Surgical treatment of broncho­­pulmonary purulent­inflammatory complications due to permanent coronaviral ihfection — the first experience

Objective — to acquaint doctors of different profiles with thoracic pathology in patients with coronavirus infection. Materials and methods. Since the beginning of the SARSCoV-2 pandemic, on the basis of the clinical department for the surgical treatment of tuberculosis and NZL complicated by purulent septic infections 70 patients were treated, of which 39 (55.7 %) had various broncho-pulmonary purulent-inflammatory complications of coronavirus infection. Results and discussion. The distribution of treated patients with bronchopulmonary purulent-inflammatory complications of coronavirus infection by nosology is presented in Table 1. According to the table presented, pleural empyema was a frequent bacterial complication of the respiratory system — 18 (46.1 %) cases; only 6 (33.3 %) patients were diagnosed with broncho-pleural communication, while in 12 (66.7 %) patients, already at the stage of hospitalization, a functioning broncho-pleural fistula was observed.17 (94.4 %) patients with empyema underwent videothoracoscopic (VATS) debridement of the pleural cavity with polydrainage and the use of prolonged active aspiration in the postoperative period. The management of such patients was no different, except for 2 points: the need to continue GCS therapy and the obligatory long-term prescription of anticoagulants and antiplatelet drugs.In 1 (5.6 %) case, due to the extremely serious condition of the patient, only drainage of both pleural cavities was performed (this case was fatal). In another case, after 2 VATS of the pleural cavity, bronchial blocking of the upper lobe and intermediate bronchi of the right lung was performed, followed by active aspiration. Nonspecific exudative pleurisy was diagnosed in 8 (20.5 %) patients after coronavirus infection. There were 13 patients with abscess pneumonia and abscesses (33.3 %). This group of patients underwent drug therapy for a long time, which consisted in the appointment of broad-spectrum antibiotics, anticoagulants, pathogenetic therapy and symptomatic treatment.After a course of conservative treatment, 9 (69.2 %) patients underwent the following surgical interventions — sublobar resection for a sanitized lung abscess in 4 (44.5 %) cases, lobectomy in the presence of sanitized residual large cavities in 3 (33.3 %) patients, partial pleurectomy with decortication of the lung and sublobar resection of the lower lobe of the left lung in 2 (22.2 %) patients.Conservative therapy was successful only in 4 (30.7 %) patients. All 13 patients with abscess pneumonia and abscesses were discharged from the institute with full recovery or improvement (small sanitized destruction cavities up to 2 cm in diameter remained in the lung parenchyma). There were no lethal outcomes.The overall effectiveness of the treatment of this contingent of patients was 97.4 %, and the general mortality rate — 2.6 %.Videothoscopic treatment was effective in 25 (64.1 %) patients with pleural empyema and nonspecific pleurisy, and in 4 (16 %) patients it allowed to stabilize the condition and carry out resection surgery. Conclusions. Purulent-destructive complications of the respiratory system in coronavirus infection have a causal component, and therefore timely exposure to all parts of the pathogenesis can significantly reduce their level. Preference should be given to videothoracoscopic intervention in the complicated course of coronavirus infection. The high level of diagnosis (25.4 %) of concomitant pathology of the chest with the widespread use of radiological methods in the pandemic of coronavirus infection may indicate a low level of preventive medicine in the state.

Radiological and clinical features of screening-detected pulmonary invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma

OBJECTIVES The current understanding of pulmonary invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma is largely based on studies of advanced stage patients and data about early-stage invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma are sparse. We evaluated the radiological and clinical features of screening-detected early-stage invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma (SD-IMA). METHODS Data from 91 patients who underwent surgical treatment for SD-IMA (≤3 cm) from 2013 to 2019 were reviewed retrospectively. Data on radiological characteristics, clinicopathological findings, recurrence and survival were obtained. Disease-free survival rate was analysed. RESULTS Radiologically, SD-IMAs presented as a pure ground-glass nodule (6.6%), part-solid nodule (38.5%) or solid (54.9%). Dominant locations were both lower lobes (74.7%) and peripheral area (93.4%). The sensitivity of percutaneous needle biopsy was 78.1% (25/32). Lobectomy was performed in 70 (76.9%) patients, and sublobar resection in 21 (23.1%) patients. Seventy-three (80.2%), 15 (16.5%) and 3 (3.3%) patients had pathological stage IA, IB and IIB or above, respectively. Seven patients developed recurrence, and 3 died due to disease progression. Pleural seeding developed exclusively in 2 patients who underwent needle biopsy. The 5-year disease-free survival rate was 89.4%. The disease-free survival rates at 5 years were 86.3% in the lobectomy group and 100% in the sublobar resection group. CONCLUSIONS SD-IMAs were mostly radiologically invasive nodules. SD-IMAs showed favourable prognosis after surgical treatment.

Preoperative non-invasive visual localization of synchronous multiple lung cancers using three-dimensional computed tomography lung reconstruction

Background Synchronous multiple primary lung cancers are becoming more common with increasing use of computed tomography for screening. Intraoperative localization and resection of ill-defined pulmonary ground-glass opacities during thoracoscopic resection is challenging. This study aimed to determine the clinical feasibility of non-invasive visual localization of these nodules by three-dimensional computed tomography lung reconstruction before sublobar resection. Methods Forty-four patients with synchronous multiple primary lung cancers underwent thoracoscopic pulmonary resection at our institution between June 2017 and August 2019. Preadmission computed tomography images were downloaded and reconstructed into a three-dimensional model. Small nodules (< 15 mm) were localized non-invasively by three-dimensional computed tomography lung reconstruction before surgery. Patient demographics, nodule characteristics, procedural details, pathological data, and outcomes were obtained from the medical records. Results One hundred and twenty-one pulmonary nodules from the 44 patients were scheduled for video-assisted thoracic surgery; 54 (44.6%) were pure ground-glass opacities and 57 (47.1%) were mixed ground-glass opacities. One hundred and seventeen nodules were localized preoperatively. The mean nodule diameter was 7.67 ± 3.87 mm. The mean distance from the nodule to the pleura was 14.84 ± 14.43 mm. All nodules were removed successfully by wedge resection (27 patients), lobectomy (26 patients), or segmentectomy (25 patients). Most lesions (85.1%) were malignant. Paraffin pathology revealed 12 cases of atypical adenomatous hyperplasia (9.92%), 13 of adenocarcinoma in situ (10.74%), 16 of minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (13.22%), and 73 of invasive adenocarcinoma (60.33%). Conclusions Three-dimensional computed tomography lung reconstruction is a feasible and alternative method of visual localization for small lung nodules before sublobar resection in some suitable patients.

Surgical outcomes of one-stage resection for synchronous multiple primary lung adenocarcinomas with no less than three lesions

Background More and more synchronous multiple primary lung adenocarcinomas (SMPLA) have been diagnosed and surgical treatment has become the mainstay of treatment for them, but there are few reports on the surgical outcome of patients with ≥ 3 lesions who underwent surgical resection. Therefore, we summarized and analyzed the clinical characteristics and surgical outcomes of these patients, hoping to provide some experience in the diagnosis and treatment. Methods Clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of patients with ≥ 3 lesions who have been diagnosed as SMPLA and underwent surgical resection in our hospital from March 2015 to July 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Results Twenty-eight patients, 20 females and 8 males, with a mean age of 57.7 ± 5.69 (45–76) years, were finally included. A total of 95 lesions, 86.4% were ground-glass opacity (GGO) lesions (pure-GGO,45.3%; mixed-GGO,41.1%); 51 lesions had EGFR mutations and the mutation rate of invasive adenocarcinoma was significantly higher than that of other pathological subtypes (P < 0.001); the mutation rate of mGGO was also significantly higher than that of pGGO and solid nodule (SN) (P < 0.05). Four and 24 patients respectively underwent bilateral and unilateral surgical resection. The surgical procedure was mainly sublobar resection, and no severe postoperative complications or deaths occurred. After a median follow-up time of 32.2 months, the rates of overall survival and disease-free survival at 3 years were 94.7% and 88.9%, respectively. Conclusions For SMPLA with ≥ 3 lesions, one-stage resection may be safe and feasible, and surgical procedure was mainly sublobar resection as far as possible, which can yield satisfactory prognosis. EGFR mutation testing should be used routinely in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with SMPLA, especially in the presence of mGGO and invasive adenocarcinoma.

Surgery for lung cancer: postoperative changes and complications—what the Radiologist needs to know

Imaging findings after thoracic surgery can be misleading. Knowledge of the normal post-operative anatomy helps the radiologist to recognise life-threatening complications and conversely not to wrongly evoke a complication in cases of trivial post-operative abnormalities. In this educational article, we reviewed the expected patterns after thoracic surgery including sublobar resection, lobectomy, pneumonectomy and related techniques. Imaging aspects of frequent and less common complications and their typical imaging features are then presented.