Recurrence of primary spontaneous pneumothorax: Associated factors.

INTRODUCTION: Determining the risk of recurrence of primary spontaneous pneumothorax is challenging. The objective of this study was to develop a risk assessment model to predict the probability of recurrence in patients with spontaneous pneumothorax. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed of all episodes of pneumothorax diagnosed in the last 12 years in a hospital, in patients not initially submitted to surgery. Logistic regression was used to estimate the probability of recurrence. Based on a set of variables, a predictive model was built with its corresponding ROC curve to determine its discrimination power and diagnostic precision. RESULTS: Of the 253 patients included, 128 (50.6%) experienced recurrence (37% within the first year). Recurrence was detected within 110 days in 25% of patients. The median of time to recurrence for the whole population was 1120 days. The presence of blebs/bullae was found to be a risk factor of recurrence (OR: 5.34; 95% CI: 2.81-10.23; p=0.000), whereas chest drainage exerted protective effect (OR: 0.19; 95% CI: 0.08-0.40; p=0.000). The variables included in the regression model constructed were hemoglobin and leukocyte count in blood, treatment received, and presence of blebs/bullae, with a fair discriminative power to predict recurrence [AUC=0.778 (95% CI: 0.721-0.835)]. CONCLUSION: The overall recurrence rate was high and was associated with the presence of blebs/bullae, failure to perform an active intervention (chest drainage) and low levels of hemoglobin and leukocytes in blood. Recurrence rarely occurs later than three years after the first episode. Once validated, this precision model could be useful to guide therapeutic decisions.

Timeliness of care and prognosis in patients with lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Timeliness of care is an important dimension of health care quality. The determining factors of less timely care and their influence on the survival of patients with lung cancer (LC) remain uncertain. AIMS: To analyse the delays in the diagnosis and treatment of LC in our health area, the factors associated with the timeliness of care and their possible relationship with the survival of these patients. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on all patients with a cytohistologically confirmed diagnosis of LC between 1 June 2005 and 31 May 2008. The time delays for consultation (specialist delay), diagnosis (diagnosis delay), and treatment (treatment delay), were analysed, as well as the factors associated with these delays and the influence of the timeliness of care on survival. RESULTS: A total of 307 cases were included (87 % males). The mean specialist delay was 53.6 days (median 35 days), diagnosis delay 31.5 days (median 18 days), treatment delay 23.5 days (median 14 days). The greater age of the patient and a more advanced stage were associated with a shorter specialist delay. Male sex, a more advanced stage, and poor general status were associated with a shorter treatment delay. The survival is longer in patients with a longer treatment delay. CONCLUSIONS: The delay in the diagnosis in our population seems to be excessively long. The greater the age, a more advanced tumour stage, male sex, and poor general health status are associated with shorter delays. A longer treatment delay is associated with a longer survival.

[Lung cancer in the Pontevedra health area: incidence, clinical presentation and survival]. / Cancer de pulmon en el area sanitaria de Pontevedra: incidencia, presentación clinica y supervivencia.

BACKGROUND: To describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics, and survival of patients with lung cancer (LC) in the Pontevedra Health Area. METHODS: A retrospective observational study was conducted on all patients with a diagnosis of LC in the Pontevedra Hospital Complex (CHOP) health area over a three-year period. The data recorded included, age, gender, smoking history, comorbidity, functional status, diagnostic method, histology type, stage, treatment received, and survival. The patients were followed up for 3 years. RESULTS: A total of 358 cases of LC were included in the study, which gave a crude incidence rate adjusted to the standard European population of 37.33/100,000 inhabitants/year in males and 4.88/100,000 inhabitants/year in females. The large majority were males (87%). The mean age was 68.7 years, and 82% were smokers or ex-smokers. The most common histology type was epidermoid, with 35.2% of the cases. The diagnosis was made in stages III-B or IV in 79% of cases. Chemotherapy was the first treatment in 53% of the cases. Survival after the first year was 25%, which decreased to 4% at the third year. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of LC in our health area continues to be mainly in male smokers, although the incidence in females and in people who never smoked is higher than in other populations in our country. It is diagnosed in the advance stages of the disease, and survival is poor.

Cáncer de pulmón en el área sanitaria de Pontevedra: incidencia, presentación clínica y supervivencia / Lung cancer in the Pontevedra health area: incidence, clinical presentation and survival

Fundamento. Describir las características clínicas, epidemiológicas y supervivencia de los pacientes con cáncer de pulmón (CP) en el área sanitaria de Pontevedra. Material y métodos. Se realizó un estudio observacional, retrospectivo, incluyendo todos los pacientes con diagnóstico de CP en el área sanitaria del Complexo Hospitalario de Pontevedra(CHOP), incluyendo todos los casos diagnosticados en un período de 3 años. De cada paciente se incluyeron edad, sexo, tabaquismo, comorbilidad, estado funcional, método diagnóstico, tipo histológico, estadio, tipo de tratamiento y supervivencia. Los pacientes fueron seguidos durante 3 años Resultados. Se incluyeron en el estudio un total de 358 casos de CP, lo cual supone una tasa cruda de incidencia ajustada a la población europea estándar de 37,33/100.000 habitantes/año en varones y de 4,88/100.000 habitantes/año en mujeres. El 87%fueron varones, de 68,7 años de edad media, el 82% fumadores o exfumadores. El tipo histológico más frecuente fue el epidermoide, con el 35,2% de los casos. En el 79% de los casos se realizó el diagnóstico en estadios III-B o IV. La quimioterapia fue el primer tratamiento en el 53% de los casos. La supervivencia al primer año es del 25%, que se reduce al 4% al tercer año. Conclusiones. La incidencia de CP en nuestra área sanitaria sigue predominando en varones fumadores, aunque la incidencia en el sexo femenino y en nunca fumadores es superior a otras poblaciones de nuestro entorno. El diagnóstico se lleva a cabo en fases avanzadas de la enfermedad y la supervivencia es pobre (AU)

Backgroud. To describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics, and survival of patients with lung cancer (LC) in the Pontevedra Health Area. Methods. A retrospective observational study was conducted on all patients with a diagnosis of LC in the Pontevedra Hospital Complex (CHOP) health area over a three-year period. The data recorded included, age, gender, smoking history, comorbidity, functional status, diagnostic method, histology type, stage, treatment received, and survival. The patients were followed up for 3 years. Results. A total of 358 cases of LC were included in the study, which gave a crude incidence rate adjusted to the standard European population of 37.33/100,000 inhabitants/year in males and 4.88/100,000 inhabitants/year in females. The large majority were males (87%). The mean age was68.7 years, and 82% were smokers or ex-smokers. The most common histology type was epidermoid, with 35.2% of the cases. The diagnosis was made in stages III-B or IV in 79% of cases. Chemotherapy was the first treatment in 53% of the cases. Survival after the first year was 25%, which decreased to 4% at the third year. Conclusions. The incidence of LC in our health area continues to be mainly in male smokers, although the incidence in females and in people who never smoked is higher than in other populations in our country. It is diagnosed in the advance stages of the disease, and survival is poor (AU)

Effect of delays on survival in patients with lung cancer

BACKGROUND: The effect on survival of delays in the consultation, diagnostic and treatment processes of lung cancer (LC) is still under debate. The objective of our study was to analyse these time delays and their possible effect on survival. METHODS: A retrospective study has been performed on all patients in our health area diagnosed with LC (confirmed by cytohistology) over 3 years. The delay in specialist consultation (time between start of symptoms and the first consultation with a specialist), hospital delay (time between first consultation and start of treatment) and overall delay (the sum of the previous two delays) were analysed. The influence of each of these delays was calculated using Cox regression, adjusted for other factors. RESULTS: A total of 415 patients were included. Of these, 92.5% were male and 75.4% were in stages III-B or IV. The overall delay gave a mean of 123.6 days, the delay in consulting a specialist 82.1 days and the delay in hospitalisation was 41.4 days. A greater overall delay or greater hospital delay was associated with longer survival. No relationship was observed between the specialist consultation delay and survival. CONCLUSIONS: Globally analysing all the cases and all the stages with LC, it is seen that longer delays are associated with longer survival. This probably reflects the fact that patients with more symptoms are treated more rapidly (AU)

[Reason for a medical visit in the diagnosis of lung cancer. A review of 481 cases]. / Motivo de consulta en el diagnóstico de cáncer de pulmón. Revisión de 481 casos.

INTRODUCTION: Lung cancer is the most frequent cancer death related cause in the world. Its clinical presentation usually corresponds to advanced stages. The indication of screening programs for the diagnosis in early phases has been debated for years. AIMS: To know the clinical characteristics in the presentation of the lung cancer in our health care area. MATERIAL AND METHODS: All of the incident lung cancer cases for 3 years (January 1, 1997 to December 31, 1999) among those patients with usual residence in the Santiago de Compostela health care area were retrospectively collected from the available information in the Codification Service. The histological type was graded according to the World Health Organization classification. Date of death was obtained from the patient's clinical history, mortality record, or telephonic calls to the patient's home. The rest of the information was obtained from the clinical records of the patient and Pathology Service. RESULTS: Four-hundred and eighty-one lung cancer cases were diagnosed (incident gross rate of 41.79 per 100,000 inhabitants and year). Median age was 66.9 years (interquartile range 60.5-74.4), 92.77% being males and 94.1% corresponding to smokers or former smokers. The most prevalent symptoms motivating the visit were general syndrome (20%), thoracic pain (19%) and hemoptisis (17%). A group of patients (56), fundamentally males, had an incidental diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of lung cancer seems to be high in our health care area. The standard patient with lung cancer in this health care area is a 67-year-old, male, who smokes, diagnosed in advanced stages, who consults due to a general syndrome and/or chest pain. Some of the symptoms appear with significant gender differences. Likewise, there are differences between histologies, the high frequency of chest pain in adenocarcinoma being outstanding, although it is also the first cause for consultation in small cell lung cancer. On the contrary, hemoptisis, the most frequent consultation cause in squamous cell carcinoma and the general syndrome in the big cells type or with clinical-radiological diagnosis.

[Alveolar lipoproteinosis, an incidental finding during an unrelated pre-surgical study with inadequate response to complete pulmonary washing]. / Proteinosis alveolar, un hallazgo incidental en un estudio preoperatoiro con respuesta insuficiente al lavado pulmonar completo.

The alveolar lipoproteinosis (ALP) is a rare pulmonary disease, characterized by an excess of phospholipids in the distal airway, and the most symptom of which is dyspnea. 35 years old patient in whom we observed incidentally pulmonary infiltrations in a chest X-ray during a unrelated pre-surgical study. We could not make a definitive diagnosis after further investigations carried out in the Division of Respiratory Medicine. We, therefore, sent this patient to the Division of Chest Surgery for a complementary video-thoracoscopy. Biopsy showed presence of ALP. The ALP is a rare disease that originates diagnosis difficulties, and that often needs lung biopsies to confirm its diagnosis. Once treated, its prognosis is excellent. The safest and most effective treatment is a complete pulmonary washing, that, in our patient, was required 7 months after diagnosis as this patient presented clinical deterioration and worsening in the lung function studies. This treatment did not achieve the expected goal. In the subsequent 6 months, we repeated the same treatment and failed again. We then started a treatment with granulocyte-macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and obtain good response.

Proteinosis Alveolar, un hallazgo incidental en un estudio preoperatorio con respuesta insuficiente al lavado pulmonar completo / Alveolar lipoproteinosis, an incidental finding during an unrelated pre-surgical study with inadequate response to complete pulmonary washing

La lipoproteinosis alveolar (LPA) es una enfermedad pulmonar difusa poco frecuente, acumulándose un exceso de fosfolípidos en la vía aérea distal, cuyo síntoma más frecuente es la disnea. Paciente de 35 años de edad en la que se observan, como hallazgo incidental durante un estudio preoperatorio, infiltrados pulmonares en una radiografía de tórax. Con las exploraciones físicas y complementarias realizadas en el Servicio de Neumología, no se obtiene un diagnóstico definitivo, por lo que la paciente es remitida al Servicio de Cirugía Torácica para realizar videotoracoscopia diagnóstica. El estudio de las biopsias obtenidas demuestra la presencia de LPA. La LPA es una enfermedad poco frecuente que suele plantear dificultades diagnósticas, y en múltiples ocasiones requiere biopsia pulmonar para obtener el diagnóstico definitivo. El pronóstico global de la enfermedad es excelente con tratamiento. La terapia más segura y efectiva es el lavado pulmonar completo (LPC), que en nuestra paciente fue necesario a los 7 meses del diagnóstico por presentar deterioro clínico así como en los estudios de función pulmonar realizados, con pobre respuesta al mismo. En los 6 meses siguientes se realiza nuevo LPC, sin resultados satisfactorios; iniciándose entonces tratamiento con factor estimulante de colonias de granulocito-macrófagos (GM-CSF), con respuesta favorable (AU)