Efficacy and safety of surgery for spontaneous pneumothorax in elderly patients

Author(s):  
Shunichi Nagata ◽  
Mitsugu Omasa ◽  
Kosuke Tokushige ◽  
Takao Nakanishi ◽  
Hideki Motoyama

Abstract OBJECTIVES There is no clear consensus on the surgical indications for spontaneous pneumothorax in elderly patients. In this study, we aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of surgical treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax in patients aged ≥70 years. We also sought to identify the risk factors for postoperative prolonged air leaks and complications in such patients. METHODS Data pertaining to 104 elderly patients who underwent surgery out of 206 patients (aged ≥70 years) who were diagnosed with spontaneous pneumothorax at our institution between 1994 and 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. The incidences of postoperative persistent air leaks (≥2 days) and postoperative complications (≥grade 3; Clavien–Dindo classification) were analysed for efficacy and safety assessment, respectively. RESULTS Median postoperative air leaks continued for 0 days (range 0–25); 14.4% patients developed ≥grade 3 postoperative complications. On the basis of results of multivariable analysis, it was observed that a higher PaCO2 level was significantly associated with prolonged postoperative air leaks [odds ratio (OR) 1.08, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.00–1.17; P = 0.047]. Poorer performance status was associated with a significantly increased risk of postoperative complications, as assessed by multivariable analysis (OR 6.13, 95% CI 1.38–27.3; P = 0.017). The recurrence rate was 4.8%; mortality rate of patients was 2.9%. Three-year survival rate after surgery was 73.8%. CONCLUSIONS Surgical treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax may be effective and safe in selected elderly patients. Moreover, higher PaCO2 and poorer performance status were independent risk factors for postoperative persistent air leaks and complications, respectively.

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e13031-e13031
Author(s):  
Neda Hashemi-Sadraei ◽  
Roozbeh Sharif ◽  
Jorge Machicado ◽  
Saurabh Dahiya ◽  
Manmeet Singh Ahluwalia

e13031 Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common complication in glioblastoma (GBM) patients. Physicians are reluctant to administer anticoagulants to GBM patients with VTE, particularly to the elderly patients. Methods: After obtaining IRB approval, the Cleveland Clinic Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center’s database was used to identify patients with histologically confirmed GBM who were diagnosed with VTE and were ≥65 years of age at the time of diagnosis of GBM. Bivariate comparison of demographic and clinical features was performed by occurrence of DVT, using t-test for continuous data and fishers exact test for categorical variables. Multivariate proportional hazard model was developed adjusting for number of comorbidities (none, 1, 2-3, >3), Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) at presentation (>70, ≤70), age (>75, ≤75), race, treatment (chemotherapy, radiation therapy, tumor resection). All p-values were 2-sided and were considered significant when <0.005. Results: Chart records of 517 patients diagnosed between 1990 and 2010 were included for analysis. Among 517 cases, 99 patients (54% male, median age at presentation 72 years, range 65-92 years) developed VTE. Median follow-up was 6.58 ± 9.58 months. Eighty-nine (90.8%) cases were diagnosed within 3 months of craniotomy. On univariable analysis, risk factors for VTE included lower KPS (HR 0.98, CI 0.96– 0.99, p = 0.001), thalamic tumors (HR 3.11, CI 1.14– 8.50, p = 0.027), and lower extremity paresis (HR 2.24, CI 1.46-3.46, p < 0.0001). Caucasian patients had a lower trend for developing VTE, however this was not statistically significant. On multivariable analysis, lower KPS was found to be related with higher incidence of VTE (HR 0.35, CI 0.18 – 0.66, p = 0.001). Conclusions: Lower KPS is associated with higher incidence of VTE. Further studies are needed to determine risk stratification and whether the use of medical prophylaxis after neurosurgical intervention can lead to decrease in the rates of VTE in elderly GBM patients.


Author(s):  
Hongyun Ruan ◽  
Changfan Gong ◽  
Jinxiang Wang

Abstract Background To evaluate the efficacy and safety of surgical treatment of tuberculosis destroyed lung (TDL), and the influence of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) on the outcomes of surgical treatment of TDL. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of 113 patients with TDL who underwent surgical treatment from January 2005 to December 2019. Among them, 30 of these cases were complicated with CPA. The patients were divided into two groups: TDL group and TDL + CPA group. We analyzed the effectiveness and safety of surgical treatment of TDL, and further compared the effectiveness and safety of surgical treatment of TDL with or withoutthe presence of CPA. Results The TDL + CPA group had a significantly higher age (P=0.003), symptoms of hemoptysis (P=0.000), and a higher proportion of patients with preoperative serum albumin <30 g/L (P=0.014) as compared with TDL group. For all enrolled patients, the incidence of severe postoperative complications was 12.4% (14/113) and the postoperative mortality within 30 days after discharge was 4.4% (5/113). 86.7% (98/113) of the patients recovered and discharged, the incidence of severe postoperative complications in the TDA + CPA group was higher than that of TDL group (23.3% vs 8.4%, P = 0.034), although there was no difference in mortality between the two groups (P = 1.000). A binary logistic regression analysis showed that the independent risk factors for severe postoperative complications were male (OR 25.24, 95% CI 2.31–275.64; P = 0.008) and age ≥ 40 years (OR 10.34, 95% CI 1.56–68.65; P = 0.016). Conclusion Surgical treatment for patients with TDL is effective with an acceptable mortality rate whether or not the disease is complicated with CPA. The independent risk factors identified for severe postoperative complications in patients with TDL were male and ≥ 40 years old. It implies that when treating patients with TDA + CPA, particular attention should be paid to these patients who have these independent risk factors to avoid a poor outcome.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 2320
Author(s):  
Paolo Ferroli ◽  
Ignazio Gaspare Vetrano ◽  
Silvia Schiavolin ◽  
Francesco Acerbi ◽  
Costanza Maria Zattra ◽  
...  

The decision of whether to operate on elderly patients with brain tumors is complex, and influenced by pathology-related and patient-specific factors. This retrospective cohort study, based on a prospectively collected surgical database, aims at identifying possible factors predicting clinical worsening after elective neuro-oncological surgery in elderly patients. Therefore, all patients ≥65 years old who underwent BT resection at a tertiary referral center between 01/2018 and 12/2019 were included. Age, smoking, previous radiotherapy, hypertension, preoperative functional status, complications occurrence, surgical complexity and the presence of comorbidities were prospectively collected and analyzed at discharge and the 3-month follow-up. The series included 143 patients (mean 71 years, range 65–86). Sixty-five patients (46%) had at least one neurosurgical complication, whereas 48/65 (74%) complications did not require invasive treatment. Forty-two patients (29.4%) worsened at discharge; these patients had a greater number of complications compared to patients with unchanged/improved performance status. A persistent worsening at three months of follow-up was noted in 20.3% of patients; again, this subgroup presented more complications than patients who remained equal or improved. Therefore, postoperative complications and surgical complexity seem to influence significantly the early outcome in elderly patients undergoing brain tumor surgery. In contrast, postoperative complications alone are the only factor with an impact on the 3-month follow-up.


Author(s):  
Koichi Tomita ◽  
Itsuki Koganezawa ◽  
Masashi Nakagawa ◽  
Shigeto Ochiai ◽  
Takahiro Gunji ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Postoperative complications are not rare in the elderly population after hepatectomy. However, predicting postoperative risk in elderly patients undergoing hepatectomy is not easy. We aimed to develop a new preoperative evaluation method to predict postoperative complications in patients above 65 years of age using biological impedance analysis (BIA). Methods Clinical data of 59 consecutive patients (aged 65 years or older) who underwent hepatectomy at our institution between 2017 and 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Risk factors for postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo ≥ III) were evaluated using multivariate regression analysis. Additionally, a new preoperative risk score was developed for predicting postoperative complications. Results Fifteen patients (25.4%) had postoperative complications, with biliary fistula being the most common complication. Abnormal skeletal muscle mass index from BIA and type of surgical procedure were found to be independent risk factors in the multivariate analysis. These two variables and preoperative serum albumin levels were used for developing the risk score. The postoperative complication rate was 0.0% with a risk score of ≤ 1 and 57.1% with a risk score of ≥ 4. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the risk score was 0.810 (p = 0.001), which was better than that of other known surgical risk indexes. Conclusion Decreased skeletal muscle and the type of surgical procedure for hepatectomy were independent risk factors for postoperative complications after elective hepatectomy in elderly patients. The new preoperative risk score is simple, easy to perform, and will help in the detection of high-risk elderly patients undergoing elective hepatectomy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 249
Author(s):  
Irene Dogliotti ◽  
Simone Ragaini ◽  
Francesco Vassallo ◽  
Elia Boccellato ◽  
Gabriele De Luca ◽  
...  

Background. Bendamustine is a cytotoxic alkylating drug with a broad range of indications as a single agent or in combination therapy in lymphoid neoplasia patients. However, its tolerability in elderly patients is still debated. Methods: An observational, retrospective study was carried out; patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or lymphoma, aged ≥ 65 years old, treated with bendamustine-based regimens in first or subsequent lines between 2010 and 2020 were considered eligible. Results: Overall, 179 patients aged ≥ 65 years were enrolled, 53% between 71 and 79 years old. Cumulative Illness Rating Scale (CIRS) comorbidity score was ≥6 in 54% patients. Overall survival (OS) at 12 months was 95% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 90–97%); after a median follow up of 50 months, median OS was 84 months. The overall response rate was 87%, with 56% complete responses; the median time to progression (TTP) was 61 months. The baseline factors affecting OS by multivariable analysis were sex, histological diagnosis, renal function, and planned bendamustine dose, while only type of lymphoma and bendamustine dose impacted on TTP. Main adverse events were neutropenia (grade ≥ 3: 43%) and infections (any grade: 36%), with 17% of patients requiring hospital admission. Conclusions: The responses to bendamustine, as well as survival, are relevant even in advanced age patients, with a manageable incidence of acute toxicity.


2007 ◽  
Vol 25 (34) ◽  
pp. 5397-5402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard S. Hochster ◽  
Weixiu Luo ◽  
Elizabeta C. Popa ◽  
Bruce T. Lyman ◽  
Mary Mulcahy ◽  
...  

Purpose To evaluate the tolerability and effectiveness of uracil-tegafur (UFT) with leucovorin (LV) in the treatment of elderly patients with advanced colorectal cancer. Patients and Methods Patients ≥ 75 years of age with previously untreated colorectal cancer were eligible for this phase II, single-arm, open-label, multicenter cooperative group clinical trial. UFT 100 mg/m2 plus LV 30 mg orally every 8 hours for 28 days every 35 days was administered until progression. Results Fifty-eight patients were enrolled between June 2000 and July 2001, and 55 were treated. The median age of treated patients was 81 years (range, 75 to 90 years), 26 patients were (47%) women, and 80% had good performance status (0 to 1). The observed overall response rate was 22% (95% CI, 11.8% to 35.0%). The estimated median overall survival time was 13.0 months (95% CI, 9.6 to 17.4 months), and median progression-free survival time was 4.6 months (95% CI, 2.6 to 6.7 months). Among the 56 treated patients (including one ineligible patient), 31 (55%) experienced grade 3 to 4 toxicities, most commonly diarrhea (25%) and GI toxicity (36%), with patients older than 85 years of age at highest risk. Conclusion The results of this trial support the efficacy of oral UFT/LV in elderly patients with colorectal cancer. The regimen is tolerated moderately well overall, particularly as compared with other fluoropyrimidine regimens, although there is increased GI toxicity in the most elderly. These results suggest that studies using newer oral fluoropyrimidine analogs should be investigated in this patient population.


Chemotherapy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 29-34
Author(s):  
Noriko Takahashi ◽  
Tomiko Sunaga ◽  
Tatsuhiro Fujimiya ◽  
Tatsuya Kurihara ◽  
Akiko Nagatani ◽  
...  

Introduction: Combination chemotherapy of gemcitabine and cisplatin (GC) is the standard treatment for patients with urothelial cancer (UC). However, hematological toxicity is a major side effect of GC therapy in patients with UC. In particular, discontinuation of the GC therapy is associated to adverse events such as hematological toxicity. Some studies have reported general risk factors of hematological toxicity such as age. However, little is known about risk factors for GC therapy-associated hematological toxicity in patients with UC. Objective: We aimed to identify risk factors for hematological toxicity in patients with UC receiving GC therapy. Methods: We performed a retrospective evaluation of the data of 128 patients with UC who received GC therapy. The study end point was defined as the occurrence of grade 4 neutropenia and grade ≥3 thrombocytopenia. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine risk factors that were significantly associated with neutropenia and thrombocytopenia. Results: In total, 62 (48.4%) patients experienced grade 4 neutropenia, and 27 (21.1%) patients experienced grade ≥3 thrombocytopenia. In the multivariate analysis, performance status (PS) ≥1 (odds ratio [OR] 3.764, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.410–10.047, p = 0.008) and neutrophil count (OR 0.648, 95% CI 0.468–0.898, p = 0.009) were significantly associated with grade 4 neutropenia. Platelet count (PLT) (OR 0.896, 95% CI 0.832–0.966, p = 0.004) and potassium (K) level (OR 6.966, 95% CI 1.313–36.989, p = 0.023) were also significantly associated with grade ≥3 thrombocytopenia. Conclusions: PS ≥ 1, neutrophil count, PLT, and K level were important risk factors for GC therapy-induced hematological toxicity in patients with UC. To continue GC therapy, further management systems by hematological toxicity risk factors for patients with UC will be required.


1996 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dario Nicolella ◽  
Giuseppe Grimaldi ◽  
Giuseppe Colantuoni ◽  
Mario Belli ◽  
Giuseppe Frasci ◽  
...  

Aims and background The treatment of elderly patients with metastatic solid tumours is still a debated problem. Patients over 75 years are generally excluded from combination chemotherapy trials because of higher toxicity. Several clinical studies have shown that weekly low dose epirubicin is a well tolerated and effective treatment for elderly cancer patients (breast, prostate, lung). Methods We report a study of patients aged between 75 and 85 years affected by metastatic anthracyclines-sensible carcinomas, to assess the tolerance of epirubicin given weekly at a dose of 25 mg/m2. Results 25 patients (13 males, 12 females; ECOG P.S. 0-2) entered the study and were evaluable for side effects. One-hundred and ninety-six cycles of therapy have been administered. Side effects were never severe. Mucositis (9 patients), leucopenia (7 patients), anemia (5 patients) were usually of grade 1 or 2. Grade 1 cardiotoxicity (tachycardia) was observed in only one case. Grade 3 toxicity consisted in anemia (1 patient) and mucositis (1 patient), while grade 4 toxicity never occurred. Nineteen patients were evaluable for response: 0 CR, 4 PR (1 lung, 3 breast), 8 SD (3 lung, 3 breast, 2 prostate) have been observed. Compliance was encouraging and the majority of patients showed a decrease in symptoms and an improvement in performance status. Conclusions Weekly low-dose epirubicin is a very well tolerated treatment in elderly cancer patients. In view of the negligible toxicity encountered, it could be of utility to test this regimen in patients aged 75 years or older, affected by anthracyclines-sensible metastatic tumors, also to assess activity.


2009 ◽  
Vol 111 (2) ◽  
pp. 258-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenichiro Asano ◽  
Takahiro Nakano ◽  
Tetsuji Takeda ◽  
Hiroki Ohkuma

Object In elderly patients with brain tumors, the prevention of postoperative systemic complications is extremely important, and identification of the risk factors would be useful for planning therapy. The authors investigated ways to avoid postoperative complications by identifying risk factors. Methods The study population included 84 patients, 70 years of age or older, who underwent surgical brain tumor removal. The following independent factors were assessed by univariate and multivariate analyses: sex, age, preoperative underlying diseases and complications, histopathological findings, preoperative Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) score, preoperative whole blood hemoglobin (Hb) level, preoperative serum total protein (TP) level, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, change in Hb level (difference between pre- and postoperative values), and change in TP level (difference between pre- and postoperative values). The cutoff values for significant independent factors were also determined. Results Overall, 35 (41.7%) of the 84 patients had a total of 56 postoperative systemic complications. Univariate analysis identified the preoperative KPS score, intraoperative blood loss, change in Hb level, and change in TP level as risk factors for postoperative complications, and multivariate analysis extracted the following risk factors: the preoperative KPS score (p = 0.0450, OR 4.020), intraoperative blood loss (p = 0.0104, OR 6.571), and change in Hb levels (p = 0.0023, OR 9.301). The cutoff values were: KPS score < 80%, intraoperative blood loss ≥ 350 ml, and change in Hb level ≥ 2.0 g/dl. Conclusions In elderly patients with brain tumors, low preoperative KPS score, high intraoperative blood loss, and a large difference between pre- and postoperative Hb levels are significant risk factors for postoperative systemic complications.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document