Major respiratory adverse events after laparascopic gastric banding surgery for morbid obesity.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding surgery has become one of the most common restrictive surgical procedures for treatment of morbid obesity worldwide. Although short-term respiratory complications are well known, long-term data is scarce. We investigated the manifestations of major pulmonary complications showed at least six months after the procedure. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at a tertiary university medical center in the five years period of 2006-2010. We included every patient who had had major respiratory complication who needed hospitalization, at least 6 months after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding procedure. Demographic, pre-operative and post-operative clinical data were collected. We documented respiratory symptoms, results of physical examination, pulmonary function tests, and imaging as well as therapies given and outcome. RESULTS: Out of 2100 patients who underwent LAGB, thirty subjects, mean age of 45.7 (range 29-64) with an equal number of males and females were included. Mean interval between operation and onset of respiratory symptoms was 51.5 months (range 10-150 months). All had dyspeptic complaints which included: regurgitation, fullness after meals, dysphagia and food aspiration with esophageal dilatation. Major respiratory complications included aspiration pneumonia (19) including pulmonary abscess (4) and empyema (2), exacerbation of asthma (3) and hemoptysis (1). Additionally we documented the emergence of chronic diseases such as interstitial lung disease (5) and bronchiectasis (3). One patient developed acute respiratory distress syndrome due to aspiration pneumonia and eventually died in the intensive care unit. The main mode of therapy was deflation of the gastric band. Those who refused to deflate or remove the gastric banding continued to suffer from dyspeptic and respiratory symptoms including recurrent pulmonary abscess. CONCLUSION: Although laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding surgery has few short-term risks and is highly effective at achieving weight reduction, we found an increased risk for major respiratory complications in the long-term period. The obesity epidemic and the increased use of surgical techniques to treat obesity will most likely lead to an increase in the incidence of long-term post-operative respiratory complications. This entity is probably under-reported and needs further research into how to reduce its incidence and morbidity.

Varicella pneumonia in southern Israel: clinical characteristics, diagnosis and therapeutic considerations.

BACKGROUND: The most common and most serious complication of varicella (chickenpox) in adults is pneumonia, which can lead to severe respiratory failure. Varicella pneumonia is associated with considerable morbidity and even death. OBJECTIVES: To summarize our experience with varicella pneumonia in terms of clinical, laboratory and radiological characteristics as well as risk factors, management and outcome. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort survey in our facility from 1995 to 2008. RESULTS: Our cohort comprised 21 patients with varicella pneumonia, of whom 19 (90%) were men; their mean age was 35 +/- 10.5 years. Nineteen patients (90%) were Bedouins and 18 (86%) were smokers. Eleven (52%) were admitted to the Medical Intensive Care Unit; 3 of them required mechanical ventilation and the remaining 10 (48%) were admitted to the general medical ward. Median length of stay was 6 +/- 7.7 days. Hypoxemia and elevated lactate dehydrogenase on admission were associated with respiratory failure. Radiological manifestations were variable and nine patients exhibited characteristic findings. All but one patient were treated with acyclovir. All patients fully recovered. CONCLUSIONS: In southern Israel varicella pneumonia is primarily a disease ofyoung male Bedouins who are smokers. Severity ranges from mild disease to severe, resulting at times in respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation. Prognosis is favorable with complete recovery.

Pulmonary functions testing in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND: A high incidence of abnormal pulmonary function tests has been reported in cross-sectional studies among patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Few patients have been enrolled in longitudinal studies. OBJECTIVES: To perform PFT in rheumatoid arthritic patients without pulmonary involvement and to identify variables related to changes in PFT over 5 years of follow-up. METHODS: Consecutive RA patients underwent PFT according to recommendations of the American Thoracic Society. All surviving patients were advised to repeat the examination 5 years later. RESULTS: PFT was performed in 82 patients (21 men, 61 women). Their mean age was 55.7 (15.9) years and the mean RA duration was 11.1 (10) years. Five years later 15 patients (18.3%) had died. Among the 67 surviving patients, 38 (56.7%) agreed to participate in a follow-up study. The initial PFT revealed normal PFT in only 30 patients (36.6%); an obstructive ventilatory defect in 2 (2.4%), a small airway defect in 12 (17%), a restrictive ventilatory defect in 21 (25.6%), and reduced DLco in 17 (20.7%). Among the 38 patients participating in the 5 year follow-up study, 8 developed respiratory symptoms, one patient had a new obstructive ventilatory defect, one patient developed a restrictive ventilatory defect, and 5 patients had a newly developed small airway defect. The DLco had improved in 7 of the 8 patients who initially had reduced DLco, reaching normal values in 5 patients. Over the study period a new reduction in DLco was observed in 7 patients. Linear regression analyses failed to identify any patient or disease-specific characteristics that could predict a worsening in PFT. The absolute yearly decline in forced expiratory volume in 1 sec among our RA patients was 47 ml/year, a decline similar to that seen among current smokers. CONCLUSIONS: Serial PFT among patients with RA is indicated and allows for earlier identification of various ventilatory defects. Small airways disturbance was a common finding in our RA patients.

Acute interstitial pneumonia-Hamman-Rich syndrome: clinical characteristics and diagnostic and therapeutic considerations.

BACKGROUND: Acute interstitial pneumonia is a rapidly progressive disease frequently leading to respiratory failure and mechanical ventilation. The prognosis is usually poor despite aggressive diagnostic and treatment efforts. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort survey, we enrolled patients with hypoxemic respiratory failure who met predefined criteria of acute idiopathic interstitial pneumonia. Patients' records, radiologic studies, and pathologic specimens were reviewed. All data were recorded in each patient's study file and subsequently analyzed. RESULTS: Our cohort consisted of 5 men and 4 women with a mean age of 69.4 yr (55-80 yr). The chest radiograph in all patients progressed to diffuse bilateral infiltrates over a 12-day course. All nine patients had histological proof of diffuse alveolar damage consistent with acute interstitial pneumonia, obtained by either transbronchial biopsy or open lung biopsy. All patients required admission to the medical intensive care unit and mechanical ventilation. The mortality rate was 100%, and patients died within 5-26 days of their admission to the unit. CONCLUSIONS: Acute interstitial pneumonia (Hamman-Rich syndrome) is an idiopathic, rapidly progressive and, at times, fatal form of interstitial lung disease. A transbronchial biopsy is a logical first diagnostic step, to be followed by an open lung biopsy, if necessary. Response to corticosteroids in our series was minimal. In patients who fail to respond to conventional therapy and are otherwise appropriate candidates, lung transplantation may be considered as an additional alternative.

Disagreement in the interpretation of chest radiographs among specialists and clinical outcomes of patients hospitalized with suspected pneumonia.

BACKGROUND: Pneumonia is diagnosed by a combination of clinical symptoms and findings on chest X-ray (CXR). However, there is often disagreement, even among experts, upon the interpretation of the CXR. The purpose of this study was to compare the agreement rates in CXR interpretation of suspected community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) between a radiologist, a pulmonologist, an infectious disease specialist, and an internal medicine staff and to establish the correlation of such an agreement with the length of hospitalization and 30-day mortality rate. METHODS: We prospectively enrolled in our study all patients admitted to the Department of Medicine with suspected CAP, as defined by the admitting physician, within the first 24 h of hospitalization. A radiologist, pulmonologist, and infectious disease specialist who were aware of the suspected diagnosis independently interpreted the CXR. The final diagnosis was obtained from the discharge notes. RESULTS: A total of 262 patients participated in the study, 214 of whom (81.7%) were eventually discharged with a diagnosis of CAP. The agreement rates between the readers of the CXR ranged from a kappa of 0.09 to 0.44. There were no differences in terms of background illness, PORT (Pneumonia Patients Outcomes Research Team) score, length of hospitalization, or mortality rates between patients discharged with or without a diagnosis of CAP. In multivariate analysis, only the PORT score was a significant predictor of length of hospitalization and mortality rate. CONCLUSION: We found a low to moderate agreement rate of the diagnosis of CAP between CXR readers. Identification of an infiltrate on CXR, either by specialists or by the attending physician, did not impact the clinical outcomes.