Bleeding Risk With Combination Intrapleural Fibrinolytic and Enzyme Therapy in Pleural Infection: An International, Multicenter, Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Combination intrapleural fibrinolytic and enzyme therapy (IET) has been established as a therapeutic option in pleural infection. Despite demonstrated efficacy, studies specifically designed and adequately powered to address complications are sparse. The safety profile, the effects of concurrent therapeutic anticoagulation, and the nature and extent of nonbleeding complications remain poorly defined. RESEARCH QUESTION: What is the bleeding complication risk associated with IET use in pleural infection? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: This was a multicenter, retrospective observational study conducted in 24 centers across the United States and the United Kingdom. Protocolized data collection for 1,851 patients treated with at least one dose of combination IET for pleural infection between January 2012 and May 2019 was undertaken. The primary outcome was the overall incidence of pleural bleeding defined using pre hoc criteria. RESULTS: Overall, pleural bleeding occurred in 76 of 1,833 patients (4.1%; 95% CI, 3.0%-5.0%). Using a half-dose regimen (tissue plasminogen activator, 5 mg) did not change this risk significantly (6/172 [3.5%]; P = .68). Therapeutic anticoagulation alongside IET was associated with increased bleeding rates (19/197 [9.6%]) compared with temporarily withholding anticoagulation before administration of IET (3/118 [2.6%]; P = .017). As well as systemic anticoagulation, increasing RAPID score, elevated serum urea, and platelets of < 100 × 109/L were associated with a significant increase in bleeding risk. However, only RAPID score and use of systemic anticoagulation were independently predictive. Apart from pain, non-bleeding complications were rare. INTERPRETATION: IET use in pleural infection confers a low overall bleeding risk. Increased rates of pleural bleeding are associated with concurrent use of anticoagulation but can be mitigated by withholding anticoagulation before IET. Concomitant administration of IET and therapeutic anticoagulation should be avoided. Parameters related to higher IET-related bleeding have been identified that may lead to altered risk thresholds for treatment.

Liquid biopsy for lung cancers: an update on recent developments.

Liquid biopsy in lung cancer is evolving as an important added tool for screening, early detection, monitoring, and even prognostication of lung cancer. Guidelines and expert recommendations for its use in practice are available and there are specific scenarios in which liquid biopsy is actively being adopted. Several biomarkers, from which important tumor genomic information is obtained, are currently the subject of ongoing investigation. In this review, we summarize the available data on each specific biomarker and provide an overview on how they play a role in current clinical practice.

Babesiosis as a cause of acute respiratory distress syndrome: a series of eight cases.

OBJECTIVES: The characteristics of patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) as a complication of Babesia microti infection have not been systematically described. METHODS: Adult patients admitted to the medical intensive care unit (MICU) of a tertiary care hospital in the Lower Hudson Valley of New York from 1/1/2008 to 8/1/2016 were evaluated for ARDS complicating babesiosis. RESULTS: Of 22 patients with babesiosis in the MICU, eight (36.4%; 95% CI: 19.7-57.0%) had ARDS. Six patients (75%) developed ARDS following initiation of anti-babesia drug therapy; however, the mean duration of symptoms in these patients exceeded that of patients who developed ARDS prior to initiation of treatment (7.50 ± 3.83d vs. 4.50 ± 0.71d, p = 0.34). Three patients (37.5%; 95% CI: 13.7-69.4%) expired without recovery from ARDS. In comparison, the mortality rate for the 14 MICU babesiosis patients without ARDS was 14.3% (p = 0.31). There was a trend toward younger age in survivors relative to non-survivors (mean age 54.6 ± 13.8y vs. 74.0 ± 6.24y, p = 0.07). Three of the five survivors did not require mechanical ventilation. The mean sequential organ failure assessment score of non-survivors was significantly higher than that of survivors (12.3 ± 1.15 vs. 6.0 ± 1.4, p = 0.0006). CONCLUSION: Among 22 critically ill adult patients with B. microti infection, ARDS developed in eight (35.4%), and three (37.5%) expired without resolution of the ARDS. ARDS often followed the initiation of anti-babesia drug therapy, raising the question of whether the death of the parasite per se contributed to its development. However, this observation was confounded by the longer duration of symptoms preceding initiation of drug therapy.

Bronchoscopic management of prolonged air leak.

Bronchopleural fistula (BPF) with prolonged air leak (PAL) is most often, though not always, a sequela of lung resection. When this complication occurs post-operatively, it is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Surgical closure of the defect is considered the definitive approach to controlling the source of the leak, but many patients with this condition are suboptimal operative candidates. Therefore there has been active interest for decades in the development of effective endoscopic management options. Successful use of numerous bronchoscopic techniques has been reported in the literature largely in the form of retrospective series and, at best, small prospective trials. In general, these modalities fall into one of two broad categories: implantation of a device or administration of a chemical agent. Closure rates are high in published reports, but the studies are limited by their small size and multiple sources of bias. The endoscopic procedure currently undergoing the most systematic investigation is the placement of endobronchial valves. The aim of this review is to present a concise discussion on the subject of PAL and summarize the described bronchoscopic approaches to its management.

Hereditary Amyloidosis with Recurrent Lung Infiltrates.

BACKGROUND Amyloidosis is a protein conformational disorder characterized by extracellular deposition of amyloid fibrils in extracellular tissue. Lung involvement is most commonly caused by secondary AL amyloidosis. The familial autosomal-dominant senile transthyretin (ATTR) disease manifests mainly as polyneuropathy and restrictive cardiomyopathy denoting the name familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP). Rarely, this form manifests with clinical and radiologically relevant respiratory tract symptoms and lung involvement. CASE REPORT A 51-year-old male former smoker presented with progressive lower-extremity weakness of several months' duration. He was ultimately diagnosed with chronic demyelinating polyneuropathy and treated with intravenous immunoglobulin therapy. Subsequently, he was admitted with heart failure symptoms and pulmonary infiltrates and his echocardiogram showed a 'myocardial speckled pattern', prompting an endomyocardial biopsy, which showed transthyretin amyloid deposition. He was started on diflunisal. Additionally, serial radiographic imaging of his chest over 3 different admissions for cough, dyspnea, hypoxemia, and lethargy demonstrated recurrent pulmonary infiltrates. A fiberoptic bronchoscopy with trans-bronchial biopsies revealed amyloid deposition in the lung tissue. CONCLUSIONS The clinical presentation of recurrent or persistent pulmonary symptoms and fleeting infiltrates on imaging in a patient with familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy is not common; when present, it should raise the suspicion of respiratory tract involvement.