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Intern Med 2020 1;59(11):1427-1431. Epub 2020 Jun 1.

Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kanazawa University Hospital, Japan.

A 65-year-old woman presented to a hospital with complaints of dyspnea and lumbar pain. Chest computed tomography (CT) showed left pleural effusion. Thoracentesis showed pleural effusion with elevated levels of amylase. Read More

IDCases 2020 13;20:e00812. Epub 2020 May 13.

Department of Infectious Diseases, Cook County Health and Hospital System, Chicago, IL, USA.

Cutaneous blastomycosis is the most common extrapulmonary manifestation of disseminated blastomycosis, a disease caused by , a dimorphic fungus endemic of North America. Initially, the organism enters the respiratory system by inhalation of the infectious conidia and produces an acute pulmonary infection that may eventually disseminate if it is left untreated. Blastomycosis may represent a diagnostic challenge and its definitive diagnosis requires direct visualization of the distinctive yeast or a positive fungal culture. Read More

Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi 2020 May;100(20):1578-1581

Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, Jining 272013, China.

To clarify the clinical characteristics of chest infections caused by group (SAG). A total of 26 patients diagnosed in Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University from January 2014 to October 2019 were enrolled. The analyzed clinical data included baseline data, clinical symptoms, imaging manifestations, therapies, and outcomes. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2020 May;99(20):e19894

Department of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou.

Rationale: Pyopneumopericardium related to bungee jumping is a rare occurrence in the current antibiotic era. We present a case of esophagus-seeded Streptococcus sanguinis pyopneumopericardium in a young man with tuberculosis who had just completed bungee jumping.

Patient Concern: A 27-year-old man was hospitalized with a 1-day history of fever, chest tightness, and intermittent sharp chest pain after bungee jumping for the first time. Read More

Indian J Occup Environ Med 2020 Jan-Apr;24(1):39-41. Epub 2020 Mar 18.

Department of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.

A 32-year-old gentleman, a worker in a cement-manufacturing facility with suspected silica-induced lung disease presented with acutely worsening Type 1 respiratory failure. With a negative work-up for infectious causes and no further revelations on bronchoalveolar lavage fluid or endobronchial biopsy, it was a transbronchial biopsy that ultimately led us to a diagnosis of silicoproteinosis with accelerated silicosis. Interestingly, the patient had a pleural effusion which on thoracentesis showed chylous fluid-the first reported case of chylothorax in association with silicosis. Read More

Ann Transl Med 2020 Apr;8(7):491

Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Southeast University, Nanjing 210002, China.

Background: Pleural effusion is a common presentation in clinical practice. About 40% of exudative pleural effusion is unable to be diagnosed through thoracentesis, and closed pleural biopsy (CPB) is needed. This study was designed to investigate the diagnostic yield of CPB in exudative pleural effusion. Read More

Exp Clin Transplant 2020 04 29. Epub 2020 Apr 29.

From the Department of Anesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Management, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.

Objectives: The safety of living liver donors is considered a high priority. In this study, we aimed to highlight the incidence and risk factors of respiratory complications among living liver transplant donors at our institute.

Materials And Methods: We evaluated data of 178 related living liver donors who were seen from January 2014 to December 2018. Read More

Eur Respir Rev 2020 Jun 29;29(156). Epub 2020 Apr 29.

Oxford Pleural Unit, Oxford Respiratory Trials Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.

Physician-led thoracic ultrasound (TUS) has substantially changed how respiratory disorders, and in particular pleural diseases, are managed. The use of TUS as a point-of-care test enables the respiratory physician to quickly and accurately diagnose pleural pathology and ensure safe access to the pleural space during thoracentesis or chest drain insertion. Competence in performing TUS is now an obligatory part of respiratory speciality training programmes in different parts of the world. Read More

Turk J Obstet Gynecol 2020 Mar 6;17(1):65-72. Epub 2020 Apr 6.

Hacettepe Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Kadın Hastalıkları ve Doğum Anabilim Dalı, Ankara, Türkiye.

Although hydrothorax may accompany abdominal ascites in women with severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), there are few cases reported with isolated pleural effusion. Herein, we report two patients with isolated hydrothorax without any significant abdominal fluid following infertility treatment, along with a systematic review of the literature to describe risk factors for this rare entity. Two women with isolated pleural effusion without significant abdominal ascites were reported. Read More

Ultrasound J 2020 Apr 26;12(1):25. Epub 2020 Apr 26.

Critical and Intensive Care Medicine, Hospital Universitario Mayor Méderi-Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia.

Background: The use of thoracic ultrasound during thoracentesis reduces complications. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of complications for real-time ultrasound-guided thoracentesis performed by intensivists. As a secondary objective, the change in oxygenation before and after the procedure was evaluated. Read More

Cancer Med 2020 Apr 25. Epub 2020 Apr 25.

Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Background: Selective IDH1 and IDH2 inhibitors have been approved for targeted therapy of acute myeloid leukemia. Clinical trials for solid tumors with IDH1 and IDH2 (IDH1/2) mutations are ongoing. Reports of IDH1/2-mutated non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs), however, are limited. Read More

J Cardiothorac Surg 2020 Apr 22;15(1):66. Epub 2020 Apr 22.

Center of Treatment of Myasthenia Gravis Hebei Province, First Hospital of Shijiazhuang, Fangbei road No. 9, Shijiazhuang, 050011, Hebei Province, China.

Background: Subxiphoid thoracoscopic thymectomy has been increasingly performed in recent years. This study aimed to assess the differences in outcomes between subxiphoid thoracoscopic thymectomy with and without chest tube drainage.

Methods: Overall, 205 subxiphoid thoracoscopic thymectomy operations were performed for myasthenia gravis, including 90 cases without and 115 cases with chest tube drainage. Read More

Am J Case Rep 2020 Apr 20;21:e922195. Epub 2020 Apr 20.

Fourth Department of Surgery, Saint Petersburg City Hospital #15, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation.

BACKGROUND Pancreaticopleural fistula is a rare complication of chronic pancreatitis. Its formation is associated with local disruption of the pancreatic duct or pseudocyst communicating with the ductal system. Rarely, other intrathoracic complications may develop such as mediastinitis, pericarditis, hemothorax, and pleural empyema. Read More

BMJ Case Rep 2020 Apr 16;13(4). Epub 2020 Apr 16.

Internal Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.

A 45-year-old woman with a medical history of ulcerative colitis (UC) presented with difficulty in breathing. The patient was diagnosed with UC a month prior to presentation and was started on mesalamine suppository. Chest x-ray (CXR) on presentation showed bilateral pleural effusion, which was confirmed on CT angiogram of the chest. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2020 Jun 3;125(12):1863-1869. Epub 2020 Apr 3.

Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa Health Care, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa, Iowa.

Data on in-hospital outcomes for hospitalizations undergoing thoracentesis (THR) for any cause has been conflicting. For hospitalizations with acute heart failure (HF), however, to date, no study has evaluated the outcomes of THR. Accordingly, our current study addresses this knowledge gap. Read More

Clin Respir J 2020 Apr 15. Epub 2020 Apr 15.

Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea.

Introduction: In comparison with mononuclear leukocyte (MNL)-predominant malignant pleural effusions (MPEs), polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMNL)-predominant MPEs have rarely been investigated and may be associated with a poorer prognosis.

Objectives: To investigate the characteristics and survival impact of PMNL-predominant MPEs secondary to lung cancer.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients with MPE secondary to lung cancer, which were classified into the PMNL- and MNL-predominant groups according to cellular predominance in the pleural fluid. Read More

Surg Endosc 2020 Apr 13. Epub 2020 Apr 13.

Department of Surgery, Nara Medical University, 840 Shijo-cho, Kashihara-shi, Nara, 634-8522, Japan.

Background: Although postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) are one of the common complications after liver surgery and might be avoided with the use of a laparoscopic approach, few reports have focused on the comparison of PPCs between laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) and open liver resection (OLR). The aim of this study was to clarify the effect of LLR on PPCs.

Methods: The study included 307 patients who underwent liver resection, excluding biliary reconstruction, at our institution between 2014 and 2018. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2020 Apr;99(15):e19778

Department of Cardiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.

Rationale: Therapeutic or diagnostic thoracentesis is widely used in different clinical settings. Cardiac injury, a rare complication, could lead to fatal consequences. We describe a case of cardiac tamponade complicating thoracentesis that was recognized and rescued in a timely manner. Read More

J Thorac Dis 2020 Mar;12(3):942-948

Department of Internal Medicine F, The Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Ramat Gan, affiliated to Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.

Background: Data regarding the incidence and risk factors of pneumothorax following pre-procedural ultrasound (US)-guided thoracentesis is scarce. We aimed to evaluate the incidence and risk factors of pneumothorax following pre-procedural US-guided thoracentesis in a tertiary medical center.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of patients who underwent pre-procedural US-guided thoracentesis in Sheba Medical Center between January 2016 and December 2018. Read More

Case Rep Infect Dis 2020 16;2020:4346937. Epub 2020 Mar 16.

Lewis-Gale Hospital Montgomery, 3700 South Main St., Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA.

Once coined the "Forgotten Disease," Lemierre's syndrome is a rare condition that results from oropharyngeal infection with the gram-negative, anaerobic . The typical progression of illness involves spread to adjacent structures such as the internal jugular vein with resulting thrombophlebitis. Septic emboli to distant sites are also a common sequela. Read More

Respirology 2020 Apr 6. Epub 2020 Apr 6.

Department of Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.

Background And Objective: The advent of effective anti-cancer therapy has brought about uncertainty on the benefit of early definitive measures for newly diagnosed MPE from lung cancer. This study aims to investigate the outcomes of MPE in this setting.

Methods: Lung cancer patients with MPE at first presentation to a tertiary care hospital were followed up till death or censored from 2011 to 2018. Read More

Invest New Drugs 2020 Apr 4. Epub 2020 Apr 4.

Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, No. 37, Guoxue Alley, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China.

Dasatinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor for the treatment of BCR-ABL-positive chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) or Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). Although fluid retention is a common adverse event associated with dasatinib, chylothorax is exceptionally rare. The pathological mechanism, clinical manifestation and management of dasatinib-induced chylothorax are completely unclear. Read More

J Vis Exp 2020 Mar 12(157). Epub 2020 Mar 12.

Department of Neonatology and NICU, Beijing Chaoyang District Maternal and Child Healthcare Hospital; The National Neonatal Lung Ultrasound Training Base.

Pneumothorax (PTX) represents accumulation of the air in the pleural space. A large or tension pneumothorax can collapse the lung and cause hemodynamic compromise, a life-threatening disorder. Traditionally, neonatal pneumothorax diagnosis has been based on clinical images, auscultation, transillumination, and chest X-ray findings. Read More

Chest 2020 Mar 17. Epub 2020 Mar 17.

Departments of Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Albany Medical Center, NY. Electronic address:

Background: There are limited data examining the diagnostic accuracy of thoracic ultrasonography (TUS) in distinguishing transudative from exudative pleural effusions.

Research Question: What is the diagnostic accuracy of TUS in distinguishing transudative from exudative effusions in consecutive patients with pleural effusion?

Study Design And Methods: Consecutive patients who underwent TUS and subsequently a diagnostic thoracentesis with a pleural fluid analysis were identified. TUS images of the pleural effusions were interpreted by previously published criteria. Read More

Clin Case Rep 2020 Mar 5;8(3):484-486. Epub 2020 Feb 5.

Thoracic Surgery Unit ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo Università degli Studi di Milano Milano Italy.

Increased cancer risk in patients with inflammatory and infectious diseases has been reported in many studies and lung cancer-associated empyema in <0.3% patients. We present a patient with empyema in whom the final diagnosis was metastatic lung adenocarcinoma. Read More

Ann Transl Med 2020 Feb;8(4):101

Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510120, China.

Background: Currently, some studies have shown that early removal of a chest tube after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lobectomy is safe and can shorten the length of hospital stay. The purpose of our study was to retrospectively analyze the association between early chest tube removal and hospital stay in patients who have undergone lobectomy.

Methods: This retrospective analysis included patients undergoing different types of lung resections including lobectomy and wedge resection. Read More

Clin Lab 2020 Mar;66(3)

Background: Pleural effusions due to heart failure are associated with a high 1-year mortality. Several hematological parameters have been shown to provide prognostic information in patients with cardiovascular diseases. The objective was to assess whether hematological markers can also provide prognostic information in patients with pleural effusion caused by heart failure. Read More

Respir Investig 2020 Feb 24. Epub 2020 Feb 24.

Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Medicine, Sarawak General Hospital, Ministry of Health, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Electronic address:

Background: Tuberculous pleural effusions (TBEs) and parapneumonic pleural effusion (PPEs) have similar clinical presentations and fluid biochemistry. A pleural biopsy is usually required to diagnose TBE but complete fluid evacuation may not be necessary, contrasting with complicated PPE (CPPE). A point-of-care test that distinguishes between TBE and CPPE enables the appropriate procedures to be performed during the initial diagnostic thoracentesis. Read More

Case Rep Infect Dis 2020 12;2020:7301617. Epub 2020 Feb 12.

Department of Pediatrics, Central Michigan University Health, Saginaw, MI 48602, USA.

Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) is a common reason for hospitalization of a pediatric patient. We report a 20-month-old female admitted for suspected CAP. History included a week-long cough, fever, dyspnea, single occurrence of seizure-like activity, and a sick contact. Read More

BMJ Case Rep 2020 Feb 20;13(2). Epub 2020 Feb 20.

Paediatric Department, Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, UK.

A 4-week-old female patient presented with severe respiratory distress, hypoxia and apnoeic episodes on a background of a few-day history of coryza and cough. There was significantly reduced air entry on the left side and a displacement of the apex beat to the right of the chest. The examination findings with oxygen desaturations and a right-sided mediastinal shift on chest X-ray led to a diagnosis of tension pneumothorax following which a needle thoracentesis was undertaken. Read More

Turk Gogus Kalp Damar Cerrahisi Derg 2019 Jan 1;27(1):121-124. Epub 2019 Jan 1.

Department of Thoracic Surgery, Yedikule Chest Diseases and Chest Surgery Training and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey.

In this article, we present a 59-year-old male patient who was admitted to our hospital with right pleural effusion and right-sided chest pain and diagnosed as malignant pleural mesothelioma with thoracentesis and pleural biopsy. After the patient was determined to be operable, right parietal pleurectomy + pericardial resection + diaphragmatic resection were performed and four cycles of cisplatin and pemetrexed combination as adjuvant treatment were added. The patient was followed-up without any problem for three and a half years. Read More

BMJ Case Rep 2020 Feb 11;13(2). Epub 2020 Feb 11.

Department of Neonatology, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore.

Octreotide is a somatostatin analogue used for treating congenital chylothorax and congenital hyperinsulinism in infants. By increasing splanchnic arteriolar resistance and decreasing gastrointestinal blood flow, octreotide indirectly reduces lymphatic flow in chylous effusions.Splanchnic ischaemia following octreotide predisposes infants to necrotising enterocolitis (NEC). Read More

J Clin Pharm Ther 2020 Feb 5. Epub 2020 Feb 5.

Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan.

What Is Known And Objective: Although the risk of major bleeding with non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC) is low, life-threatening bleeding can occur.

Case Summary: We report a case of an 81-year-old female with deep vein thrombosis who developed bilateral spontaneous haemothorax and haemopericardium after rivaroxaban therapy. Diagnostic thoracentesis revealed a grossly bloody pleural effusion. Read More

Anticancer Res 2020 Feb;40(2):1135-1139

General Surgery, S. Maria degli Angeli Hospital, Pordenone, Italy.

Background/aim: The purposes of this study were to evaluate the usefulness of chest computed tomographic (CT) scan plus pleural fluid cytology (PFC) together in patients with malignant pleural effusion (PE), and to compare the results of these diagnostic tools in patients with malignant PE due to non-small-cell lung cancer and pulmonary metastases from other malignancies.

Patients And Methods: The medical records of 185 patients with PE, who underwent chest CT, PFC and video-assisted thoracoscopy (VATS) thoracentesis followed by VATS-guided biopsy for diagnostic purpose, were reviewed. At the final diagnosis, 123 (66. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2020 Feb 1;20(1):99. Epub 2020 Feb 1.

Clinic of Pulmonary Medicine and Pulmonary Cell Research, University Hospital Basel, Petersgraben 4, 4031, Basel, CH, Switzerland.

Background: The identification of the pathogens in pleural effusion has mainly relied on conventional bacterial culture or single species polymerase chain reaction (PCR), both with relatively low sensitivity. We investigated the efficacy of a commercially available multiplex bacterial PCR assay developed for pneumonia to identify the pathogens involved in pleural infection, particularly empyema.

Methods: A prospective, monocentric, observational study including 194 patients with pleural effusion. Read More

Am J Case Rep 2020 Jan 20;21:e919032. Epub 2020 Jan 20.

Division of Academic Affairs and Research, Orlando Regional Healthcare, Orlando, FL, USA.

BACKGROUND Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) is a rare and aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) that is responsible for 1% of all lymphomas not related to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). PEL is characterized by human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) positivity in the absence of overt tumor burden that does not exhibit typical B cell or T cell immunophenotype characteristics. The exact mechanism of development is unknown, but it is hypothesized to develop from post-germinal B cell origin. Read More

BJR Case Rep 2019 Dec 15;5(4):20190030. Epub 2019 Nov 15.

Unit of Interventional and Diagnostic Ultrasound of Internal Medicine IRCCS Fondazione Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy.

Transthoracic ultrasound (TUS) is a validate complementary technique widely used in everyday medical practice. TUS is the gold-standard for studying pleural effusion and for echo-guided thoracentesis, moreover, it is employed in detection of pleural and pulmonary lesions adherent to pleural surface and their ccho-guided percutaneous needle biopsy (PTNB). We used TUS technique to study severe asthma patients. Read More

J Thorac Dis 2019 Nov;11(11):4904-4908

Interventional Pulmonary Program, Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Oklahoma City VA Health Care System and University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma, USA.

Background: Pleural fluid glucose (PFG) has diagnostic and therapeutic implications for the management of pleural effusion. The literature examining point-of-care testing of PFG is limited, and no studies exist for the bedside measurement of PFG using a glucometer (B-PFG). In this study, we compared the accuracy of B-PFG measurement to standard in-lab measurement (Lab-PFG). Read More

J Neurosurg Pediatr 2020 Jan 3:1-4. Epub 2020 Jan 3.

3Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland.

Patients with complex medical problems and multiple failed ventricular shunts require continued innovation for hydrocephalus management. The authors report the case of a 4-year-old boy with refractory hydrocephalus and secondary reduced ability to absorb CSF in both the pleural and peritoneal cavities following renal transplantation. A novel management approach was devised with split shunting to pleural and peritoneal targets as well as prophylactic pleural port placement to provide a method for minimally invasive thoracentesis should symptomatic pleural effusions develop. Read More

BMJ Case Rep 2019 Dec 30;12(12). Epub 2019 Dec 30.

Pulmonary & Sleep Medicine, Avera Medical Group, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA.

We present a case of right sided chylothorax in the setting of cirrhosis believed to be secondary to extensive venous thromboembolism of the left upper extremity and exacerbated by chylous ascites. Our patient responded to conservative management with anticoagulation and a repeat thoracentesis revealed transformation of the fluid back to straw coloured transudate. We also include a brief discussion of the diagnosis and management of chylothorax. Read More

J Grad Med Educ 2019 Dec;11(6):713-716

Background: Cost is a barrier to creating educational resources, and new educational initiatives are often limited in distribution. Medical training programs must develop strategies to create and implement cost-effective educational programming.

Objective: We developed high-quality medical programming in procedural instruction with efficient economics, reaching the most trainees at the lowest cost. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2020 Feb 16;26(2):300-304. Epub 2019 Dec 16.

Department of Respiratory Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Oita University Faculty of Medicine, 1-1 Idaigaoka, Hasama-machi, Yufu, Oita 879-5593, Japan.

There have been no case reports of thoracic subcutaneous abscess after surgery for Mycobacterium abscessus complex associated empyema. We herein report a case of Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. abscessus (M. Read More

BMJ Case Rep 2019 Dec 16;12(12). Epub 2019 Dec 16.

Internal Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.

A 63-year-old woman with a medical history of chronic myelogenous leukaemia treated with dasatinib, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction presented with difficulty in breathing. Chest X-ray showed large right-sided pleural effusion, which was confirmed on a CT angiogram of the chest. Echocardiogram showed an ejection fraction of 61% with moderate to severely dilated right ventricle and right ventricular systolic pressure of 60 mm Hg. Read More

BMC Gastroenterol 2019 Dec 16;19(1):215. Epub 2019 Dec 16.

Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Korea University College of Medicine, 73, Goryeodae-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical manifestation and predictive risk factors of pleural empyema developing during treatment of the pyogenic liver abscess.

Methods: Medical records of patients with the liver abscess in our institution were reviewed retrospectively. Enrolled patients were classified into four groups; Group 1: patients without pleural effusion, Group 2: patients with pleural effusion and who were treated noninvasively, Group 3: patient with pleural effusion and who were treated with thoracentesis, and Group 4: patients with pleural effusion that developed into empyema. Read More

J Vasc Surg 2019 Dec 9. Epub 2019 Dec 9.

Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Mass.

Objective: There is no consensus on the optimal approach to treatment of dysphagia lusoria (DL), especially in the absence of a Kommerell diverticulum (KD). We leveraged our institutional experience to clarify the safety and efficacy of aberrant subclavian artery (aSA) division with revascularization by a supraclavicular approach alone in patients with DL.

Methods: We identified 10 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for DL at our institution between January 2007 and March 2019. Read More

Acad Radiol 2019 Dec 9. Epub 2019 Dec 9.

Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, 1364 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States.

Rationale And Objectives: To evaluate the clinical yield of routine chest radiography in identifying pneumothorax warranting chest tube decompression in patients undergoing ultrasound-guided thoracentesis.

Materials And Methods: All adult patients without pre-existing pneumothorax who underwent ultrasound-guided thoracentesis by a radiologist within a four-hospital large metropolitan academic health system over a 10-year period were identified. Demographic, clinical, and radiographic report information were obtained. Read More

J Med Educ Curric Dev 2019 Jan-Dec;6:2382120519885638. Epub 2019 Nov 19.

Department of Emergency Medicine, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.

Background: Arthrocentesis of the ankle and elbow and brachial plexus nerve blocks are infrequently performed procedures; however, clinicians in specialties such as emergency medicine are required to be proficient in these procedures in the event of emergent or urgent necessity.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to create, implement, and assess a fresh cadaver-based educational model to help resident physicians learn how to perform ultrasound-guided arthrocentesis of the ankle and elbow and ultrasound-guided regional nerve blocks.

Methods: This was a single-center cross-sectional study conducted at an academic medical center. Read More

Sci Rep 2019 11 28;9(1):17840. Epub 2019 Nov 28.

Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Korea University Guro Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Gurodong-ro 148, Guro-gu, Seoul, 08308, Republic of Korea.

The purpose of study was to evaluate the perioperative lung ultrasound findings of patients undergoing scoliosis correction. LUS examination was performed examined three 3 times for each patient: 20 min after starting mechanical ventilation of the lungs(preoperative), after surgery when the patient was placed in the supine position(postoperative), and 20 min after arrival in the post-anaesthesia care unit. Arterial blood gas analyses, mechanical ventilation parameters, peripheral oxygen saturation(SpO2) were also checked. Read More

Am Surg 2019 Nov;85(11):e569-e571

Medicine (Baltimore) 2019 Nov;98(48):e18251

Department of Pulmonology and Allergy, Department of Internal Medicine.

Rationale: Small cell carcinoma (SCC) occurs mostly in the lung, and small cell lung cancer accounts for 13% of newly diagnosed lung cancers. Only 2.5% of SCC occurs in extrapulmonary sites, and SCC of pleural origin is especially very uncommon. Read More