Outcomes following elective resection of congenital pulmonary airway malformations are equivalent after 3 months of age and a weight of 5 kg

Congenital Lung Malformations: Clinical and Functional Respiratory Outcomes after Surgery

Congenital lung malformations (CLMs) involve anomalies of the lungs and respiratory tree such as congenital pulmonary airway malformation (CPAM), pulmonary sequestration (PS), bronchogenic cysts, congenital lobar emphysema, and bronchial atresia (BA). Although symptomatic lesions require surgical resection, the appropriateness of surgery for patients with asymptomatic malformations is a matter of ongoing debate. Limited data are available concerning the long-term follow-up of affected subjects. In this study, we sought to evaluate the long-term clinical and functional respiratory outcomes in children with CLMs who underwent surgical resection. We carried out a retrospective analysis of 77 children with CLMs who underwent pulmonary resection with at least one year of follow-up. The most common diagnoses were CPAM (50.65%), hybrid lesions (25.97%), lobar emphysema (11.69%), and PS (5.19%). The most common surgical approaches were lobectomy (61.3%), segmentectomy (10.7%), and pneumonectomy (5.3%). Acute post-surgery complications occurred in 31.2% of children. In addition, 73.7% experienced long-term complications, and we found no correlation between the presence of these complications and the sex of the patients, their age at time of surgery, the type of surgery undergone, the presence of symptoms prior to intervention, or acute complications after surgery. Pulmonary function tests revealed FEV1 Z-scores of <−2 SDs in 16 patients, and we found a significant correlation between pneumonectomy and the development of lung function deficit (p = 0.031). In conclusion, clinical and functional respiratory complications may occur in children with CLMs who undergo surgical resection. Long-term monitoring is needed to improve the management of asymptomatic patients.

Development of a multi-institutional registry for children with operative congenital lung malformations

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study was to develop a multi-institutional registry to characterize the demographics, management, and outcomes of a contemporary cohort of children undergoing congenital lung malformation (CLM) resection.

METHODS

After central reliance IRB approval, a web-based, secure database was created to capture retrospective cohort data on pathologically-confirmed CLMs performed between 2009 and 2015 within a multi-institutional research collaborative.

RESULTS

Eleven children's hospitals contributed 506 patients. Among 344 prenatally diagnosed lesions, the congenital pulmonary airway malformation volume ratio was measured in 49.1%, and fetal MRI was performed in 34.3%. One hundred thirty-four (26.7%) children had respiratory symptoms at birth. Fifty-eight (11.6%) underwent neonatal resection, 322 (64.1%) had surgery at 1-12 months, and 122 (24.3%) had operations after 12 months. The median age at resection was 6.7 months (interquartile range, 3.6-11.4). Among 230 elective lobectomies performed in asymptomatic patients, thoracoscopy was successfully utilized in 102 (44.3%), but there was substantial variation across centers. The most common lesions were congenital pulmonary airway malformation (n = 234, 47.3%) and intralobar bronchopulmonary sequestration (n = 106, 21.4%).

CONCLUSION

This multicenter cohort study on operative CLMs highlights marked disease heterogeneity and substantial practice variation in preoperative evaluation and operative management. Future registry studies are planned to help establish evidence-based guidelines to optimize the care of these patients.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level II.

Congenital Lung Malformations: Unresolved Issues and Unanswered Questions

Advances in prenatal and postnatal diagnosis, perioperative management, and postoperative care have dramatically increased the number of scientific reports on congenital thoracic malformations (CTM). Nearly all CTM are detected prior to birth, generally by antenatal ultrasound. After delivery, most infants do well and remain asymptomatic for a long time. However, complications may occur beyond infancy, including in adolescence and adulthood. Prenatal diagnosis is sometimes missed and detection may occur later, either by chance or because of unexplained recurrent or persistent respiratory symptoms or signs, with difficult implications for family counseling and substantial delay in surgical planning. Although landmark studies have been published, postnatal management of asymptomatic children is still controversial and needs a resolution. Our aim is to provide a focused overview on a number of unresolved issues arising from the lack of an evidence-based consensus on the management of patients with CTM. We summarized findings from current literature, with a particular emphasis on the vigorous controversies on the type and timing of diagnostic procedures, treatments and the still obscure relationship between CTM and malignancies, a matter of great concern for both families and physicians. We also present an algorithm for the assessment and follow-up of CTM detected either in the antenatal or postnatal period. A standardized approach across Europe, based on a multidisciplinary team, is urgently needed for achieving an evidence-based management protocol for CTM.