Empyema in children.

Empyema is the infection of the fluid in the pleural space due to different causes. The most common cause of empyema in children is parapneumonic effusion. Although its frequency has decreased significantly with the use of antibiotics, it is still a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The main aim in the treatment of empyema is to drain the pleural cavity to provide reexpansion of the compressed lung, to treat the parenchymal infection with appropriate antibiotic therapy, and to prevent complications that may develop in the acute and chronic periods. Treatment options for this disease vary depending on the stage of the disease. Treatment success in childhood empyema detected at an early stage is high. The diagnosis and treatment of empyema in children differs from adults. Due to rapid tissue regeneration in childhood, healing can occur without the need for aggressive treatment options.

Investigation of the effects of different drugs on the prevention of intrapleural adhesion in a rat model.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the antifibrinolytic and anti-inflammatory effects of hesperidin, tenoxicam and enoxaparin on intrapleural adhesions in an experimental rat model. Methods: A total of 52 healthy adult male Wistar Albino rats from the same colony were randomly divided into six groups as sham (Group 1), surgical control (Group 2), low-dose hesperidin (Group 3), high-dose hesperidin (Group 4), tenoxicam (Group 5), and enoxaparin (Group 6). All subjects underwent left thoracotomy and except for the sham group, an adhesion model was applied and, postoperatively, the drugs were administered intraperitoneally. On Day 11 postoperatively, the rats were sacrificed and their blood levels of interleukin-1ß and interleukin-10 were examined and they were evaluated for pleural adhesion area, adhesion severity score, mesothelial cell proliferation score, mononuclear cell infiltration score, and macrophage infiltration score in the collagen layer. Results: The lowest adhesion area and adhesion severity score were found in Group 6. There was a statistically significant difference between Group 2 and Group 6 and between Group 3 and Group 6 in terms of both parameters (p=0.04 and p=0.02). As for adhesion area, a statistically significant difference was found between Group 5 and Group 6 (p=0.04). Statistically significant differences were also found between Group 2 and Group 5 in terms of mesothelial cell proliferation scores and between Group 1 and Group 4 in terms of mononuclear cell infiltration scores (p=0.03 and p=0.02). Conclusion: Enoxaparin, tenoxicam, and high-dose hesperidin act at different points to prevent adhesion in rats.

The XRCC1 and TP53 gene polymorphisms are associated with advanced-stage disease and early distant metastasis at diagnosis in non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: Studies on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) suggest that DNA repair capacity may have prognostic implications for disease recurrence and survival. However, there is no study investigating the relationship between SNPs and the risk of metastasis at the time of initial diagnosis in patients with NSCLC. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the potential predictive value of SNPs in detecting the risk of metastasis at the time of initial diagnosis and poor prognosis in patients with NSCLC. Material and Methods: In this prospective cohort study, we evaluated 275 patients with NSCLC. Analysis of SNPs from peripheral blood cells was performed by a polymerase chain reaction. Excision repair cross-complementing group 1 (ERCC1)- Asn118Asn, excision repair cross-complementing group 2 (ERCC2)-Lys751Gln, X-ray repair cross-complementing group 1 (XRCC1)-Arg399Gln, and tumor protein 53 (TP53)-Arg72Pro polymorphisms were evaluated in conjunction with the development of metastasis. Results: The ERCC1 normal genotype, ERCC2 heterozygote genotype, XRCC1 normal genotype, and TP53 normal genotype were associated with a higher stage and more advanced-stage disease at the time of initial diagnosis (P = 0.027, 0.005, <0.001, and 0.006, respectively). Also, XRCC1 normal genotype and TP53 normal genotype were associated with the risk of metastasis at the time of initial diagnosis (P = <0.001 and 0.002, respectively). Moreover, the XRCC1 normal genotype was associated with the risk of brain metastasis at the time of initial diagnosis (P = 0.031). Conclusions: We showed that SNPs are related to a higher stage and more advanced-stage disease at the time of initial diagnosis in patients with NSCLC, and XRCC1 and TP53 gene polymorphisms are associated with the risk of metastasis. These results may contribute to the identification of high-risk groups and may help to earlier diagnosis and treatment in patients with NSCLC.

Comparison of the effects of alpha lipoic acid and dexpanthenol in an experimental tracheal reconstruction animal model.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the positive effects of intraperitoneal administration of alpha-lipolic acid (ALA) and dexpanthenol (DXP) on wound healing after tracheal surgery in rats. METHODS: The study was carried out at Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey, from January 2014-2019. A total of 30 healthy and adult Sprague-Dawley type female rats were included in the study. For the experiment, rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: ALA group (n=10), DXP group (n=10), and control group (n=10). After trachea surgery, 100 mg/kg/day ALA was given to group ALA and 100 mg/kg/day intraperitoneal DXP to group DXP for 15 days, and the rats were sacrificed on the 21st day. The excised tracheal sections were evaluated and graded for inflammatory cell infiltration, angiogenesis, fibroblast proliferation, collagen deposition, and epithelial regeneration to evaluate wound healing. RESULTS: Inflammation was found to be less in both the ALA and DXP groups. With the Mann-Whitney test, it was determined that inflammation was less in the ALA group than in the DXP group (C-D [p=0.097] and C-A [p=0.024]). On the other hand, no statistically significant difference was found in epithelial regeneration (p=0.574; >0.05), angiogenesis (p=0.174; >0.05), fibroblast proliferation, and collagen deposition (p=0.102; >0.05). CONCLUSION: Alpha-lipolic acid injected intravenously after tracheal reconstruction in patients can prevent restenosis by reducing inflammation without adversely affecting wound healing.

Diagnostic value of platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio in patients with solitary pulmonary nodules.

Introduction: Nodules detected in the lung parenchyma should be considered as malignant until proven otherwise, and the necessary tests should be performed for diagnosis. Aim: To calculate the preoperative platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in patients with malignant lung nodules and to investigate the diagnostic value of this ratio in determining the histopathology of the nodule. Material and methods: Ninety-one patients who were operated on for a malignant nodule in the lung between September 2010 and September 2020 were included in the study. The PLR was calculated by dividing the absolute platelet count by the absolute lymphocyte count. These values were compared with the histopathological diagnoses of the resected tumor tissue. Patients with primary lung malignancy were classified as group 1 (n = 54), and lung metastases of other organs were classified as group 2 (n = 37). Results: The mean PLR was 127.27 ±46.82 in the first group and 183.56 ±93.49 in the second group. There was a statistically significant difference in PLR values between the two groups, and PLR was higher in group 2. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of lymph node positivity, nodule size and SuvMax values. A moderately strong, significant and same-sided correlation was observed between nodule size and SuvMax values in the first group of patients (r = 0.48, p = 0.001). Conclusions: PLR values less than 89.41 indicate that the histopathological result may be a lung-derived malignancy. However, in cases where the PLR is detected above 165.6, it would be appropriate to interpret another previously detected malignancy as metastasis to the lung.

[Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the lung: histopathology and imaging findings]. / Akcigerin inflamatuvar miyofibroblastik tümörü: histopatoloji ve görüntüleme bulgulari.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor is a neoplasia of unknown clinical etiology that clinically and radiologically tends to mimic a malignant neoplasm. The tumor is histologically composed of a mixture of inflammatory cells, myofibroblastic spindle cells and plasma cells. It can occur in any part of the body. Although pulmonary inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor is the most common primary lung mass especially in childhood, this entity is usually not considered in differential diagnosis of lung nodules or masses. In this article, we aimed to disscus the pathology and imaging findings of the pulmonary inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor and increase the familiarity of radiologists and clinicians to this entity.

The prognostic significance of the 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography in early-stage nonsmall cell lung cancer.

CONTEXT: The prognostic criteria for early-stage nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) wait to be explored. AIM: In this study, our aim was to evaluate the prognostic significance of the positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) value of the primary tumor in patients with a diagnosis of early-stage NSCLC who received surgical treatment. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This was a multicenter retrospective design. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients who had been diagnosed with early-stage NSCLC and who underwent surgery for the condition were included in this study. The preoperative fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) PET/CT results of the patients were retrospectively accessed from their medical files. The disease-free survival (DFS) rates of patients who had SUVmax values above and below the determined cutoff value were compared. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: SPSS version 22 and Kaplan-Meier method were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: A total of 92 patients were included in the study. The median age of the patients was 60 years (range: 36-79). The determined cutoff SUVmax value of the primary tumor was 13.6. A comparison of the DFS rates of the patients with an SUVmax value above and below 13.6 revealed a significant difference in patients with Stage I (22.9 months vs. 50.3 months; P = 0.02) and Stage II (28 months vs. 40.4 months; P = 0.04), Stage I + II (43.5 months vs. 26.1 months; P = 0,02), and Stage IIIA (14.7 months vs. 13.6 months; P = 0.92) NSCLC. CONCLUSIONS: We found that in early-stage NSCLC patients, the SUVmax value of the primary mass in 18F FDG PET/CT was a prognostic indicator for the DFS rates.

Surgery for Pulmonary Hydatidosis in Turkey in 2014: A Nationwide Study.

OBJECTIVES: Turkey remains among the countries where hydatid disease is endemic. In this study, it was aimed to determine the number of operations performed for the treatment of pulmonary hydatid disease in Turkey during 2014 and to present the distribution of these operations according to the different regions of the country. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Turkish Thoracic Society Thoracic Surgery Study Group connected with the thoracic surgeons in each city through telephone. A data set was sent by email. The age, sex, contact with animals that might be a risk of gaining the hydatid disease, the side of the disease, the type of surgical method, other organ involvement were recorded and collected from each data set to form the final data, and the results were evaluated. Turkey comprises of 81 cities that are grouped in seven different regions. The number of operations was calculated for each city and region to present the distribution. RESULTS: Overall, 101 centers from 81 cities were considered in the study. A total of 715 pulmonary hydatid cyst operations were performed in 690 patients during the study period. The most common operation technique was cystotomy and capitonnage through thoracotomy (76%). The highest incidence rate of operated patients was in the Eastern Anatolian Region (2.15 patients per 100 000 person-years). CONCLUSION: Pulmonary hydatid disease still has a high incidence rate particularly in the southeast and east of Turkey, which are mainly rural areas and where stockbreeding is very common. Cystotomy and capitonnage is still the most common surgical method used to treat pulmonary hydatid cysts. Preventive methods should be performed strictly in these cities and regions to decrease the risk of infection.

Prognostic value of ERCC1, ERCC2, XRCC1, and TP53 single nucleotide polymorphisms in patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer.

Identification of biomarkers used for the prognostic evaluation of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients is important. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential prognostic value of XRCC1, ERCC1, ERCC2, and TP53 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in completely resected NSCLC patients. In total, 130 patients, surgically treated for NSCLC between 2000 and 2012, were included. An analysis of SNPs from peripheral blood cells was performed by polymerase chain reaction. XRCC1 Arg399Gln, ERCC1 Asn118Asn, ERCC2 Lys751Gln, and TP53 Arg72Pro polymorphisms were evaluated in conjunction with clinical and pathological parameters and survival. Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression analysis were used. Median age rate was 59.3, ranging between 36 and 78 years. Median relapse-free survival duration (RFS) was found as 46.2 months. In those with ERCC2 CC allele, median RFS was detected as 28.3 months (95 % confidence interval (CI), 20.8-35.8), 46.9 months in those with CT heterozygous (95 % CI, 18.6-75.2), and 80.1 months for those with TT mutant allel (95 % CI, 33.0-127.2). Median RFS was seen to be longer in mutant group and also statistically significant (P = 0.018). Additionally, upon evaluating CC normal group with CT + TT alleles including mutant alleles, median RFS was found as 56.5 months (95 % CI, 24.6-88.4) in CT + TT group, and this was statistically significant (P = 0.005) Also, median RFS was 15.1 months in those including ERCC2 CC allele and 56.5 months in CT + TT allele in the group with no adjuvant treatment (P = 0.001). In conclusion, our study showed that ERCC2/XPD polymorphism is an independent prognostic factor in operated NSCLC patients, and these findings should be supported with prospective studies.

Management of tracheobronchial injuries.

Tracheobronchial injury is one of cases which are relatively uncommon, but must be suspected to make the diagnosis and managed immediately. In such a case, primary initial goals are to stabilize the airway and localize the injury and then determine its extend. These can be possible mostly with flexible bronchoscopy conducted by a surgeon who can repair the injury. Most of the penetrating injuries occur in the cervical region. On the other hand, most of the blunt injuries occur in the distal trachea and right main bronchus and they can be best approached by right posterolateral thoracotomy. The selection of the manner and time of approaching depends on the existence and severity of additional injuries. Most of the injuries can be restored by deploying simple techniques such as individual sutures, while some of them requires complex reconstruction techniques. Apart from paying attention to the pulmonary toilet, follow-up is crucial for determination of anastomotic technique or stenosis. Conservative treatment may be considered an option with a high probability of success in patients meeting the criteria, especially in patients with iatrogenic tracheobronchial injury.

Cystic and cavitary lung lesions in children: radiologic findings with pathologic correlation.

A number of diseases produce focal or multiple thin-walled or thick-walled air- or fluid-containing cysts or cavitary lung lesions in both infants and children. In infants and children, there is a spectrum of focal or multifocal cystic and cavitary lung lesions including congenital lobar emphysema, congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation, pleuropulmonary blastoma, bronchogenic cyst, pulmonary sequestration, Langerhans cell histiocytosis, airway diseases, infectious diseases (bacterial infection, fungal infection, etc.), hydatid cysts, destroid lung, and traumatic pseudocyst. For the evaluation of cystic or cavitary lung lesion in infants and children, imaging plays an important role in accurate early diagnosis and optimal patient management. Therefore, a practical imaging approach based on the most sensitive and least invasive imaging modality in an efficient and cost-effective manner is paramount. We reviewed the conventional radiographs and computed tomography findings of the most common cystic and cavitary lung lesions in infants and children.

Imaging of Cystic and Cyst-like Lesions of the Mediastinum with Pathologic Correlation.

Cystic masses of the mediastinum are a heterogenous group of asymptomatic or symptomatic, congenital, infectious, or neoplastic lesions. For early and correct diagnosis, evaluation, and optimal patient management of cystic mediastinal masses in infants, children, or adults imaging plays an important role. A non-invasive and sensitive imaging modality is an efficient and cost-effective tool. Multidetector computed tomography (MDTC) with volumetric acquisition provides fast acquisition of high resolution images and multiplanar reconstruction. Both 2D and 3D imaging in mediastinal imaging help in surgical planning and assessing resectability of mediastinal lesions. MR imaging has many advantages over other modalities for detecting and identifying cystic, or fluid-filled mediastinal masses, because of its intrinsic high soft tissue contrast and direct multiplanar imaging capabilities. However, histological tissue analysis may be required to differentiate a cystic lesion from other cyst-like or low-attenuation lesions.

Sleeve resections for squamous cell carcinoma of the lung.

BACKGROUND: Sleeve resection is an advanced technique that was developed as an alternative to pneumonectomy. This study evaluated our cases of sleeve resection for squamous cell carcinoma of the lung and compared the outcomes with the literature reports. METHODS: In total, 26 bronchial, 5 bronchovascular, and 3 vascular sleeve lobectomies were performed between January 2000 and July 2005 in our clinic. Age, gender, operations, postoperative diagnosis and staging, and postoperative morbidity and mortality were evaluated. RESULTS: Sleeve resections were performed in 34 patients. All patients were male, with a mean age of 59.4 years. The operations consisted of 16 right upper, 14 left upper, and 1 left lower sleeve lobectomies and 3 superior sleeve bilobectomies. The most common postoperative pathological staging group was stage IIb (32.3%). Operative mortality was 5.9% (n=2). Postoperative morbidity was 20.5% (n=7), including 4 prolonged air leaks plus empyema, 1 prolonged air leak, 1 postoperative bleeding needing revision, and 1 severe bronchostenosis; of these, 6 had persistent atelectasis. The local tumour recurrence rate was 11.7% (n=4). The median survival time and 5-year survival were 36 months and 42%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Sleeve resection proved to be good therapy for lung cancer and has a lower morbidity and mortality than standard pneumonectomies and results in better lung function and quality of life. The anastomosis-related complications are experience-related technical complications and training thoracic surgeons to perform SRs at experienced centres will reduce the morbidity associated with SRs.

Askin's Tumor in an Adult: Case Report and Findings on 18F-FDG PET/CT.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) of the chest wall or Askin's tumor is a rare neoplasm of chest wall. It most often affects children and adolescents and is a very rare tumor in adults. In this case report, we present an Askin's tumor occurred in a 73-year-old male. The patient was admitted with a history of 3-month lower back pain and cough. In computed tomography, there was a lesion with dimensions of 70 x 40 x 65 mm in the superior segment of the lower lobe of the left lung. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography with 18F-flourodeoxyglucose revealed a pleural-based tumor in the left lung with a maximum standardized uptake value of 4.36. No distant or lymph node metastases were present. The patient had gone through surgery, and wedge resection of the superior segment of left lobe and partial resection of the ipsilateral ribs were performed. Pathology report with immunocytochemistry was consistent with PNET and the patient received chemotherapy after that.

Hydatid disease of the first rib causing thoracic outlet syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To present a case of hydatid disease of the first rib as a rare cause of thoracic outlet syndrome. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: A 57-year-old female patient who had suffered from pain on the left shoulder radiating to the arm and numbness and weakness on the left arm for 3 months was admitted to our hospital. She had undergone an operation due to a mass lesion of the first rib compressing the thoracic outlet which was detected in the preoperative examinations. During the intraoperative examination it was decided that the lesion was a hydatid cyst and the first rib was totally resected. CONCLUSION: This report shows that hydatid disease should be taken into consideration amongst the tumoral diseases of the first rib as a very rare cause of thoracic outlet syndrome.

Rare cause of pleural nodularity: Splenosis.

Splenosis is a rare condition described as ectopic splenic tissue implantation generally after a splenic rupture. A 35-year-old male patient who had a history of splenectomy operation due to gunshot wound seven years ago was referred to our hospital with complaints, including exhaustion, sweating and shortness of breath. Thoracic computed tomography of the patient showed nodular pleural thickenings at the level of the left lower lobe, which proved to be unrelated with the presenting symptoms. The patient underwent a minithoracotomy for diagnosis and treatment. During the intraoperative observation, dark-colored, soft, multiple nodular lesions with a biggest size of 2 cm inside the visceral pleura over an area of 5 x 10 cm in dimension were observed. Also, a few tiny nodules in the lung parenchyma approximately 1-cm deep to the pleural nodules were palpated. The lesions were excised. The histopathological examination of the specimen showed splenic tissue in the lung parenchyma and pleura, so the lesions were accepted as splenosis. Pleuropulmonary splenosis, which develops generally after simultaneous rupture of the diaphragma and spleen, is a very rare condition. Most of the patients are asymptomatic and the lesions are detected accidentally. If the diagnosis can be made preoperatively, surgical excision is not needed.

Survival of biphasic pulmonary blastoma.

Pulmonary blastoma is a rare malignant lung tumor with a poor prognosis. It is composed of immature mesenchymal and epithelial components that resemble fetal lung tissue. We aimed to share our treatment results in biphasic pulmonary blastoma. In Ataturk Chest Disease and Thoracic Surgery Center, five patients with biphasic pulmonary blastoma (four men, one woman, aged between 27 and 61-mean 39.4) were treated between 1987 and 2000 (0.3% of operated NSCC). Hemoptysis, cough, chest pain and dyspnea were the symptoms. Anemia and high erythrocyte sedimentation rate were determined in two patients. Radiological examinations revealed a mass in four patients and massive pleural effusion in one. None of the patients were diagnosed preoperatively and hence all patients underwent exploratory thoracotomy. Three lobectomy, one pneumonectomy and one wedge resection were performed. Histopathological examinations revealed biphasic pulmonary blastoma in all the patients. Pathological stagings were as follows: 1 patient in T1N0M0 and 1 patient in T2N0M0 (198 and 112 months survival, respectively), three patients in T2N1M0 (9,10,17 months survival). In follow up period, prostate carcinoma and rectum carcinoma were detected as second primary tumors in the patient in stage T2N0M0. In patients who have small size tumors without nodal involvement, long-term survival can be obtained with radical surgery; even in biphasic pulmonary blastomas. According to our limited experiences, N1 nodal involvement shows very poor prognosis.