Diagnosis of lung cancer: a necropsy-based study of 128 cases (1997–2016)

2020 ◽  
pp. 030089162094966
Author(s):  
Pietro Gino Barbieri ◽  
Dario Mirabelli

Background: The diagnosis of lung cancer (LC) may be difficult to make in the elderly. We report on the diagnostic elements available in life in an LC necropsy case series of asbestos-exposed workers and describe the frequency of non-neoplastic asbestos-related diseases as biological exposure indices. Methods: We reviewed pathologic and clinical records of an unselected series of autopsies (1997–2016) in patients with LC employed in the Monfalcone shipyards. We assessed the consistency with autopsy results of diagnoses based on, respectively, radiologic, cytologic, and histologic findings. Results: Data on 128 autopsy-confirmed LC cases were available; in life, 119 had been diagnosed as LC. Among these, 49 had histologic confirmation of diagnosis (17 with immunophenotyping); histology had been negative in 4. Cytology had been the main positive finding and the basis for diagnosis in 24 cases, but had been negative in 13. Chest computed tomography had been the basis for diagnosis in 45; in 18 cases, it had been negative. Nine patients had received a diagnosis different from LC, among whom 4 had been suspected to have malignant pleural mesothelioma by chest computed tomography. Pleural plaques were found in 124 and histologic asbestosis in 46 cases. Conclusions: Autopsies confirmed all LC diagnoses received in life, including 46 that would have been considered only possible LC based on clinical workup. The overall survival in this case series was poor. The high prevalence of pleural plaques and asbestosis suggest severity of asbestos exposures.

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 328-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Wang ◽  
Hong He ◽  
Cong Liao ◽  
Hongtao Hu ◽  
Chun Hu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging infectious disease that first manifested in humans in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019, and has subsequently spread worldwide. Methods We conducted a retrospective, single-center case series of the seven maintenance hemodialysis (HD) patients infected with COVID-19 at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from 13 January to 7 April 2020 and a proactive search of potential cases by chest computed tomography (CT) scans. Results Of 202 HD patients, 7 (3.5%) were diagnosed with COVID-19. Five were diagnosed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) because of compatible symptoms, while two were diagnosed by RT-PCR as a result of screening 197 HD patients without respiratory symptoms by chest CT. Thirteen of 197 patients had positive chest CT features and, of these, 2 (15%) were confirmed to have COVID-19. In COVID-19 patients, the most common features at admission were fatigue, fever and diarrhea [5/7 (71%) had all these]. Common laboratory features included lymphocytopenia [6/7 (86%)], elevated lactate dehydrogenase [3/4 (75%)], D-dimer [5/6 (83%)], high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [4/4 (100%)] and procalcitonin [5/5 (100%)]. Chest CT showed bilateral patchy shadows or ground-glass opacity in the lungs of all patients. Four of seven (57%) received oxygen therapy, one (14%) received noninvasive and invasive mechanical ventilation, five (71%) received antiviral and antibacterial drugs, three (43%) recieved glucocorticoid therapy and one (14%) received continuous renal replacement therapy. As the last follow-up, four of the seven patients (57%) had been discharged and three patients were dead. Conclusions Chest CT may identify COVID-19 patients without clear symptoms, but the specificity is low. The mortality of COVID-19 patients on HD was high.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-98
Author(s):  
Yudai Yano ◽  
Takashi Fujiwara ◽  
Masanobu Mizuta

Endotracheal metastasis, a critical complication of primary lung cancer, is an extremely rare lesion. A 73-year-old woman who had previously received treatment for lung cancer presented to our emergency department with dyspnea. A chest computed tomography and nasopharyngolaryngoscopy showed an endotracheal mass below the epiglottis, obstructing the trachea almost completely. The patient had an emergency tracheostomy, and then the mass was removed via median laryngotomy. This lesion was proven to be a recurrent metastasis of lung cancer. Clinicians should recognize endotracheal metastasis as an important differential diagnosis in cancer patients presenting with respiratory symptoms.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (12) ◽  
pp. 1375-1377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aditya S. Shah ◽  
Lara A. Walkoff ◽  
Ronald S. Kuzo ◽  
Matthew R. Callstrom ◽  
Michael J. Brown ◽  
...  

AbstractObjective:Presently, evidence guiding clinicians on the optimal approach to safely screen patients for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to a nonemergent hospital procedure is scarce. In this report, we describe our experience in screening for SARS-CoV-2 prior to semiurgent and urgent hospital procedures.Design:Retrospective case series.Setting:A single tertiary-care medical center.Participants:Our study cohort included patients ≥18 years of age who had semiurgent or urgent hospital procedures or surgeries.Methods:Overall, 625 patients were screened for SARS-CoV-2 using a combination of phone questionnaire (7 days prior to the anticipated procedure), RT-PCR and chest computed tomography (CT) between March 1, 2020, and April 30, 2020.Results:Of the 625 patients, 520 scans (83.2%) were interpreted as normal; 1 (0.16%) had typical features of COVID-19; 18 scans (2.88%) had indeterminate features of COVID-19; and 86 (13.76%) had atypical features of COVID-19. In total, 640 RT-PCRs were performed, with 1 positive result (0.15%) in a patient with a CT scan that yielded an atypical finding. Of the 18 patients with chest CTs categorized as indeterminate, 5 underwent repeat negative RT-PCR nasopharyngeal swab 1 week after their initial swab. Also, 1 patient with a chest CT categorized as typical had a follow-up repeat negative RT-PCR, indicating that the chest CT was likely a false positive. After surgery, none of the patients developed signs or symptoms suspicious of COVID-19 that would indicate the need for a repeated RT-PCR or CT scan.Conclusion:In our experience, chest CT scanning did not prove provide valuable information in detecting asymptomatic cases of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) in our low-prevalence population.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 954-961 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Ardila ◽  
Atilla P. Kiraly ◽  
Sujeeth Bharadwaj ◽  
Bokyung Choi ◽  
Joshua J. Reicher ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-265
Author(s):  
Ravi V. Gottumukkala ◽  
Florian J. Fintelmann ◽  
Florence K. Keane ◽  
Jo-Anne O. Shepard

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 388-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Bragança dos Reis Oliveira ◽  
Bruno de Carvalho Marques ◽  
Rosa Aurílio Matos ◽  
César Rubens da Costa Fontenelle ◽  
Fernanda Carvalho de Queiroz Mello ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Introduction: Pathological fractures are frequent skeletal-related events among lung cancer patients, which result in high morbidity and decreased overall survival and make operative treatment decisions challenging. Objectives: To identify risk factors associated with the occurrence of pathological fractures in patients with lung cancer and to determine survival. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study with 407 lung carcinoma patients diagnosed between 2006 and 2015. The prevalence of bone metastases and pathological fractures was calculated. Statistical analysis was conducted using a chi-squared test, and the odds ratio and 95% confidence interval were calculated. Overall survival was determined using the Kaplan-Meier method and differences were compared using the log-rank test. Results: The prevalence of bone metastases and pathological fractures was 28.2% (n = 115) and 19.1% (n = 22), respectively. Pathological fractures were more frequent among patients with bone metastases at the time of diagnosis of lung cancer (24.7% [n = 20] vs. 5.9% [n = 2]; p < 0.05). The median overall survival following the diagnosis of lung cancer, bone metastases, and pathological fracture was 6, 4, and 2 months, respectively. Conclusions: Pathological fracture was associated with synchronous bone metastases and overall survival times were considerably reduced. Level of Evidence IV, Case Series.


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