Objective To assess clinical outcomes of therapeutic video-mediastinoscopy （VMS）. Methods Clinical data of 82 patients undergoing VMS in Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University from December 2008 to October 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them，24 patients received therapeutic VMS，including 18 men and 6 women with their median age of 56 （22-81） years. Three patients underwent operation through a neck incision，4 patients through a parasternal incision，and 17 patients through a lateral intercostal incision. Five patients received local anesthesia and basal anesthesia，and all the other patients received general anesthesia through single-lumen or double-lumen endotracheal intubation. Results Twelve patients with pleural effusion underwent pleural or lung biopsy and talc pleurodesis. Pathology examination showed malignant diseases in 11 patients and tuberculous pleural effusion in 1 patient. The median operation time was 35 （30-50） minutes，and postoperative hospital stay was 3-6 days. These patients were followed up for 1 month without recurrence of pleural effusion. Ten patients with mediastinal mass received pathological diagnosis and complete mass resection with their median operation time of 55 （30-270） minutes and median hospital stay of 7 （5-40） days. Two patients with hyperhidrosis underwent bilateral intercostal VMS sympathectomy. Their operation time was 60 minutes and 50 minutes respectively，and their hospital stay was 3 days. Postoperatively their sweating symptoms obviously resolved. They were followed up for 3 months，and their hands，feet and armpit were warm and dry. There was no in-hospital death in this group. Two patients （8.3%） had postoperative complications including 1 patient with phrenic nerve injury and another patient with pneumonia. Opioid analgesic drugs were not used postoperatively in 9 patients. Conclusion Therapeutic VMS is a safe，effective，minimally invasive and cosmetic procedure，but it is not suitable for resection of a large mediastinal mass.
Objective To investigate the expression of aquaporin-1( AQP-1) in pleural mesothelial cells ( PMCs) and the influence of glucose thereupon. Methods Rat PMCs were isolated, cultured, and divided into two groups, ie. a glucose group, cultured with glucose of different concentrations for 24 hours,and a control group, cultured in D-MEM/ F-12 medium. The 100 mmol / L glucose group was administered at the time points of 6, 12, 18, and 24 hours respectively. RT-PCR and Western blotting were used to analyze the mRNA and protein expression of AQP-1. Results The absorbance values of AQP-1 protein expression were 54. 02 ±4. 61, 127. 84 ±9. 41, and 231. 62 ±22. 63, respectively in the PMCs treated with glucose of the concentrations of 50, 100, and 200 mmol / L, all significantly higher than those in the control group( 22. 45 ±2. 16, all P lt; 0. 01) . The absorbance values of AQP-1 protein expression were 24. 68 ±2. 56, 58. 68 ±3. 67, 89. 61 ±6. 62, and 113. 41 ±7. 65 in the PMCs treated with glucose of the concentration of 100 mmol / L after 6, 12, 18, and 24 hours, all significantly higher than those in the control group ( 11. 81 ±1. 45, P lt;0. 01) .Conclusions Glucose induces the expression of AQP-1 mRNA and protein. AQP-1 participates in the pleural fluid formation.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the diagnostic value of procalcitonin (PCT) for tuberculous pleural effusion.
MethodsWe electronically searched CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP, CBM, PubMed, The Cochrane Library and EMbase from inception to April, 2013, to collect the literature about the diagnostic value of PCT for tuberculous pleural effusion compared with gold standard (positive outcomes of mycobacterium tuberculosis culture). Two reviewers screened literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data, and assessed the quality of included studies. MetaDiSc 1.4 were used to conduct the meta-analysis.
ResultsEight studies were finally included. The results of meta-analysis showed the pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.63 (95%CI 0.58 to 0.68) and 0.76 (95%CI 0.70 to 0.81), respectively. The positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio were 2.72 (95%CI 1.48 to 5.02) and 0.49 (95%CI 0.29 to 0.82), respectively. The diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) was 5.77 (95%CI 1.89 to 17.58). And the SROC AUC was 0.79. Heterogeneity was mainly derived from the QUADAS score and Begg's test showed there was no presence of publication bias.
ConclusionPCT is a potential marker in the diagnosis of benign and tuberculous pleural effusion, which can be used to determine diagnosis identification of tuberculous pleural effusion.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the diagnostic value of neuron specific enolase (NSE) for malignant pleural effusion.
MethodsWe comprehensively searched databases including The Cochrane Library (Issue 1, 2012), EMbase, MEDLINE, CBM, CNKI, WanFang Data and VIP from inception to January 2012 to collect studies about the diagnostic value of NSE for malignant pleural effusion. Literature screening according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, data extraction and methodological quality assessment were completed by two reviewers independently. Then Meta-DiSc software (version 1.4) was used for pooling analysis.
ResultsA total of 12 studies were finally included. The results of meta-analysis showed that the value of pooled specificity, sensitivity, positive likelihood radio, negative likelihood radio and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) were 0.79 (0.76 to 0.84), 0.55 (0.51 to 0.59), 3.2 (1.94 to 5.29), 0.58 (0.45 to 0.74), 7.56 (3.74 to 15.30), respectively; and the area under SROC curve (AUC) was 0.813 1.
ConclusionUsing NSE as a maker to diagnose malignant pleural effusion is of certain clinical value, which is used to differentiate benign and malignant pleural effusion.
Objective To investigate the feasibility of detection of epidermal growth factor receptor ( EGFR) exon 19 deletions and exon 21 L858R mutations in pleural effusion fromnon-small-cell lung cancer ( NSCLC) patients by mutant enriched PCR assay. Methods The mutations of exon 19 and 21 of EGFR gene in pleural samples fromthirty NSCLC patients were analyzed using both the mutant-enriched PCR assay and the non-enriched PCR assay. Results Ten ( 33. 3% , 10/ 30) exon 19 deletions and five ( 16. 7% , 5/30) exon 21 L858R mutation were detected by the mutant-enriched PCR assay, while only 6 cases ( 20. 0% ) and 1 case ( 3. 3% ) were detected by the non-enriched PCR assay respectively. The difference of mutation detection rate of EGFR gene between the two methods was statistically significant ( P = 0. 032) . Mutations were detected in all of partial responders ( 2 /4) among the four patients who received gefitinib therapy. Conclusions Mutant-enriched PCR assay can detect EGFR exon 19 deletions and exon 21 L858R mutation in pleural effusion from NSCLC patients effectively, economically and accurately. It may be a valuable biomarker for gefitinib therapy in advanced NSCLC.
Objective
To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of pleural infusion chemotherapy with docetaxel in the treatment of malignant pleural effusion.
Methods
Twenty-three patients with malignant tumor confirmed by biopsy or postoperative pathology, complicated with malignant pleural effusion confirmed by exfoliative cytology, were treated between March 2013 and June 2014. All the 23 patients underwent thoracic puncture and catheter drainage for the removal of contraindications for chemotherapy. Then, pleural infusion chemotherapy was performed with docetaxel (40 mg/m2), normal saline (250 mL) and dexamethasone (10 mg), 21 days as a cycle. Before pleural infusion chemotherapy with docetaxel, all the patients were given standard pretreatment with dexamethasone, cimetidine/ranitidine or promethazine. The efficacy and safety of the treatment were evaluated in each cycle.
Results
Among the 23 selected patients, 6 were evaluated as complete remission and 11 as partial remission, with an effective rate of 73.91%. All the patients had acceptable tolerance in the process of the treatment. The most common side effects were bone marrow suppression (78.26%), and nausea and vomiting (82.61%). No such complications as allergy, fluid retention, cardiac toxicity or degree-Ⅳ adverse reactions were detected.
Conclusion
Pleural infusion chemotherapy with docetaxel in the treatment of malignant pleural effusion is effective with mild adverse reactions, which is worthy to be popularized.
ObjectiveTo explore the superiority of pleural tenting in Ivor-Lewis esophagogastrectomy.
MethodsWe prospectively included 200 esophagus cancer patients with Ivor-Lewis esophagogastrectomy in our hospital between 2013 and 2015 year. The patients were allocated into two groups including a trial group and a control group with 100 patients in each group. There were 72 males and 28 females at an average age of 54.76±6.62 years in the trial group and 66 males and 34 females at an average age of 55.72±6.38 years in the control group. In the trial group pleural tenting was used to cover the anastomotic stoma and gastric tube, while in the control group pleural tenting was not used. Postoperative complications after one year, pressure on the level of the anastomotic stoma, and the grade of quality of life were compared between the two groups.
ResultNo statistically significant differences were found in preoperative epidemiological and postoperative pathological characteristics, as well as the postoperative complications and the one-year survival rate (P > 0.05). Quality of life was better in the trial group than that of the control group.
ConclusionPleural tenting is a simple, safe, and effective technique for improving quality of life of the patients.
Objective
To analyze the clinical features and survival of lung cancer with pleural effusions.
Methods
A total of 982 consecutive patients with a newly diagnosed lung cancer from January 2008 to December 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. To analyze the clinical features and survival differences, the total patients were divided into the following two groups: with (n=204) or without (n=778) pleural effusions.
Results
Lung cancer comprised 682 (69.5%) males and 300 (30.5%) females, with an average age of 59.74 years (19–93 years). There were 487(49.6%) squamous carcinoma, 254 (25.9%) adenocarcinoma and 166 (16.9%) small cell lung cancer; 113 (11.5%) lung cancer at early stage (Ⅰ–Ⅱ), 247 (25.2%) cases at stage Ⅲ and 567 (57.7%) at stage Ⅳ. The median survival time of all patients was 12 months. Patients with pleural effusions had a worse prognosis compared to patients without (median survival time: 11 vs.12 months, P=0.003), the median survival time could be reduced by 1 month in males (P=0.004), 3 months in elder patients over 60 years (P<0.001), 4 to 8 months in carcinoma and small cell lung cancer (P≤0.001), and 2 to 3 months in advanced lung cancer (stage Ⅲ and Ⅳ) (P<0.05). Any or combined treatment of surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and targeted therapy was associated with an improved overall survival of about 2 months (P=0.009), and targeted therapy could even improve the median survival time by 1 to 8 months (P=0.002).
Conclusions
About 20.8% of the patients developed pleural effusion at the same time during the course of lung cancer. Pleural effusion is a poor prognostic factor of lung cancer.
Objective To explore the clinical value of pleura biopsy and partial pleura cryobiopsy via electronic bronchoscope in diagnosis of unknown exudative pleural effusion. Methods Diagnostic results of 563 patients with unknown exudative pleural effusion were analyzed retrospectively. Bronchoscope and routine pleura biopsy were performed in 187 patients. Bronchoscope and routine pleura biopsy plus partial pleura cryobiopsy were performed in 376 patients. Pathological positive rates of the two groups were compared. Results In the 187 patients examined by bronchoscope and routine pleura biopsy from 2006 to 2008, 161 patients obtained pathological positive results ( 86.1% ) . In the 376 patients examined by bronchoscope and routine pleura biopsy plus partial pleura cryobiopsy from 2009 to 2012, 354 patients acquired pathological diagnosis ( 94.1% ) . There was significant difference between the two groups ( P lt; 0.05) . The main complications were bleeding and local chest pain, and they can be controlled easily. Conclusions Electronic bronchoscope and pleura biopsy can obtain high detection rate of nearly 90% in diagnosis of unknown exudative pleural effusion especially when combined with cryobiopsy of partial pleura. Electronic bronchoscope combined with pleura biopsy or cryobiopsy is an alternative in clinical settings when thoracoscope is unavailable.
Objective To investigate the value of tumor type M2 pyruvate kinase ( M2-PK) in the differential diagnosis of pleural effusion. Methods A total of 146 patients with pleural effusion during January 2006 to December 2008 were recruited at the department of respiratory medicine of the Shantou Affiliated Hospital and the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen Medical College. Pleural effusion was malignant in 72 cases ( 52 cases with lung cancer and 20 cases with metastatic lung cancer) and benign in 74 cases ( 54 cases with infective pleural effusion and 20 with transudation effusion) . The patients were divided into a malignant pleural effusion group, an infective pleural effusion group, and a transudation group.Then the infective group was further divided into subgroups of tuberculosis pleural effusion group andparapneumonic effusion group. The concentration of tumor M2-PK in pleural fluid obtained during the first thoracocentesis was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay( ELISA) . Results The concentration of tumor M2-PK was significantly higher in the malignant pleural effusion group compared with the benignpleural effusion groups ( P lt; 0. 01) . Significant differences were also found in the concentration of tumor M2-PK between malignant pleural effusion caused by lung cancer and metastatic lung cancer( P lt; 0. 05) .When the cutoff value of tumor M2-PK was set at 18. 68 U/mL, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for the diagnosis of malignant pleural effusion was 87. 6% , 86. 0% , and 87. 4%, respectively. Furthermore,the detection of tumor M2-PK in combination with CEA showed better diagnostic sensitivity( 96. 0% ) ,specificity ( 85. 0% ) , and accuracy ( 91. 1% ) . Conclusions The detection of tumor M2-PK in pleural effusion is of some clinical significance in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant pleural effusion.The detection of tumor M2-PK in combination with CEA is a good diagnostic tool with high sensitivity andspecificity.
