Is there a role for the high-risk multidisciplinary team meeting in thoracic surgery?

OBJECTIVES: There is little information on the impact of a high-risk multidisciplinary team (HRMDT) for thoracic surgery. In our unit, patients considered high risk for thoracic surgery have been discussed at this meeting since its inception in June 2013. The aim of this study was to audit our selection of patients discussed at the HRMDT and its effect on patient outcomes. METHODS: Data were prospectively collected on all patients (n = 820) who underwent lung resection for lung cancer between July 2013 and September 2014. Patients were analysed as two groups HRMDT versus non-HRMDT. Referral to the HRMDT was at the operating surgeons' discretion. Referred patients usually had a higher-than-expected mortality or morbidity risk for the indicated procedure. The median time from HRMDT to surgery was 27 days (IQR 27.75). The median follow-up for all patients was 415 days (IQR 240). RESULTS: There were 102 patients in the HRMDT group and 718 in the non-HRMDT group (males 54 vs 46%; P = 0.12). The median duration from HRMDT to surgery was 27 days (IQR 27.75). Mean age (P = 0.0001), cardiac risk score (P = 0.001) and Thoracoscore (P = 0.0001) were significantly higher in the HRMDT group. There was also a significantly higher proportion of pneumonectomies in the HRMDT group (12 vs 4%; P = 0.001). There were no significant differences between the groups in cardiac, cerebrovascular, GI, pulmonary, renal or composite complications. There was no significant difference in 30-day (3 vs 1%; P = 0.24) or 90-day (5 vs 3%; P = 0.48) mortality between the groups. Operated HRMDT patients had better survival at 200 days (P = 0.002), but there was no difference in long-term survival compared with patients turned down for surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a higher predicted mortality rate by Thoracoscore, HRMDT patients had the same outcome as lower risk non-HRMDT patients. Within the HRMDT cohort, survival in the operated patients was significantly better than that in non-operated patients in the short term. The HRMDT has managed to offer patients a radical treatment option who might have been refused surgery prior to this due to their higher risk profile. We would recommend this forum as a means to further assess and discuss high-risk patients.

Should pregnant patients with a recurrent or persistent pneumothorax undergo surgery?

A 29-year old woman at 26 weeks gestation (gravida 3 and para 0) presented with an acute left-sided pneumothorax. She had a 10 pack-year smoking history and no other relevant medical history. Over the next 3 weeks, she had three recurrences of her left-sided pneumothorax, each of which was managed by intercostal drain insertion. During the fourth episode of pneumothorax, after chest drain insertion there was a continued air-leak for 4 days. She was referred to the cardiothoracic service for further management of this problem. A best evidence topic was constructed according to a structured protocol to answer the question: in pregnant patients with a recurrent or persistent pneumothorax, is surgery safer compared with conservative treatment for the wellbeing of the patient and the foetus? The 2010 guidelines for the management of pneumothorax state that there is Level C evidence that simple observation and aspiration are usually effective during pregnancy, with elective assisted delivery and regional anaesthesia at or near term. The guidelines also state Level D evidence that a video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) procedure should be considered after birth. Three hundred and eighty-four papers were found, and from these, four papers were identified describing 79 cases of pneumothorax in pregnancy to provide the best evidence to answer the question. Conservative treatment by observation alone with or without tube thoracostomy compared with surgical treatment by VATS or thoracotomy are the options used in the observed literature reviews. All reports observe no difference in outcome to the mother or foetus if a conservative approach (observation or tube thoracostomy) is used compared with surgery prior to the delivery of the baby. However, an initial conservative approach could lead to surgery after delivery for a persistent pneumothorax in as much as 40% of patients. A persistent pneumothorax after delivery that might require surgery delays discharge home and compromises the normal interaction between the mother and new-born child, which might be distressing. For informed consent, the implications of the risk of persistent pneumothorax requiring surgery after delivery where a conservative approach is used initially should be discussed with the patient and family to aid decision making.