scholarly journals Pulmonary Infectious Complications in Children with Hematologic Malignancies and Chemotherapy-Induced Neutropenia

Diseases ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Aikaterini Voulgaridou ◽  
Kleoniki I. Athanasiadou ◽  
Eftychia Athanasiadou ◽  
Emmanuel Roilides ◽  
Evgenia Papakonstantinou

Infections frequently complicate the treatment course in children with hematologic malignancies undergoing chemotherapy. Febrile neutropenia (FN) remains a major cause of hospital admissions in this population, and respiratory tract is often proven to be the site of infection even without respiratory signs and symptoms. Clinical presentation may be subtle due to impaired inflammatory response. Common respiratory viruses and bacteria are widely identified in these patients, while fungi and, less commonly, bacteria are the causative agents in more severe cases. A detailed history, thorough clinical and basic laboratory examination along with a chest radiograph are the first steps in the evaluation of a child presenting signs of a pulmonary infection. After stratifying patient’s risk, prompt initiation of the appropriate empirical antimicrobial treatment is crucial and efficient for the majority of the patients. High-risk children should be treated with an intravenous antipseudomonal beta lactam agent, unless there is suspicion of multi-drug resistance when an antibiotic combination should be used. In unresponsive cases, more invasive procedures, including bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), computed tomography (CT)-guided fine-needle aspiration or open lung biopsy (OLB), are recommended. Overall mortality rate can reach 20% with higher rates seen in cases unresponsive to initial therapy and those under mechanical ventilation.

2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viviane Brandão ◽  
Edson Marchiori ◽  
Gláucia Zanetti ◽  
Guilherme Abdalla ◽  
Nina Ventura ◽  
...  

We describe the case of pulmonary hyalinizing granuloma in a 34-year-old asymptomatic man who presented with a pulmonary nodule apparent by chest radiography and computed tomography (CT). He had a history of previous treatment for tuberculosis. His laboratory data were normal. Bronchoscopy and CT-guided percutaneous transthoracic fine needle aspiration cytology were inconclusive. The diagnosis was revealed after the histopathological examination of an open lung biopsy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajneesh Madhok ◽  
Ashish Gupta ◽  
Lalit Singh ◽  
Tanu Agarwal

INTRODUCTION: The study is an attempt to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, p Value and complications of CT guided thoracic interventions fine needle aspiration cytology and core biopsy which are used for diagnosing benign and malignant thoracic lesions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Study included 102 Patients (87 males and 15 females) with age group ranged from 15 to 87 years.A total of 143 CT guided interventions (84 FNAC’s and 59 core biopsies) were performed in 102 patients. The tissue obtained was sent to the laboratory for histopathological and cytological analysis for a final diagnosis which would contribute to patient management. RESULTS: All( 59) core biopsies were successful in procuring adequate tissue for histopathological analysis and the yield of core biopsies was 100% .However out of 84 FNAC’s only 4 were unsuccessful in procuring adequate tissue with a failure rate of 4.8%. Post procedural biopsy complications were only three (2.1%) which were small pneumothorax. There were 75 malignant lesions and 23 benign lesions based on cytology and histopathology (4 were excluded due to inadequate sample). There was good agreement between benign and malignant lesions diagnosed on CT and that diagnosed by pathology. The most common benign and malignant lesions were granulomatous lesion and squamous cell carcinoma. CONCLUSION: Percutaneous CT guided interventions like core biopsy and fine needle aspirations cytology are simple minimal invasive procedures with good patient acceptance and low morbidity and almost negligible mortality. CT guided interventions should be performed early for diagnosis of thoracic lesions.


Author(s):  
Cornelius J Clancy ◽  
Ilan S Schwartz ◽  
Brittany Kula ◽  
M Hong Nguyen

Abstract Background Limited clinical data suggest ~16% prevalence of bacterial superinfections among critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods We reviewed postmortem studies of patients with COVID-19 published in English through 26 September 2020 for histopathologic findings consistent with bacterial lung infections. Results Worldwide, 621 patients from 75 studies were included. The quality of data was uneven, likely because identifying superinfections was not a major objective in 96% (72/75) of studies. Histopathology consistent with potential lung superinfection was reported in 32% (200/621) of patients (22-96 years old; 66% men). Types of infections were pneumonia (95%), abscesses or empyema (3.5%), and septic emboli (1.5%). Seventy-three percent of pneumonias were focal rather than diffuse. Predominant histopathologic findings were intra-alveolar neutrophilic infiltrations that were distinct from those typical of COVID-19-associated diffuse alveolar damage. In studies with available data, 79% of patients received antimicrobial treatment; most common agents were beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitors (48%), macrolides (16%), cephalosoprins (12%), and carbapenems (6%). Superinfections were proven by direct visualization or recovery of bacteria in 25.5% (51/200) of potential cases, and 8% of all patients in postmortem studies. In rank order, pathogens included Acinetobacter baumannii, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Lung superinfections were causes of death in 16% of potential cases, and 3% of all patients with COVID-19. Conclusions Potential bacterial lung superinfections were evident at postmortem examination in 32% of persons who died with COVID-19 (proven, 8%; possible, 24%), but they were uncommonly the cause of death.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 883
Author(s):  
Massimo Vignoli ◽  
Roberto Tamburro ◽  
Andrea Felici ◽  
Francesca Del Signore ◽  
Annalisa Dettori ◽  
...  

Diagnosis of thoracic lesions on the basis of history and physical examination is often challenging. Diagnostic imaging is therefore of paramount importance in this field. Radiology has traditionally been considered the diagnostic procedure of choice for these diseases. Nevertheless, it is often not possible to differentiate inflammatory/infectious lesions from neoplastic diseases. A correct cytological and histopathologic diagnosis is therefore needed for an accurate diagnosis and subsequent prognostic and therapeutic approach. In human medicine, Computed Tomography (CT) and CT-guided biopsy are used in the presence of lesions which are not adequately diagnosed with other procedures. In the present study, thoracic lesions from 52 dogs and 10 cats of different sex, breed and size underwent both CT-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNAB) and tissue-core biopsy (TCB). Clinical examination, hematobiochemical analysis and chest radiography were performed on all animals. In this study, 59 of 62 histopathological samples were diagnostic (95.2%). Cytology was diagnostic in 43 of 62 samples (69.4%). General sensitivity, accuracy and PPV for FNAB and TCB were 67.7%, 67.7% and 100% and 96.7%, 95.2% and 98.3%, respectively. Combining the two techniques, the overall mean accuracy for diagnosis was 98.4%. Nineteen of 62 cases showed complications (30.6%). Mild pneumothorax was seen in 16 cases, whereas mild hemorrhage occurred in three cases. No major complications were encountered. CT-guided FNAB cytology can be considered a useful and reliable technique, especially for small lesions or lesions located close to vital organs and therefore dangerous to biopsy in other way.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiyokazu Fukui ◽  
Ayumi Kaneuji ◽  
Norio Kawahara

Abstract Background A hip joint ganglion is a rare cause of lower-extremity swelling. Case presentation We report a case of a Japanese patient with ganglion of the hip with compression of the external iliac/femoral vein that produced signs and symptoms mimicking those of deep vein thrombosis. Conclusions Needle aspiration of the ganglion was performed, and swelling of the lower extremity promptly decreased. At 7.5 years after aspiration, there was no recurrence of swelling of the leg. Although the recurrence rate for ganglions after needle aspiration is high, it is worthwhile trying aspiration first.


2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 490-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. G. Almyroudis ◽  
A. J. Lesse ◽  
T. Hahn ◽  
G. Samonis ◽  
P. A. Hazamy ◽  
...  

Objective.To study the molecular epidemiology of vancomycin-resistantEnterococcus(VRE) colonization and to identify modifiable risk factors among patients with hematologic malignancies.Setting.A hematology-oncology unit with high prevalence of VRE colonization.Participants.Patients with hematologic malignancies and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients admitted to the hospital.Methods.Patients underwent weekly surveillance by means of perianal swabs for VRE colonization and, if colonized, were placed in contact isolation. We studied the molecular epidemiology in fecal and blood isolates by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis over a 1-year period. We performed a retrospective case-control study over a 3-year period. Cases were defined as patients colonized by VRE, and controls were defined as patients negative for VRE colonization. Case patients and control patients were matched by admitting service and length of observation time.Results.Molecular genotyping demonstrated the primarily polyclonal nature of VRE isolates. Colonization occurred at a median of 14 days. Colonized patients were characterized by longer hospital admissions. Previous use of ceftazidime was associated with VRE colonization (P< .001), while use of intravenous vancomycin and antibiotics with anaerobic activity did not emerge as a risk factor. There was no association with neutropenia or presence of colonic mucosal disruption, and severity of illness was similar in both groups.Conclusion.Molecular studies showed that in the majority of VRE-colonized patients the strains were unique, arguing that VRE acquisition was sporadic rather than resulting from a common source of transmission. Patient-specific factors, including prior antibiotic exposure, rather than breaches in infection control likely predict for risk of fecal VRE colonization.


Author(s):  
Riku Metsälä ◽  
Solja Ala-Korpi ◽  
Juha Rannikko ◽  
Merja Helminen ◽  
Marjo Renko

AbstractPolymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based diagnostics for Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) from the respiratory tract has become widely available, but the interpretation of the results remains unclear. M. pneumoniae has been suggested to cause mainly mild and self-limiting infections or asymptomatic carriage. However, systematic analyses of the association between PCR results and clinical findings are scarce. This study aimed to clarify the clinical features of PCR-positive M. pneumoniae infections in a hospital setting. We reviewed 103 PCR-positive patients cared for in a university hospital during a 3-year period. Data on age, sex, health condition, acute symptoms, other pathogens found, laboratory and X-ray results and treatments were collected. Over 85% of the patients had a triad of typical symptoms: fever, cough and shortness of breath. Symptoms in the upper respiratory tract were rare. In 91% of the cases, M. pneumoniae was the only pathogen found. The highest incidence was found in the age group of 30–40 years, and 68% of the patients did not have any underlying diseases. Most patients were initially empirically treated with beta-lactam antibiotics and needed 2–4 changes in their treatment. Only 6% were discharged without an antibiotic effective against M. pneumoniae. This study shows that M. pneumoniae often led to hospitalisation and that patients needed appropriate antimicrobial treatment to recover. Mixed infections were rare, and situations that could be interpreted as carriage did not occur.


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