Cancer Risk in Patients With Empyema: A Nationwide Population-Based Study

Sarcomatoid carcinoma associated with chronic empyema and early lung and pleural metastases: A case report

INTRODUCTION

The relationship between chronic empyema and malignant tumors, most of which are lymphoma, has been recognized for many decades. Sarcomatoid carcinoma associated with chronic empyema is extremely rare, may metastasize to other organs in the early stage, and rapidly progresses to death. As far as we know, this was the first case report on sarcomatoid carcinoma associated chronic empyema.

THE PATIENTS MAIN CONCERNS AND IMPORTANT CLINICAL FINDINGS

A 59-year-old man presented to our hospital with a 9-year history of chronic empyema and a chief complaint of left chest wall pain for 5 months. The diagnostic contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) showed a large irregular soft tissue mass located on the left lower hemithorax at the margin of the empyema cavity extending to the adjacent chest wall and lung parenchyma. In addition, CT revealed pleural and pulmonary metastases surrounded by ground glass opacity.

THE MAIN DIAGNOSIS, THERAPEUTICS INTERVENTIONS, AND OUTCOMES

The patient underwent CT guided percutaneous core needle biopsy (PCNB). The histopathological evaluation showed carcinomatous proliferation of pleomorphic spindle cells with extensive necrosis. Immunohistochemically, tumor cells were positive for cytokeratin and vimentin. The final histopathological diagnosis was sarcomatoid carcinoma underlying chronic empyema. The tumors showed rapid progression on serial simple radiography. Palliative treatments were performed, but the patient still developed severe dyspnea and died shortly after on day 16.

CONCLUSION

Sarcomatoid carcinoma can occur very rarely as a complication of chronic empyema, and is more aggressive than usual. Early detection of developing malignancy during the follow-up of chronic empyema is an important factor for patient prognosis.

The Occurrence of Lung Cancer and Non-Pulmonary Malignancies After Pleural Infections

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Patients who develop infections of the pleura have several risk factors for malignancies, particularly lung cancer, and the infections might even be caused by undiagnosed intra-thoracic neoplasms. The aim of the study was to compare the occurrence of lung cancer and other malignancies between patients treated for pleural infections and controls during long-term follow-up.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

All consecutive patients treated for pleural infections between January 2000 and June 2016 at the Tampere University Hospital were included. Ten matched controls and data regarding later cancer diagnoses were requested from national registries. The cancer types and rates, the diagnostic delays, as well as survival were compared between patients and controls.

RESULTS

The material comprised 506 patients and 5022 controls (78% was male and median age was 60 years in both groups) with a median follow-up time of 69 months. In total, 74% of pleural infections were related to pneumonia. The occurrence of lung cancer during follow-up was 3.0% in all patients, 2.2% in pneumonia-related cases, and 0.6% in controls, p < 0.001 when compared with controls. The overall rate of non-pulmonary malignancies did not differ. Lung cancer was diagnosed within 3 months in 73% of patients versus in 6.9% of controls, p < 0.001. The survival in patients with later lung cancers or other malignancies was inferior to that of controls with similar neoplasms.

CONCLUSION

The rate of lung cancer diagnoses was significantly increased in patients treated for pleural infections when compared with matched controls and the prognosis of patients with subsequent malignancies was impacted.

Risk of empyema in patients with COPD

Objective

Pneumonia is one of the most common infectious diseases in patients with COPD. The risk of empyema in COPD is controversial, and its incidence has not been reported. The aim of our study was to determine the risk of empyema in COPD patients and to assess its risk factors.

Patients and methods

We used the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan to conduct an observational cohort study. This study analyzed patients who were diagnosed with COPD between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2009. The earliest date of COPD diagnosis was designated the index date. Patients who were younger than 40 years or had empyema before the index date were excluded.

Results

We analyzed 72,085 COPD patients in our study. The incidence of empyema was higher in the COPD group than in the non-COPD group (15.80 vs 4.34 per 10,000 person-years). The adjusted hazard ratio for empyema was 3.25 (95% CI =2.73–3.87) in patients with COPD compared with patients without COPD. COPD patients with only comorbidity of stroke, cancer, and chronic renal disease had adjusted hazard ratios of 1.88, 4.84, and 3.90, respectively.

Conclusion

The likelihood of developing empyema is higher in patients with COPD than in those without COPD. Some comorbidities, such as stroke, cancer, and chronic renal disease, are associated with an elevated risk for empyema in COPD patients.

Risk of developing pleural empyema in patients with stroke: a propensity-matched cohort study

Pleural empyema is an important complication of pneumonia. Patients with stroke are at a higher risk developing pneumonia; however, the association between stroke and pleural empyema risk is largely unknown. We used the data from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan to establish a stroke group consisting of 466,170 patients diagnosed between 2000 and 2010, and a non-stroke group consisting of the same number of individuals matched by the propensity score. Incident pleural empyema was monitored toward the end of 2011. Adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) of pleural empyema in the stroke group, compared to the non-stroke group, were estimated using the Cox proportional hazards model. We found that the incidence of pleural empyema is 2.69-fold higher in the stroke group than in the non-stroke group (15.2 vs. 5.59/10,000 person-years, p < 0.001), with an aHR of 2.89 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.72-3.08]. Further analysis reveals the aHRs of pleural empyema to be 2.62 (95% CI = 2.45-2.79) in patients with ischemic stroke and 4.53 (95% CI = 4.14-4.95) in patients with hemorrhagic stroke compared with those without stroke. In addition, we observe that stroke patients with ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt implantation exhibit more than sevenfold risk for developing of pleural empyema. In conclusion, patients with stroke are at an elevated risk of developing pleural empyema. The risk is greater for those with hemorrhagic stroke than for those with ischemic stroke. The risk increases further for patients who undergo VP shunt implantation.

Risk of empyema in patients with end-stage renal disease: a nationwide propensity-matched cohort study

BACKGROUND

Empyema is a rare but important complication among patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). However, a nationwide, propensity-matched cohort study has never been performed.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan. The ESRD group consisted of 82 765 patients diagnosed between 2000 and 2008. The comparison group consisted of individuals without kidney disease selected at a 1:1 ratio matched by propensity score estimated with age, gender, year of diagnosis and comorbidities. The occurrence of empyema was monitored until the end of 2011. The hazard ratios (HRs) of empyema were estimated using the Cox proportional hazards model.

RESULTS

The incidence of empyema was 2.76-fold higher in the ESRD group than in the comparison group (23.7 vs. 8.19/10 000 person-years, P  <0.001), with an adjusted HR of 3.01 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.67-3.39]. There was no difference of the incidence of empyema between hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) (adjusted HR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.75-1.23). In addition, 30-day mortality rate since empyema diagnosis was significantly higher in ESRD group than the comparison group (15.9% vs. 10.9%), with an adjusted OR of 1.69 (95% CI = 1.17-2.44).

CONCLUSION

The risk of empyema was significantly higher in patients with ESRD than in those without kidney disease. The occurrence of empyema was without difference in patients undergoing HD compared to those undergoing PD. The 30-day mortality rate since empyema diagnosis was also significantly higher in patients with ESRD.

Risk of empyema in patients with chronic liver disease and cirrhosis: A nationwide, population-based cohort study

BACKGROUND

Empyema is an important complication for patients with chronic liver disease and cirrhosis (CLDC). However, no study has investigated this relationship by using a population-based cohort study.

METHODS

We used the National Health Insurance Research Data of Taiwan to identify a cohort of 76 027 CLDC patients newly diagnosed in 2000-2010 and a comparison cohort without CLDC of same size matched by age, gender and the year of diagnosis. The occurrence of empyema was monitored until the end of 2011. The hazard ratios (HRs) of empyema were estimated using the Cox model.

RESULTS

The overall incidence of empyema was 66% greater in the CLDC group than in the non-CLDC group (3.85 vs 2.32/10 000 person-years, P<.001), with an adjusted HR of 1.54 (95% confidence interval [CI]=1.24-1.90). Compared with those without CLDC, adjusted HRs of empyema were 4.96 (95% CI=3.40-7.24) for patients with cirrhosis and 4.75 (95% CI=3.11-7.24) for patients with alcoholic CLDC. Further analyses revealed significant adjusted HRs of empyema among CLDC patients with ascites (5.76, 95% CI=4.13-8.04) and with gastrointestinal haemorrhage (1.60, 95% CI=1.03-2.48), compared to those without the respective disorders. Analyses using propensity score matched CLDC and non-CLDC cohorts revealed similar results.

CONCLUSION

The present study shows that CLDC patients have an increased risk of empyema. These patients need timely monitor for the risk of empyema, particularly for those with comorbid cirrhosis, alcoholic disorder, gastrointestinal haemorrhage and ascites.