The impact of diagnostic delay on survival in alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency: results from the Austrian Alpha-1 Lung Registry.

BACKGROUND: Alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency (AATD) is a genetic disorder that can manifest as lung disease. A delay between onset of symptoms and diagnosis of AATD is common and associated with worse clinical status and more advanced disease stage but the influence on survival is unclear. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the impact of diagnostic delay on overall survival (OS) and transplant-free survival (TS) in AATD patients. METHODS: We analysed 268 AATD patients from the prospective multi-centre Austrian Alpha-1 Lung (AAL) Registry, employing descriptive statistics, Chi-square-test as well as univariable (Kaplan-Meier plots, log-rank test) and multivariable survival analysis (Cox regression). RESULTS: The predominant phenotype was Pi*ZZ (82.1%). At diagnosis, 90.2% had an AAT level below 0.6 g/L. At inclusion, 28.2% had never smoked, 68.0% had quit smoking and 3.8% continued to smoke. Lung disease was diagnosed in 98.5%, thereof most patients were diagnosed with emphysema (63.8%) and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (44.0%). Median diagnostic delay was 5.3 years (inter-quartile range [IQR] 2.2-11.5 years). In multivariable analysis (n = 229), a longer diagnostic delay was significantly associated with worse OS (hazard ratio [HR] 1.61; 95% CI 1.09-2.38; p = 0.016) and TS (HR 1.43; 95% CI 1.08-1.89; p = 0.011), independent from age, smoking status, body mass index (BMI), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and long-term oxygen treatment. Furthermore, BMI, age and active smoking were significantly associated with worse OS as well as BMI, active smoking and FEV1 were with worse TS. CONCLUSIONS: A delayed diagnosis was associated with significantly worse OS and TS. Screening should be improved and efforts to ensure early AATD diagnosis should be intensified.

Later-Line Treatment with Lorlatinib in ALK- and ROS1-Rearrangement-Positive NSCLC: A Retrospective, Multicenter Analysis.

In clinical practice, patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-rearrangement-positive non-small-cell lung cancer commonly receive sequential treatment with ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitors. The third-generation agent lorlatinib has been shown to inhibit a wide range of ALK resistance mutations and thus offers potential benefit in later lines, although real-world data are lacking. This multicenter study retrospectively investigated later-line, real-world use of lorlatinib in patients with advanced ALK- or ROS1-positive lung cancer. Fifty-one patients registered in a compassionate use program in Austria, who received second- or later-line lorlatinib between January 2016 and May 2020, were included in this retrospective real-world data analysis. Median follow-up was 25.3 months. Median time of lorlatinib treatment was 4.4 months for ALK-positive and 12.2 months for ROS-positive patients. ALK-positive patients showed a response rate of 43.2%, while 85.7% percent of the ROS1-positive patients were considered responders. Median overall survival from lorlatinib initiation was 10.2 and 20.0 months for the ALK- and ROS1-positive groups, respectively. In the ALK-positive group, lorlatinib proved efficacy after both brigatinib and alectinib. Lorlatinib treatment was well tolerated. Later-line lorlatinib treatment can induce sustained responses in patients with advanced ALK- and ROS1-positive lung cancer.

Management of Postintubational Tracheal Injury by Endoscopic Stent Placement: Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Endobronchial stent placement is a novel therapy for treatment of iatrogenic tracheal tears. A review of the available literature shows surgery and long-term intubation being the established treatment strategy. We describe the case of a 64-year-old woman with a tracheal rupture following endotracheal intubation for routine surgery. Pneumo-mediastinum and chest pain were the predominant symptoms. She was treated with a covered self-expandable metal stent that closed the tear and led to immediate symptom relief. After six weeks and complete healing of the trachea, the stent could be explanted. No stent complications occurred. A new algorithm for the treatment of these ruptures has been proposed.