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Mediastinum (Hong Kong, China) 2023Anesthesia management of patients with mediastinal mass compressing the central airway is considered challenging. It is widely believed that general anesthesia induction... (Review)
Review
Anesthesia management of patients with mediastinal mass compressing the central airway is considered challenging. It is widely believed that general anesthesia induction in patients with mediastinal mass is associated with airway collapse, difficulty in ventilation and hemodynamic compromise. Additionally, several case reports and case series described patients demise after induction of general anesthesia. This has led to the strong recommendations to use inhalation induction, avoid the use of muscle relaxant and maintenance of spontaneous ventilation. Recent studies shed new light on our understanding of airway changes associated with mediastinal mass by directly visualizing and measuring the actual changes of the airway caliber and the variation in the peak inspiratory flow (PIF) and peak expiratory flow (PEF) in patients with mediastinal mass. These studies describe the changes in airway mechanics in different states e.g., awake and anesthetized, spontaneous and positive pressure ventilated with or without muscle relaxation. Interesting new findings in these recent publications show that general anesthesia with and without muscle relaxation does not worsen a pre-existing narrowing of the airway compressed by mediastinal mass. Moreover, it was discovered that the addition of positive pressure ventilation, positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) and muscle relaxation in an anesthetized patient were associated with improvement in the airway caliber and airflow in these patient's population. This new understanding of the mechanics of airway obstruction and the effects of anesthesia and mechanical ventilation on patients with mediastinal mass challenges our current anesthesia practices and leads us to consider a new approach to anesthetize and ventilate these patients. This article will review the past literature that led to the widely practiced current anesthesia techniques and how it is challenged with the new research. The author will also provide a new perspective and anesthesia technique that align with the new research findings for safe induction and maintenance of general anesthesia in patients with mediastinal mass.
PubMed: 37261097
DOI: 10.21037/med-22-37 -
Mediastinum (Hong Kong, China) 2023Lymphomas are among the most common malignant tumors occurring in the anterior/prevascular mediastinum. Their diagnoses can be challenging in small biopsies, the current... (Review)
Review
Lymphomas are among the most common malignant tumors occurring in the anterior/prevascular mediastinum. Their diagnoses can be challenging in small biopsies, the current most common method of sampling of an anterior mediastinal mass. Because the initial clinical and/or imaging impression may not be that of lymphoma, these specimens may first be evaluated by cytopathologists, surgical pathologists, and thoracic pathologists rather than hematopathologists. Therefore, it is crucial for this group of pathologists to have a practical diagnostic approach to these neoplasms, know their common diagnostic pitfalls, and their main differential diagnoses. This is important because the diagnosis of lymphoma carries significant therapeutic implications (chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy and not surgical resection). Similarly, securing and properly triaging a sample at the time of tissue collection will translate into direct patient benefit since a subset of lymphomas (T-lymphoblastic lymphoma) may present exclusively as an anterior mediastinal mass and the tissue obtained from this site may be the only one available to evaluate prognostic markers and potential targetable molecular alterations. Once a proper initial diagnostic work-up has been performed, a case can be transferred to a hematopathologist for assistance with a refined diagnosis. In this review, we focus on the practical diagnostic approach to the most common prevascular/anterior mediastinal lymphomas with an emphasis on the findings in small biopsies and provide best practice tips for case triage.
PubMed: 38090035
DOI: 10.21037/med-22-54 -
BMJ Open Respiratory Research 2017Fibrosing mediastinitis (FM) is a rare disease where there is thickening of the fibrous tissue in the mediastinum. While histoplasmosis is the the most common recognised... (Review)
Review
Fibrosing mediastinitis (FM) is a rare disease where there is thickening of the fibrous tissue in the mediastinum. While histoplasmosis is the the most common recognised cause, the link with tuberculosis (TB) has been rarely documented. We review the link between TB and FM, and describe a case of probable TB-related FM.Our case is of a 74-year-old man who presented with breathlessness 3 years after fully treated TB. Scans revealed a calcified soft tissue mass within the mediastinum, and a diagnosis of fibrosing mediastinitis resulting in pulmonary hypertension was made. Tests for histoplasmosis and IgG4 staining were negative. Surgical intervention was not felt to be beneficial, and he was treated with prednisolone and mycophenolate mofetil.In the review, we highlight the two forms of mediastinitis-granulomatous versus fibrous, and how these two entities may be on a spectrum of disease progression. We also explore the prevalence, clinical presentation, pathogenesis, imaging techniques and treatment options of TB-related FM.
PubMed: 28725444
DOI: 10.1136/bmjresp-2016-000174 -
Archives of Pathology & Laboratory... Dec 2005Frozen section of lung tissue is performed to guide the surgeon in subsequent therapy. (Review)
Review
CONTEXT
Frozen section of lung tissue is performed to guide the surgeon in subsequent therapy.
DESIGN
Practical experience in frozen section of the lung was reviewed in the medical literature and from the records of several academic hospitals.
RESULTS
Most frozen sections of the lung are performed for evaluation of a solitary nodule, a mass, or the surgical margins of a resection. Frozen section may also be used to assess the adequacy of a lung wedge biopsy taken for later diagnosis of a condition.
CONCLUSION
The pathologic evaluation of intraoperative pulmonary lesions is indicated for the differential diagnosis of pulmonary nodules and masses, both neoplastic and nonneoplastic, surgical resection margins, and mediastinal lymph nodes. The most worrisome pitfalls involve differentiating benign reactive atypia from malignancy on frozen section.
Topics: Diagnosis, Differential; Frozen Sections; Humans; Intraoperative Period; Lung; Lung Diseases; Lymph Nodes; Mediastinum; Pathology, Surgical
PubMed: 16329732
DOI: 10.5858/2005-129-1602-FSOLS -
Journal of Investigative Medicine High... 2021A 40-year-old male with a right-sided neck mass was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma. A repeat positron-emission tomography after treatment with combination...
A 40-year-old male with a right-sided neck mass was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma. A repeat positron-emission tomography after treatment with combination immunotherapy demonstrated increased hypermetabolic activity in the right supraclavicular, hilar, and mediastinal regions. Immunotherapy was discontinued and a BRAF/MEK inhibitor combination was started. Repeat imaging showed a decrease in size of the neck mass; however, hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes increased in size. A fine needle aspiration of mediastinal lymph nodes was consistent with a granulomatous process. A diagnosis of a sarcoid-like reaction (SLR) was made, and he was started on steroids. A follow-up positron emission tomography showed decreased hilar and mediastinal lymph node hypermetabolic activity. We, therefore, report this rare case of immunotherapy-induced SLR to the expanding literature on immunotherapy-related adverse effects and would like to highlight that SLR can occur in conjunction with disease progression making it challenging to distinguish between the two.
Topics: Adult; Humans; Immunotherapy; Male; Mediastinum; Melanoma; Sarcoidosis; Skin Neoplasms
PubMed: 33847154
DOI: 10.1177/23247096211009400 -
International Journal of Clinical and... 2018Mediastinal myelolipoma/extramedullary hematopoiesis presenting as a mass is infrequent and can lead to misdiagnosis. Here we describe a large series aiming to...
OBJECTIVES
Mediastinal myelolipoma/extramedullary hematopoiesis presenting as a mass is infrequent and can lead to misdiagnosis. Here we describe a large series aiming to illustrate the clinicopathologic features.
METHODS
We retrospectively searched mediastinal tumors and myelolipoma diagnosed at the Department of Pathology, West China Hospital from 2010 to 2015 and collected 14 mediastinal myelolipoma/extramedullary hematopoiesis cases presenting as an encapsulated mass among 1324 mediastinal mass diseases and 252 myelolipomas.
RESULTS
There were 8 females and 6 males aged from 35 to 67 years old, most of whom were diagnosed incidentally. Cross-sectional imaging revealed encapsulated masses located in the posterior mediastinum with fat and soft tissue density showing heterogeneous enhancement. Radiologic diagnosis was neurogenic tumor for most cases. All but one patient underwent surgery and postoperative pathologic findings showed fat and hematologic elements. Considering the accompanying hematologic disorders, 5 patients were diagnosed as extramedullary hematopoiesis and the remaining 9 as myelolipoma. The average hematopoietic tissue percentage in extramedullary hematopoiesis was 70%, significantly higher than it was in myelolipoma. Patients showed no sign of recurrence or metastasis apart from the patient with hepatocellular carcinoma.
CONCLUSIONS
Mediastinal myelolipoma/extramedullary hematopoiesis is a rare entity of solid tumors in the posterior mediastinum, affecting patients from their third decades, with no sex predilection and lacking unique clinical symptoms, and may be misdiagnosed as a malignant tumor on cross-sectional imaging. The final diagnosis relies on pathologic findings, and the precise classification of myelolipoma or extramedullary hematopoiesis relies on percentage of hematopoietic tissue and accompanying clinical symptoms. Surgery is the recommended treatment.
PubMed: 31938387
DOI: No ID Found -
Annals of Cardiothoracic Surgery Nov 2015Minimally invasive surgery has changed the way operative procedures are performed in many specialties. As surgeons have become progressively facile with these... (Review)
Review
Minimally invasive surgery has changed the way operative procedures are performed in many specialties. As surgeons have become progressively facile with these techniques, the opportunities to use them have expanded. In thoracic surgery, many surgeons now use minimally invasive techniques to resect small, uncomplicated pathologies of the mediastinum as well as to perform thymectomy for myasthenia gravis. Experience with these techniques has allowed new knowledge to be gained and expansion of the use of these techniques for more complicated mediastinal pathology. This keynote address will outline the instrumentation and techniques that we have adopted over a decade of using these techniques for more complicated mediastinal pathology.
PubMed: 26693146
DOI: 10.3978/j.issn.2225-319X.2015.11.01 -
Journal of Medical Case Reports Mar 2022Primitive neuroectodermal tumors are extremely rare and highly aggressive malignant small round cell tumors that arise from the primitive nerve cells of the nervous...
BACKGROUND
Primitive neuroectodermal tumors are extremely rare and highly aggressive malignant small round cell tumors that arise from the primitive nerve cells of the nervous system or outside it. These tumors share similar histology, immunohistologic characteristics, and cytogenetics with Ewing's sarcoma. Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors of the chest wall are rare malignant tumors seen in children and young adults.
CASE PRESENTATION
We report a rare case of peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor in a 4-year-old Albanian girl with a mediastinal tumor and an unusual clinical presentation. She was initially treated for acute polyradiculoneuritis (Guillain-Barré syndrome) owing to pain, weakness in the lower limbs, and walking difficulty, as well as severe irritability. During the second week of treatment, the child began to experience dry cough, chest discomfort, and worsening dyspnea. Chest radiography, chest computed tomography, and contrast-enhanced computed tomography demonstrated a large mass in the right hemithorax that was derived from the posterior mediastinum with expansive growth in all directions and that shifted the mediastinal structures in the anterolateral left direction. Consequently, histopathology and immunohistochemical examination of the markers S-100, CD99, and Ki-67 showed that the tumor cells stained positively for S-100 and CD99. The proliferative index measured by Ki-67 was approximately 20%, which suggested primitive neuroectodermal tumor.
CONCLUSIONS
Even though other diseases, including leukemia, lymphoma, and neuroblastoma, may be accompanied by musculoskeletal manifestations in children, other solid tumors, such as peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors, should be considered in the differential diagnosis in any child presenting with musculoskeletal symptoms.
Topics: Child; Child, Preschool; Female; Humans; Mediastinal Neoplasms; Mediastinum; Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive, Peripheral; Sarcoma, Ewing; Thoracic Wall; Young Adult
PubMed: 35354472
DOI: 10.1186/s13256-022-03354-2 -
Cirugia Y Cirujanos 2021Pericardial cysts are uncommon masses and are the third most common cystic mass of the mediastinum. The majority are asymptomatic, however, they can be associated with...
BACKGROUND
Pericardial cysts are uncommon masses and are the third most common cystic mass of the mediastinum. The majority are asymptomatic, however, they can be associated with serious complications such as cardiac tamponade, bronchial obstruction, or even sudden death.
CASE REPORT
An asymptomatic female patient, who was referred due to a chest radiograph showing cardiomegaly. The transthoracic echocardiogram showed an image consistent with a pericardial cyst, the diagnosis was confirmed with a magnetic resonance imaging.
CONCLUSIONS
Pericardial cysts may appear as an incidental finding in the chest radiograph, either computed tomography scan or magnetic resonance imaging are useful to confirm the diagnosis.
Topics: Echocardiography; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Mediastinal Cyst; Mediastinum; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
PubMed: 34932548
DOI: 10.24875/CIRU.21000280 -
Korean Journal of Radiology Jan 2023As the majority of incidentally detected lesions in the anterior mediastinum is small nodules with soft tissue appearance, the differential diagnosis has typically... (Review)
Review
As the majority of incidentally detected lesions in the anterior mediastinum is small nodules with soft tissue appearance, the differential diagnosis has typically included thymic neoplasm and prevascular lymph node, with benign cyst. Overestimation or misinterpretation of these lesions can lead to unnecessary surgery for ultimately benign conditions. nonsurgical anterior mediastinal lesions. The pitfalls of MRI evaluation for anterior mediastinal cystic lesions are as follows: first, we acknowledge the limitation of T2-weighted images for evaluating benign cystic lesions. Due to variable contents within benign cystic lesions, such as hemorrhage, T2 signal intensity may be variable. Second, owing to extensive necrosis and cystic changes, the T2 shine-through effect may be seen on diffusion-weighted images (DWI), and small solid portions might be missed on enhanced images. Therefore, both enhancement and DWI with apparent diffusion coefficient values should be considered. An algorithm will be suggested for the diagnostic evaluation of anterior mediastinal cystic lesions, and finally, a management strategy based on MRI features will be suggested.
Topics: Humans; Mediastinum; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Thymus Neoplasms; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Diagnosis, Differential; Mediastinal Neoplasms
PubMed: 36606621
DOI: 10.3348/kjr.2022.0606