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Revista de La Facultad de Ciencias... Mar 2022Chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (CEP) is a rare disease of unknown cause characterized by alveolar and interstitial eosinophilic infiltration. The tomographic pattern is...
Chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (CEP) is a rare disease of unknown cause characterized by alveolar and interstitial eosinophilic infiltration. The tomographic pattern is characterized by consolidations and peripherally distributed ground glass opacities in both upper lobes. Other findings are opacities in bands parallel to the pleura, thickening of the interlobular septa, migratory opacities, and mediastinal lymph nodes. We presented a case of a woman with CEP and described the most relevant clinical and radiological characteristics.
Topics: Female; Humans; Lung; Lymph Nodes; Pulmonary Eosinophilia; Radiography; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
PubMed: 35312249
DOI: 10.31053/1853.0605.v79.n1.33668 -
European Respiratory Review : An... Dec 2021Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a rare orphan disease. Lung, pleura, pericardium, mediastinum, aorta and lymph node involvement has been reported with... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a rare orphan disease. Lung, pleura, pericardium, mediastinum, aorta and lymph node involvement has been reported with variable frequency and mostly in Asian studies. The objective of this study was to describe thoracic involvement assessed by high-resolution thoracic computed tomography (CT) in Caucasian patients with IgG4-RD.
METHODS
Thoracic CT scans before treatment were retrospectively collected through the French case registry of IgG4-RD and a single tertiary referral centre. CT scans were reviewed by two experts in thoracic imagery blinded from clinical data.
RESULTS
48 IgG4-RD patients with thoracic involvement were analysed. All had American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism classification scores ≥20 and comprehensive diagnostic criteria for IgG4-RD. CT scan findings showed heterogeneous lesions. Seven patterns were observed: peribronchovascular involvement (56%), lymph node enlargement (31%), nodular disease (25%), interstitial disease (25%), ground-glass opacities (10%), pleural disease (8%) and retromediastinal fibrosis (4%). In 37% of cases two or more patterns were associated. Asthma was significantly associated with peribronchovascular involvement (p=0.04). Among eight patients evaluated by CT scan before and after treatments, only two patients with interstitial disease displayed no improvement.
CONCLUSION
Thoracic involvement of IgG4-RD is heterogeneous and likely underestimated. The main thoracic CT scan patterns are peribronchovascular thickening and thoracic lymph nodes.
Topics: Humans; Immunoglobulin G4-Related Disease; Lung; Retrospective Studies; Thorax; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
PubMed: 34615698
DOI: 10.1183/16000617.0078-2021 -
Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine Jan 2023Imaging techniques play a crucial role in the diagnostic work-up of pulmonary diseases but generally lack detailed information on a microscopic level. Optical coherence... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE OF REVIEW
Imaging techniques play a crucial role in the diagnostic work-up of pulmonary diseases but generally lack detailed information on a microscopic level. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) are imaging techniques which provide microscopic images in vivo during bronchoscopy. The purpose of this review is to describe recent advancements in the use of bronchoscopic OCT- and CLE-imaging in pulmonary medicine.
RECENT FINDINGS
In recent years, OCT- and CLE-imaging have been evaluated in a wide variety of pulmonary diseases and demonstrated to be complementary to bronchoscopy for real-time, near-histological imaging. Several pulmonary compartments were visualized and characteristic patterns for disease were identified. In thoracic malignancy, OCT- and CLE-imaging can provide characterization of malignant tissue with the ability to identify the optimal sampling area. In interstitial lung disease (ILD), fibrotic patterns were detected by both (PS-) OCT and CLE, complementary to current HRCT-imaging. For obstructive lung diseases, (PS-) OCT enables to detect airway wall structures and remodelling, including changes in the airway smooth muscle and extracellular matrix.
SUMMARY
Bronchoscopic OCT- and CLE-imaging allow high resolution imaging of airways, lung parenchyma, pleura, lung tumours and mediastinal lymph nodes. Although investigational at the moment, promising clinical applications are on the horizon.
Topics: Humans; Tomography, Optical Coherence; Lung Diseases; Lasers
PubMed: 36474462
DOI: 10.1097/MCP.0000000000000929 -
Canadian Association of Radiologists... May 2023Thoracic interventions are frequently performed by radiologists, but guidelines on appropriateness criteria and technical considerations to ensure patient safety... (Review)
Review
Thoracic interventions are frequently performed by radiologists, but guidelines on appropriateness criteria and technical considerations to ensure patient safety regarding such interventions is lacking. These guidelines, developed by the Canadian Association of Radiologists, Canadian Association for Interventional Radiology and Canadian Society of Thoracic Radiology focus on the interventions commonly performed by thoracic radiologists. They provide evidence-based recommendations and expert consensus informed best practices for patient preparation; biopsies of the lung, mediastinum, pleura and chest wall; thoracentesis; pre-operative lung nodule localization; and potential complications and their management.
Topics: Humans; Radiology, Interventional; Canada; Radiography; Radiography, Thoracic; Radiologists
PubMed: 36154303
DOI: 10.1177/08465371221122807 -
JTCVS Techniques Dec 2021Video 1Incision and port placement of 4 to 5 cm at the fifth or sixth intercostal space between the anterior and the midaxillary line. Video available at:...
Video 1Incision and port placement of 4 to 5 cm at the fifth or sixth intercostal space between the anterior and the midaxillary line. Video available at: https://www.jtcvs.org/article/S2666-2507(21)00717-3/fulltext.Video 2Dissection of the anterior mediastinal pleura and division of the superior pulmonary vein. Video available at: https://www.jtcvs.org/article/S2666-2507(21)00717-3/fulltext.Video 3Dissection of the apical mediastinal pleura and division of the anterior and apical branches of the pulmonary artery. Video available at: https://www.jtcvs.org/article/S2666-2507(21)00717-3/fulltext.Video 4Dissection and division of the anterior oblique fissure and division of the lingular branches of the pulmonary artery. Video available at: https://www.jtcvs.org/article/S2666-2507(21)00717-3/fulltext.Video 5Dissection and division of the interlobar fissure and the posterior branch of the pulmonary artery. Video available at: https://www.jtcvs.org/article/S2666-2507(21)00717-3/fulltext.Video 6Dissection and division of the left upper lobe bronchus. Video available at: https://www.jtcvs.org/article/S2666-2507(21)00717-3/fulltext.Video 7Lymph node dissection (subaortic, hilar, subcarinal, or inferior pulmonary ligament) and division of the inferior pulmonary ligament. Video available at: https://www.jtcvs.org/article/S2666-2507(21)00717-3/fulltext.Video 8Specimen retrieval. Video available at: https://www.jtcvs.org/article/S2666-2507(21)00717-3/fulltext.Video 9Chest tube placement. Video available at: https://www.jtcvs.org/article/S2666-2507(21)00717-3/fulltext.
PubMed: 34984398
DOI: 10.1016/j.xjtc.2021.08.047 -
Journal of Thoracic Oncology : Official... Dec 2023A TNM-based stage classification system of thymic epithelial tumors was adopted for the eighth edition of the stage classification of malignant tumors. The Thymic Domain...
The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Thymic Epithelial Tumor Staging Project: Proposal for the T Component for the Forthcoming (Ninth) Edition of the TNM Classification of Malignant Tumors.
INTRODUCTION
A TNM-based stage classification system of thymic epithelial tumors was adopted for the eighth edition of the stage classification of malignant tumors. The Thymic Domain of the Staging and Prognostics Factor Committee of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer developed a new database with the purpose to make proposals for the ninth edition stage classification system. This article outlines the proposed definitions for the T categories for the ninth edition TNM stage classification of thymic malignancies.
METHODS
A worldwide collective database of 11,347 patients with thymic epithelial tumors was assembled. Analysis was performed on 9147 patients with available survival data. Overall survival, freedom-from-recurrence, and cumulative incidence of recurrence were used as outcome measures. Analysis was performed separately for thymomas, thymic carcinomas, and neuroendocrine thymic tumors.
RESULTS
Proposals for the T categories include the following: T1 category is divided into T1a (≤5 cm) and T1b (>5 cm), irrespective of mediastinal pleura invasion; T2 includes direct invasion of the pericardium, lung, or phrenic nerve; T3 denotes direct invasion of the brachiocephalic vein, superior vena cava, chest wall, or extrapericardial pulmonary arteries and veins; and T4 category remains the same as in the eighth edition classification, involving direct invasion of the aorta and arch vessels, intrapericardial pulmonary arteries and veins, myocardium, trachea, or esophagus.
CONCLUSIONS
The proposed T categories for the ninth edition of the TNM classification provide good discrimination in outcome for the T component of the TNM-based stage system of thymic epithelial tumors.
Topics: Humans; Lung Neoplasms; Neoplasm Staging; Vena Cava, Superior; Thymus Neoplasms; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial; Thymoma; Neuroendocrine Tumors; Lung; Prognosis
PubMed: 37634808
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtho.2023.08.024 -
Current Problems in Cardiology Dec 2022Idiopathic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (iPPFE) is a little-known entity with unique clinical, radiological, and pathological features. iPPFE is chronic interstitial... (Review)
Review
Idiopathic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (iPPFE) is a little-known entity with unique clinical, radiological, and pathological features. iPPFE is chronic interstitial pneumonia characterized by the thickening of elastic fibers in the pleura and subpleural parenchyma involving the upper lobes. Computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) usually depicts bilateral pleural thickening, with a left scalloped appearance that conditions retraction of the structures of the superior mediastinum and both pulmonary hila, associated with pulmonary consolidations with bronchogram air and thickening of the peribronchovascular interstitium, in addition to areas of left apical air trapping. When severe enough, the disease leads to progressive loss of volume of the upper lobes, decreased body mass, and platythorax. Some patients with iPPFE follow an inexorably progressive course culminating in irreversible respiratory failure and premature death. Up to 20% of patients might develop pulmonary hypertension (PH); transthoracic echocardiography is used as a screening test for PH; right heart catheterization performed in a tertiary-care hospital will confirm the diagnosis. Because iPPFE can be easily confused and misdiagnosed with infectious pathologies, such as pulmonary tuberculosis, and easily confuse physicians with little expertise in diffuse interstitial lung diseases, knowing the differential diagnoses, clinical presentation, imaging, and complications of the iPPFE allows for an early diagnosis and gives patients who suffer from it a better quality of life. This report presents a comprehensive review of PPFEi, discussing severe precapillary pulmonary hypertension and the associated findings demonstrated by right heart catheterization (RHC), which be of interest for cardiopulmonologists.
Topics: Humans; Hypertension, Pulmonary; Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension; Quality of Life; Lung; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
PubMed: 36028054
DOI: 10.1016/j.cpcardiol.2022.101368 -
Wiadomosci Lekarskie (Warsaw, Poland :... 2024Aim: To study the clinical anatomy of the pulmonary ligaments of young people.
OBJECTIVE
Aim: To study the clinical anatomy of the pulmonary ligaments of young people.
PATIENTS AND METHODS
Materials and Methods: The study was carried out when performing 28 autopsies of young people aged 25 to 44 years. Methods of dissection of chest organocomplexes, macro-microscopy, morphometry and planimetry, and statistical processing were used. The shape and topography of the pulmonary ligaments was assessed, their area, the localization of lymph nodes was examined.
RESULTS
Results: The pulmonary ligament is an anatomical formation, which is formed as a result of a combination of leaves of the mediastinal pleura, which, covering the surfaces of the roots of the lungs, descend towards the diaphragm and are located between the mediastinal organs and the lungs. Pulmonary connections on both sides have a few edges: the inner, outer and lower free. The pulmonary ligaments with lower free edges do not pass to the diaphragmatic surface of the pleura, but only with inner ones, which are located on the right along the esophagus, and on the left along the aorta. Pulmonary ligaments on both sides pass into the mediastinal part of the pleura, covering the pericardium.
CONCLUSION
Conclusions: There are individual differences between the shape and size of the right and left pulmonary ligaments in males and females. There is no significant difference between the sizes of the right and left pulmonary ligaments, but such dimensions as: the width, the angle of inclination and the ratio of their lower free edge to the lower edge of the lungs are not found in all cases.
Topics: Male; Female; Humans; Adolescent; Lung; Lymph Nodes; Esophagus; Pleura; Autopsy
PubMed: 38592984
DOI: 10.36740/WLek202402108 -
Der Anaesthesist Sep 2019Idiopathic achalasia is a motility disorder of the esophagus characterized by a dysfunction of the lower esophageal sphincter, which typically manifests as dysphagia.... (Review)
Review
Idiopathic achalasia is a motility disorder of the esophagus characterized by a dysfunction of the lower esophageal sphincter, which typically manifests as dysphagia. Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) is an interventional endoscopic procedure for achalasia, which was introduced in 2010. Although results from randomized studies comparing short-term and long-term safety and efficacy are yet to be published, POEM is regarded to be less invasive than the standard treatment of achalasia (laparoscopic Heller myotomy). POEM is the first endoscopic procedure routinely performed with the patient under general anesthesia. During the preoperative assessment particular attention must be paid to the specific fasting intervals and the risk of aspiration during induction of anesthesia. For the purpose of temporary surgical access, the integrity of the esophageal wall is deliberately interrupted to create a long submucosal tunnel. As a result, unwanted fistulas can arise between the esophageal lumen, the mediastinum, the pleura or the intraperitoneal cavity. Endoscopically insufflated CO may escape into these surrounding compartments with subsequent systemic CO accumulation, capnomediastinum, tension capnoperitoneum or pneumothorax. As a result substantial cardiorespiratory instability can arise. Thus, the attending anesthesiologist must be familiar with these typical complications and with specific emergency measures, such as compensatory hyperventilation, percutaneous needle decompression and thoracic drainage. The POEM procedure is a therapeutic innovation and interdisciplinary challenge. However, anesthesia standards of care have not yet been specified. The aim of this review is therefore to outline some clinical recommendations for the daily clinical practice based on existing evidence.
Topics: Anesthesia, General; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal; Esophageal Achalasia; Esophageal Sphincter, Lower; Humans; Myotomy
PubMed: 31520094
DOI: 10.1007/s00101-019-00655-y -
The British Journal of Radiology Jun 2022To present a routine contrast-enhanced chest CT protocol with a split-bolus injection technique achieving combined early- and delayed phase images with a single...
OBJECTIVES
To present a routine contrast-enhanced chest CT protocol with a split-bolus injection technique achieving combined early- and delayed phase images with a single aquisition, and to compare this technique with a conventional early-phase single-bolus chest CT protocol we formerly used at our institution, in terms of attenuation of great thoracic vessels, pleura, included hepatic and portal venous enhancement, contrast-related artifacts, and image quality.
METHODS
A total of 202 patients, who underwent routine contrast-enhanced chest CT examination aquired with either conventional early-phase single-bolus technique (group A, = 102) or biphasic split-bolus protocol (group B, = 100), were retrospectively included. Attenuation measurements were made by two radiologists independently on mediastinal window settings using a circular ROI at the following sites: main pulmonary artery (PA) at its bifurcation level, thoracal aorta (TA) at the level of MPA bifurcation,portal vein (PV) at porta hepatis, left and right hepatic lobe, and if present, thickened pleura (>2 mm) at the level with the most intense enhancement. Respective normalized enhancement values were also calculated. Contrast-related artifacts were graded and qualitative evaluation of mediastinal lymph nodes was performed by both reviewers independently. Background noise was measured and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs) of the liver and TA were calculated.
RESULTS
While enhancement of thoracic vessels and normalised MPA enhancement did not differ significantly between both groups ( > 0.05), enhancement and normalised enhancement of pleura, liver parenchyma and PV was significantly greater in group B ( < 0.001). Perivenous artifacts limiting evaluation were less frequent in group B than in A and mediastinal lymph nodes were judged to be evaluated worse in group A than in group B with an excellent agreement between both observers. No significant difference was detected in CNRTA ( = 0.633), whereas CNR liver was higher in group B ( < 0.001).
CONCLUSION
Our split-bolus chest CT injection protocol enables simultaneous enhancement for both vascular structures and soft tissues, and thus, might raise diagnostic confidence without the need of multiple acquisitions.
ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE
We think that this CT protocol might also be a promising alternative in lung cancer staging, where combined contrast-enhanced CT of the chest and abdomen is indicated. We therefore suggest to further evaluate its diagnostic utility in this setting, in particular in comparison with a late delayed chest-upper abdominal CT imaging protocol.
Topics: Artifacts; Contrast Media; Humans; Retrospective Studies; Thorax; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
PubMed: 35171718
DOI: 10.1259/bjr.20210775