The three peaks in age distribution of females with pneumothorax: a nationwide database study in Japan

Current situation of management of spontaneous pneumothorax in Japan: A cross-sectional cohort study

BACKGROUND

Limited epidemiological information is available on spontaneous pneumothorax. To address this gap, the Japan Society for Pneumothorax and Cystic Lung Disease (JSPCLD) conducted a nationwide retrospective survey to investigate the current epidemiology of spontaneous pneumothorax in Japan.

METHODS

In this study, we conducted a retrospective cross-sectional cohort study to demonstrate the clinical features of spontaneous pneumothorax in one year from April 2019 to March 2020, compare patient characteristics and treatment outcomes between primary (PSP) and secondary spontaneous pneumothorax (SSP), and investigate the risk factors associated with in-hospital mortality among patients with SSP.

RESULTS

A total of 1784 patients from 28 institutions were enrolled in the study, with PSP observed in 956 cases (53.6%) and SSP in 817 cases (45.8%). The age distribution showed a biphasic peak caused by the different peaks between PSP and SSP. In-hospital mortality occurred in 42 cases (2.4%) among all patients, with 0 cases (0%) in PSP and 42 cases (5.1%) in SSP. Multivariable analyses revealed that interstitial pneumonia as an underlying disease (odds ratio: 2.4700, 95% confidence interval: 1.1100 to 5.4800, p = 0.0269), performance status≧3 (odds ratio: 7.3900, 95% confidence interval: 3.1900 to 17.2000, p < 0.0001), and lower value of serum albumin on admission (odds ratio: 0.4060, 95% confidence interval: 0.2140 to 0.7690, p = 0.0057) were significantly associated with in-hospital mortality among patients with SSP.

CONCLUSIONS

SSP patients with poor baseline conditions are at a higher risk for in-hospital mortality. It is crucial to provide close and meticulous management for SSP patients with compromised conditions.

Thoracic Endometriosis Syndrome (TES) in Martinique, a French West Indies Island

INTRODUCTION

Endometriosis is a female disease that affects 5-10% of women of childbearing age, with predominantly pelvic manifestations. It is currently declared as a public health priority in France. Thoracic endometriosis syndrome (TES) is the most common extra-pelvic manifestation.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics, and outcomes of patients with TES in Martinique.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We performed a descriptive, retrospective study including all patients managed at the University Hospital of Martinique for TES between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2020.

RESULTS

During the study period, we identified 479 cases of pneumothorax, of which 212 were women (44%). Sixty-three patients (30% of all female pneumothorax) were catamenial pneumothorax (CP) including 49 pneumothoraxes alone (78% of catamenial pneumothorax) and 14 hemopneumothorax (22% of catamenial pneumothorax). There were 71 cases of TES, including 49 pneumothoraxes (69%), 14 hemopneumothoraxes (20%) and 8 hemothorax (11%). The annual incidence of TES was 1.1 cases/100,000 inhabitants. The prevalence of TES was 1.2/1000 women aged from 15 to 45 years and the annual incidence of TES for this group was 6.9/100,000. The annual incidence of CP was 1 case/100,000 inhabitants. The average age at diagnosis was 36 ± 6 years. Eight patients (11%) had no prior diagnosis of pelvic endometriosis (PE). The mean age at pelvic endometriosis diagnosis was 29 ± 6 years. The mean time from symptom onset to diagnosis was 24 ± 50 weeks, and 53 ± 123 days from diagnosis to surgery. Thirty-two patients (47%) had prior abdominopelvic surgery. Seventeen patients (24%) presented other extra-pelvic localizations. When it came to management, 69/71 patients (97%) underwent surgery. Diaphragmatic nodules or perforations were found in 68/69 patients (98.5%). Histological confirmation was obtained in 55/65 patients who underwent resection (84.6%). Forty-four patients (62%) experienced recurrence. The mean time from the initial treatment to recurrence was 20 ± 33 months. The recurrence rate was 16/19 (84.2%) in patients who received medical therapy only, 11/17 (64.7%) in patients treated by surgery alone, and 17/31 (51.8%) in patients treated with surgery and medical therapy (p = 0.03).

CONCLUSIONS

We observed a very high incidence of TES in Martinique. The factors associated with this high incidence in this specific geographical area remain to be elucidated. The frequency of recurrence was lower in patients who received both hormone therapy and surgery.

Probability of sporadic lymphangioleiomyomatosis in women presenting with spontaneous pneumothorax

BACKGROUND

Sporadic lymphangioleiomyomatosis (S-LAM) is a rare low-grade neoplasm of young women characterized by multiple pulmonary cysts leading to progressive dyspnea and recurrent spontaneous pneumothorax (SP). The diagnosis of S-LAM may be delayed by several years. To reduce this delay, chest computed tomography (CT) screening has been proposed to uncover cystic lung disease in women presenting with SP. However, the probability to discover S-LAM in this population has not been determined precisely. The aim of this study was to calculate the probability of finding S-LAM in women presenting with (a) SP, and (b) apparent primary SP (PSP) as first manifestation of S-LAM.

METHODS

Calculations were made by applying the Bayes theorem to published epidemiological data on S-LAM, SP and PSP. Each term of the Bayes equation was determined by meta-analysis, and included: (1) the prevalence of S-LAM in the general female population, (2) the incidence rate of SP and PSP in the general female population, and (3) the incidence rate of SP and apparent PSP in women with S-LAM.

RESULTS

The prevalence of S-LAM in the general female population was 3.03 per million (95% confidence interval 2.48, 3.62). The incidence rate of SP in the general female population was 9.54 (8.15, 11.17) per 100,000 person-years (p-y). The incidence rate of SP in women with S-LAM was 0.13 (0.08, 0.20). By combining these data in the Bayes theorem, the probability of finding S-LAM in women presenting with SP was 0.0036 (0.0025, 0.0051). For PSP, the incidence rate in the general female population was 2.70 (1.95, 3.74) per 100,000 p-y. The incidence rate of apparent PSP in women with S-LAM was 0.041 (0.030, 0.055). With the Bayes theorem, the probability of finding S-LAM in women presenting with apparent PSP as first disease manifestation was 0.0030 (0.0020, 0.0046). The number of CT scans to perform in women to find one case of S-LAM was 279 for SP and 331 for PSP.

CONCLUSION

The probability of discovering S-LAM at chest CT in women presenting with apparent PSP as first disease manifestation was low (0.3%). Recommending chest CT screening in this population should be reconsidered.

Automated Radiology Alert System for Pneumothorax Detection on Chest Radiographs Improves Efficiency and Diagnostic Performance

We aimed to set up an Automated Radiology Alert System (ARAS) for the detection of pneumothorax in chest radiographs by a deep learning model, and to compare its efficiency and diagnostic performance with the existing Manual Radiology Alert System (MRAS) at the tertiary medical center. This study retrospectively collected 1235 chest radiographs with pneumothorax labeling from 2013 to 2019, and 337 chest radiographs with negative findings in 2019 were separated into training and validation datasets for the deep learning model of ARAS. The efficiency before and after using the model was compared in terms of alert time and report time. During parallel running of the two systems from September to October 2020, chest radiographs prospectively acquired in the emergency department with age more than 6 years served as the testing dataset for comparison of diagnostic performance. The efficiency was improved after using the model, with mean alert time improving from 8.45 min to 0.69 min and the mean report time from 2.81 days to 1.59 days. The comparison of the diagnostic performance of both systems using 3739 chest radiographs acquired during parallel running showed that the ARAS was better than the MRAS as assessed in terms of sensitivity (recall), area under receiver operating characteristic curve, and F1 score (0.837 vs. 0.256, 0.914 vs. 0.628, and 0.754 vs. 0.407, respectively), but worse in terms of positive predictive value (PPV) (precision) (0.686 vs. 1.000). This study had successfully designed a deep learning model for pneumothorax detection on chest radiographs and set up an ARAS with improved efficiency and overall diagnostic performance.

The Importance of Stromal Endometriosis in Thoracic Endometriosis

Thoracic endometriosis (TE) is a rare type of endometriosis, where endometrial tissue is found in or around the lungs and is frequent among extra-pelvic endometriosis patients. Catamenial pneumothorax (CP) is the most common form of TE and is characterized by recurrent lung collapses around menstruation. In addition to histology, immunohistochemical evaluation of endometrial implants is used more frequently. In this review, we compared immunohistochemical (CPE) with histological (CPH) characterizations of TE/CP and reevaluated arguments in favor of the implantation theory of Sampson. A summary since the first immunohistochemical description in 1998 until 2019 is provided. The emphasis was on classification of endometrial implants into glands, stroma, and both together. The most remarkable finding is the very high percentage of stromal endometriosis of 52.7% (CPE) compared to 10.2% (CPH). Chest pain, dyspnea, right-sided preference, and diaphragmatic endometrial implants showed the highest percentages in both groups. No significant association was found between the recurrence rate and the various appearances of endometriosis. Sometimes in CPE (6.8%) and CPH (30.6%) no endometrial implants were identified underlining the importance of sensitive detection of endometriosis during and after surgery. We suggest that immunohistochemical evaluation should become mandatory and will improve diagnosis and classification of the disease.