[Postoperative complications after major lung resection]

Development and testing of the knowledge-attitudes-practices questionnaire for nurses on the perioperative pulmonary rehabilitation of patients with lung cancer

Objective

This study aims to develop and validate a suitable scale for assessing the level of nurses' knowledge and practice of perioperative pulmonary rehabilitation.

Methods

We divided the study into two phases: scale development and validation. In Phase 1, the initial items were generated through a literature review. In Phase 2, a cross-sectional survey was conducted involving 603 thoracic nurses to evaluate the scale's validity, reliability, and difficulty and differentiation of items. Item and exploratory factor analyses were performed for item reduction. Thereafter, their validity, reliability, difficulty, and differentiation of items were assessed using Cronbach's α coefficient, retest reliability, content validity, and item response theory (IRT).

Results

The final questionnaire comprised 34 items, and exploratory factor analysis revealed 3 common dimensions with internal consistency coefficients of 0.950, 0.959, and 0.965. The overall internal consistency of the scale was 0.966, with a split-half reliability of 0.779 and a retest reliability Pearson's correlation coefficient of 0.936. The content validity of the scale was excellent (item-level content validity index = 0.875-1.000, scale-level content validity index = 0.978). The difficulty and differentiation of item response theory were all verified to a certain extent (average value = 2.391; threshold β values = -1.393-0.820).

Conclusions

The knowledge-attitudes-practices questionnaire for nurses can be used as a tool to evaluate knowledge, attitudes, and practices among nurses regarding perioperative pulmonary rehabilitation for patients with lung cancer.

Lung cancer, comorbidities, and medication: the infernal trio

Most patients with lung cancer are smokers and are of advanced age. They are therefore at high risk of having age- and lifestyle-related comorbidities. These comorbidities are subject to treatment or even polypharmacy. There is growing evidence of a link between lung cancer, comorbidities and medications. The relationships between these entities are complex. The presence of comorbidities and their treatments influence the time of cancer diagnosis, as well as the diagnostic and treatment strategy. On the other hand, cancer treatment may have an impact on the patient's comorbidities such as renal failure, pneumonitis or endocrinopathies. This review highlights how some comorbidities may have an impact on lung cancer presentation and may require treatment adjustments. Reciprocal influences between the treatment of comorbidities and anticancer therapy will also be discussed.

Cardiorespiratory fitness and morbidity and mortality in patients with non-small cell lung cancer: a prospective study with propensity score weighting

INTRODUCTION

This study aimed to investigate the association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and perioperative morbidity and long-term mortality in operable patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This prospective study included consecutive patients with early-stage NSCLC who underwent presurgical cardiopulmonary exercise testing between November 2014 and December 2019 (registration number: ChiCTR2100048120). Logistic and Cox proportional hazards regression were applied to evaluate the correlation between CRF and perioperative complications and long-term mortality, respectively. Propensity score overlap weighting was used to adjust for the covariates. We performed sensitivity analyses to determine the stability of our results.

RESULTS

A total of 895 patients were followed for a median of 40 months [interquartile range 25]. The median age of the patients was 59 years [range 26-83], and 62.5% were male. During the study period, 156 perioperative complications and 146 deaths were observed. Low CRF was associated with a higher risk of death (62.9 versus 33.6 per 1000 person-years; weighted incidence rate difference, 29.34 [95% CI, 0.32 to 58.36] per 1000 person-years) and perioperative morbidity (241.6 versus 141.9 per 1000 surgeries; weighted incidence rate difference, 99.72 [95% CI, 34.75 to 164.70] per 1000 surgeries). A CRF of ≤ 20 ml/kg/min was significantly associated with a high risk of long-term mortality (weighted hazard ratio, 1.98 [95% CI, 1.31 to 2.98], p < 0.001) and perioperative morbidity (weighted odds ratio, 1.93 [1.28 to 2.90], p = 0.002) compared to higher CRF.

CONCLUSION

The study found that low CRF is significantly associated with increased perioperative morbidity and long-term mortality in operable patients with early-stage NSCLC.

Prognostic role of minute ventilation/carbon dioxide production slope for perioperative morbidity and long-term survival in resectable patients with nonsmall-cell lung cancer: a prospective study using propensity score overlap weighting

BACKGROUND

The role of minute ventilation/carbon dioxide production ( / CO 2 ) slope, a ventilation efficiency marker, in predicting short-term and long-term health outcomes for patients with nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) undergoing lung resection has not been well investigated.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This prospective cohort study consecutively enrolled NSCLC patients who underwent a presurgical cardiopulmonary exercise test from November 2014 to December 2019. The association of / CO 2 slope with relapse-free survival (RFS), overall survival (OS), and perioperative mortality was evaluated using the Cox proportional hazards and logistic models. Covariates were adjusted using propensity score overlap weighting. The optimal cut-off point of the E/ CO 2 slope was estimated using the receiver operating characteristics curve. Internal validation was completed through bootstrap resampling.

RESULTS

A cohort of 895 patients [median age (interquartile range), 59 (13) years; 62.5% male] was followed for a median of 40 (range, 1-85) months. Throughout the study, there were 247 relapses or deaths and 156 perioperative complications. The incidence rates per 1000 person-years for relapses or deaths were 108.8 and 79.6 among patients with high and low E/ CO 2 slopes, respectively [weighted incidence rate difference per 1000 person-years, 29.21 (95% CI, 7.30-51.12)]. A E/ CO 2 slope of greater than or equal to 31 was associated with shorter RFS [hazard ratio for relapse or death, 1.38 (95% CI, 1.02-1.88), P =0.04] and poorer OS [hazard ratio for death, 1.69 (1.15-2.48), P =0.02] compared to a lower / CO 2 slope. A high E/ CO 2 slope increased the risk of perioperative morbidity compared with a low E/ CO 2 slope [odds ratio, 2.32 (1.54-3.49), P <0.001].

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with operable NSCLC, a high E/ CO 2 slope was significantly associated with elevated risks of poorer RFS, OS, and perioperative morbidity.

Comparison of Clinical Data Between Patients With Complications and Without Complications After Spinal Tuberculosis Surgery: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis

Purpose

This study used a propensity score matching (PSM) analysis to explore the risk factors of post-operative complications and compared the differences in clinical data between them following spinal tuberculosis surgery.

Methods

The clinical data of patients with spinal tuberculosis were collected in our hospital from June 2012 to June 2021, including general information, laboratory results, surgical information, and hospitalization costs. The data were divided into two groups: complication and without complication groups. The baseline data of the two groups were obtained using the PSM analysis. Univariate and multivariate logistic analyses were used to analyze the differences between the two groups.

Results

A total of 292 patients were included in the PSM analysis: 146 patients with complications and 146 patients without complications. The operation time, incision length, hospital stay, and albumin quantity in the complications group were 162 ± 74.1, 11.2 ± 4.76, 14.7 ± 9.34, and 1.71 ± 2.82, respectively, and those in the without complication group were 138 ± 60.5, 10.2 ± 3.56, 11.7 ± 7.44, and 0.740 ± 2.44, respectively. The laboratory costs, examination costs, guardianship costs, oxygen costs, and total costs in the complications group were higher than those in the without complication group. A significant difference was observed in the albumin quantity by logistic regression analysis (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Several costs in the complication group were higher than in the without complication group. The albumin quantity may be an independent factor to predict post-operative complications of spinal tuberculosis by logistic regression analysis.

[Indications and results of pulmonary resections in a developing country]

INTRODUCTION

Indications for pulmonary excision are dominated by infectious pulmonary pathologies in developing countries. We conducted this study to describe the indications and results of pulmonary resections in the thoracic surgery department of the Mali hospital.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This is a retrospective and descriptive study from January 2012 to December 2019, carried out in the thoracic surgery department of the Mali hospital. It involved 76 patients who had a pulmonary resection. The variables studied were the epidemiological data, the operating indications, the therapeutic data and the prognosis.

RESULTS

The mean age of the patients was 35.5 years. The sex ratio was 1.7. The average consultation time in thoracic surgery was 11.6 months with extremes of 7 days and 96 months. A history of pulmonary tuberculosis was noted in 46.1% of patients. The main indications for pulmonary resection were infectious parenchymal destruction in 64.5%, bullous dystrophy in 14.5%, bronchopulmonary cancer in 11.8% and thoracic trauma in 4% of the cases. The procedures performed were: a lobectomy (39.5%), atypical resection (36.8%), culminectomy (7.9%) and pneumonectomy (15.8%). Morbidity was dominated by thoracic empyema (9.2%) postoperative hemorrhage (5.2%), parietal suppuration (7.8%) and bronchopleural fistula (1.3%). The average length of hospital stay was 14.3 days. Mortality was 10.5%. There was a statistically significant correlation between pneumonectomy and deaths (P=0.01).

CONCLUSION

Infectious lung destruction is the main indication for pulmonary resection in Mali. The consultation period is quite long. Morbidity and mortality remains high.

The powered vascular staple (PVS) versus conventional powered linier cutter (PLC) for the application of bronchial transection in thoracoscopic anatomic segmentectomy

Background

Recent studies indicated that thoracoscopic anatomical segmentectomy (TAS) is widely adopted in early non-small cell lung cancer. Considering the slender segmental bronchi and the narrow space around segmental bronchi, it is easier to treat segmental bronchi with powered vascular stapler (PVS), which was designed to have a narrower anvil and a beak like tip. However, the safety and feasibility of PVS in stapling segmental bronchi are not yet clear.

Methods

We retrospectively compared the perioperative features of segmental bronchial closure treated with PVS and powered linier cutter (PLC) in thoracoscopic anatomic segmentectomy performed by a single surgeon and evaluated the safety and feasibility of PVS for the segmental or subsegmental bronchus.

Results

Between April 2018 and April 2019, a total of 162 patients who underwent anatomic segmentectomy were analyzed (PVS n=75 and PLC n=87). No bronchopleural fistula (BPF) occurred in 162 patients. Intraoperative blood loss in PVS group (15.2±8.91 mL) was significantly lower than that in PLC group (25.29±24.06 mL) (P<0.05). The operative time of PVS group was similar to the PLC group (P>0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups in postoperative drainage and chest tube duration (all P>0.05). In terms of postoperative complications, the incidence of hemoptysis in PVS group was similar to PLC group (P>0.05). Two cases of subcutaneous emphysema occurred in PVS group, one case of pulmonary air leakage (>3 days) and one case of subcutaneous emphysema occurred in PLC group. Besides, all the surgeons (100%) slight agree or strongly agree that PVS is easier to pass through the segmental bronchus.

Conclusions

PVS is a smoother and easier instrument and has the same effectiveness and security as PLC. It leads to reduced operation difficulty and potential intraoperative complications.