RESUMEN
Cutaneous metastasis as an initial presentation occurs in 0.8% of patients with internal malignancies, and is poorly understood in its molecular pathogenesis. We reported a case in which a 61-year-old male patient initially presented with rapidly growing skin nodule on his left chest wall, then developed dyspnea and loss of weight. Echocardiogram showed a large pericardial effusion with right ventricular collapse. PET/CT revealed moderate pleural effusion and multiple lymphadenopathies with hypermetabolic concentration of radiotracer in the lymph nodes as well as in the chest wall skin mass. Biopsy of the skin mass and pericardial/pleural fluids revealed metastatic adenocarcinoma consistent with lung primary with KRAS mutation. Palliative chemotherapy was administered without resulting in any improvement. This is the first case report to show that KRAS-mutant lung adenocarcinoma can be associated with cutaneous metastasis.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Little is known about the actual treatment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), either in the inpatient or outpatient settings. We hypothesized that there are substantial opportunities for improvement in adherence with current guidelines and recommendations. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of all patients hospitalized with acute exacerbation of COPD between January 2005 and December 2006 at 5 New York City hospitals. RESULTS: There were 1285 unique patients with 1653 hospitalizations. Of these 1653, 83% were for patients with a prior history of COPD and 368 (22%) represented repeat admissions during our study period. The majority were treated during their hospitalization with a combination of systemic steroids (85%), bronchodilators (94%) and antibiotics (80%). There were 59 deaths (3.6%). Smoking cessation counseling was offered to 48% of active smokers. Influenza and pneumococcal vaccines were administered to half of eligible patients. On discharge, only 46.0% were prescribed maintenance bronchodilators and 24% were not prescribed any inhaled therapy. Even in the 226 unique patients (17.6%) readmitted at least once during course of the study, on discharge only 44.7% were prescribed maintenance bronchodilators and 23% were not prescribed any regular inhaled therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Patients hospitalized with acute exacerbation of COPD generally receive adequate hospital care, but there may be opportunities to improve care pharmacologically and with smoking cessation counseling and vaccination during and after hospitalization.
