; loneliness and social isolation are core SDH factors. There is a possibility that SDHs are related to passive decision-making. However, few studies have evaluated SDHs, especially social isolation and loneliness, among lung cancer patients. This study aims to investigate the effects of social isolation and loneliness on the diagnosis and treatment of Japanese lung cancer patients. METHODS: This is a prospective cohort study that was conducted in a tertiary referral hospital in Japan (University Hospital Medical Information Network registration: UMIN000031810). The enrollment period was between April 2018 and March 2020. Patients with clinical and/or pathological diagnosis of lung cancer were enrolled in this study. Exposures were social isolation and loneliness, and main outcomes were diagnosis methods and whether the initial treatment involved active therapy or best supportive care (BSC). The confounding factors were defined as sex, age, smoking status, respiratory symptoms, weight loss, presentation with any symptoms, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, tumor nodes metastasis (TNM) classification, driver gene mutations [i.e., epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)], and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) tumor proportion score. RESULTS: The study enrolled 264 patients who were divided into quartiles according to their loneliness scores and into two groups according to the social isolation level. Univariate analysis, complete case analysis, and multivariate analysis with multiple imputation failed to detect significant differences in diagnostic method or initial treatment strategy according to loneliness or social isolation level. CONCLUSIONS: Physicians may not need to consider a patient's loneliness and/or social isolation when diagnosing lung cancer and selecting treatment under universal health insurance coverage. Further studies are needed to understand the influences of loneliness and social isolation on the prognosis of lung cancer patients.

Factors Influencing Social Isolation and Loneliness Among Lung Cancer Patients: A Cross-sectional Study.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Previous reviews of Social determinants of health in lung cancer patients have not examined essential factors such as social isolation and loneliness. This study aimed to explore the factors affecting social isolation and loneliness among lung cancer patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted. Social isolation, loneliness, and the presence of dementia were measured using Japanese adaptations of the Lubben Social Network Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale, and Life Function Evaluation for Care Provision, respectively. RESULTS: From March 2019 to March 2020, 264 patients were included. Social isolation was significantly higher for patients receiving welfare (adjusted OR=5.28, 95% CI=2.24-12.4). Loneliness was significantly higher for patients receiving welfare (beta coefficient=0.52, 95% Cl=0.13-0.90) with symptoms of dementia (beta coefficient=0.28, 95% Cl=0.03-0.54). CONCLUSION: Results showed that receiving welfare was associated with experiencing social isolation. Receiving welfare and symptoms of dementia were associated with experiencing loneliness.

Effectiveness of Steroid Therapy on Pneumonic Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Exacerbation: A Multicenter, Retrospective Cohort Study.

Purpose: To date, no consensus exists on the effects of systemic steroid use on pneumonic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation owing to trial design issues in previous trials involving these conditions. This multicenter study aimed to evaluate more precisely the effectiveness of the use of systemic steroids in treating pneumonic COPD exacerbation in a larger sample by adjusting for confounding factors. Patients and Methods: This multicenter, retrospective, observational study was conducted across five acute general hospitals in Japan. We analyzed the association between parenteral/oral steroid therapy and time to clinical stability in pneumonic COPD exacerbation. We used a validated algorithm derived from the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) to include patients with pneumonic COPD exacerbation. We excluded patients with other hypoxia causes (asthma exacerbation, pneumothorax, heart failure) and complicated pneumonia (obstructive pneumonia, empyema), those who required tracheal intubation/vasopressors, and those who were clinically stable on day of admission. The primary outcome was the time to clinical stability. Multiple imputation was used for missing data. Propensity scores within each imputed dataset were calculated using potential confounding factors. The Fine and Gray model was used within each dataset to account for the competing risk of death and hospital discharge without clinical stability, and we combined the results. Results: Altogether, 1237 patients were included. Systemic steroid therapy was administered to 658 patients (53%). The pooled estimated subdistribution hazard ratio of time to clinical stability in steroid vs non-steroid users was 0.89 (95% confidence interval, 0.78 to 1.0). Conclusion: This study revealed that systemic steroid therapy may not improve the time to clinical stability in patients with pneumonic COPD exacerbation of mild to moderate severity. Further randomized controlled trials including more severe patients will be needed to evaluate the effectiveness of systemic steroid therapy accurately.

[Endogenous endophthalmitis following staphylococcus aureus meningitis].

Endogenous endophthalmitis is a rare complication of acute meningitis. A healthy 82-year-old woman suddenly developed septic bacteremia and meningitis owing to Staphylococcus aureus (methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus); she presented with a high fever and drowsiness. Improvement of these initial symptoms unveiled impaired bilateral visual acuity. Detailed ophthalmological assessments diagnosed it as probable endogenous endophthalmitis, which was immediately treated with vitrectomy. Subsequently, the patient totally recovered without any neurologic or ophthalmic sequela.