Pulmonary artery pressure and blood flow as predictors of outcome from lung cancer resection

Risk Factors of Postoperative Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery

Background and Objectives. Hospital-acquired pneumonia is one of the complications that may occur in the postoperative period in patients undergoing heart valve surgery, which may result in prolonged hospitalization, development of respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation or even death. This study investigated the preoperative risk factors of postoperative pneumonia after heart valve surgery. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study in a group of consecutive patients with hemodynamically significant valvular heart disease undergoing valve surgery. The primary endpoint at the in-hospital follow-up was hospital-acquired pneumonia after heart valve surgery. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess which variables were predictive of the primary endpoint, and odds ratios (ORdis) were calculated with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Multivariate analysis was based on the results of single-factor logistic regression, i.e., in further steps all statistically significant variables were taken into consideration. Results: The present study included 505 patients. Postoperative pneumonia occurred in 23 patients. The mean time to diagnosis of pneumonia was approximately 3 days after heart valve surgery (±2 days). In multivariate analysis, preoperative level of high-sensitivity Troponin T (hs-TnT) (OR 2.086; 95% CI 1.211-3.593; p = 0.008) and right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) (OR 1.043; 95% CI 1.018-1.067; p 0.004) remained independent predictors of the postoperative pneumonia. Of the patients with postoperative pneumonia, 3 patients died due to the development of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). Conclusions: Preoperative determination of serum hs-TnT concentration and echocardiographic measurement of the RVSP parameter may be useful in predicting postoperative pneumonia in patients undergoing heart valve surgery.

Automated 3D segmentation of the aorta and pulmonary artery for predicting outcomes after thoracoscopic lobectomy in lung cancer patients

Background

Preoperative two-dimensional manual measurement of pulmonary artery diameter in a single-cut axial view computed tomography (CT) image is a commonly used non-invasive prediction method for pulmonary hypertension. However, the accuracy may be unreliable. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the correlation of short-term surgical outcomes and pulmonary artery/aorta (PA/Ao) diameter ratio measured by automated three-dimensional (3D) segmentation in lung cancer patients who underwent thoracoscopic lobectomy.

Materials and methods

We included 383 consecutive lung cancer patients with thin-slice CT images who underwent lobectomy at a single institute between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2019. Automated 3D segmentation models were used for 3D vascular reconstruction and measurement of the average diameters of Ao and PA. Propensity-score matching incorporating age, Charlson comorbidity index, and lobectomy performed by uniportal VATS was used to compare clinical outcomes in patients with PA/Ao ratio ≥1 and those <1.

Results

Our segmentation method measured 29 (7.57%) patients with a PA/Ao ratio ≥1. After propensity-score matching, a higher overall postoperative complication classified by the Clavien–Dindo classification (p = 0.016) were noted in patients with 3D PA/Ao diameter ratio ≥1 than those of <1. By multivariate logistic regression, patients with a 3D PA/Ao ratio ≥ 1 (p = 0.013) and tumor diameter > 3 cm (p = 0.002) both significantly predict the incidence of postoperative complications.

Conclusions

Pulmonary artery/aorta diameter ratio ≥ 1 measured by automated 3D segmentation may predict postoperative complications in lung cancer patients who underwent lobectomy.

Pulmonary artery enlargement on routine staging 18F-fluodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/CT for lung and oesophageal cancer

OBJECTIVE

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is an underdiagnosed condition associated with poor survival and increased post-operative mortality in lung cancer. CT-based parameters of pulmonary artery enlargement are strong predictors of PH. We used these parameters to investigate pulmonary artery enlargement in lung and oesophageal cancer.

METHODS

Consecutive patients with lung cancer (n = 100) or oesophageal cancer (n = 100) undergoing staging ¹⁸F-fluodeoxyglucose PET/CT were retrospectively identified. The transverse diameter of the main pulmonary artery (mPA) and ascending aorta, and the pulmonary artery-to-ascending aorta (PA:A) ratio were obtained. Abnormal values were defined following the Framingham Heart Study cohort.

RESULTS

Lung cancer patients had a significantly increased mPA diameter compared to the oesophageal cancer patients (males: 27.29 ± 0.39 vs. 25.88 ± 0.24 mm, females: 26.10 ± 0.28 vs. 24.45 ± 0.18 mm). Similarly, a significantly increased proportion of these patients had an abnormal mPA diameter (males: 35.1% vs 12.5%, females: 32.6% vs 10.7%). Lung cancer patients also had a significantly higher PA:A ratio (males: 0.83 ± 0.01 vs. 0.79 ± 0.008, females: 0.85 ± 0.01 vs. 0.79 ± 0.009), with a larger proportion having an abnormal PA:A ratio (males: 24.6% vs 11.1%, females: 27.9% vs 14.3%).

CONCLUSION

Simple measurements of mPA diameter and PA:A ratio reveal that lung cancer patients exhibit increased rates of pulmonary artery enlargement compared to oesophageal cancer patients.

ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE

This study demonstrates there is an increased prevalence of pulmonary enlargement in lung cancer, easily detected on routine staging scans, holding implications for further work-up and risk stratification.

The Utility of Exercise Testing in Patients with Lung Cancer

The harm associated with lung cancer treatment include perioperative morbidity and mortality and therapy-induced toxicities in various organs, including the heart and lungs. Optimal treatment therefore entails a need for risk assessment to weigh the probabilities of benefits versus harm. Exercise testing offers an opportunity to evaluate a patient's physical fitness/exercise capacity objectively. In lung cancer, it is most often used to risk-stratify patients undergoing evaluation for lung cancer resection. In recent years, its use outside this context has been described, including in nonsurgical candidates and lung cancer survivors. In this article we review the physiology of exercise testing and lung cancer. Then, we assess the utility of exercise testing in patients with lung cancer in four contexts (preoperative evaluation for lung cancer resection, after lung cancer resection, lung cancer prognosis, and assessment of efficiency of exercise training programs) after systematically identifying original studies involving the most common forms of exercise tests in this patient population: laboratory cardiopulmonary exercise testing and simple field testing with the 6-minute walk test, shuttle walk test, and/or stair-climbing test. Lastly, we propose a conceptual framework for risk assessment of patients with lung cancer who are being considered for therapy and identify areas for further studies in this patient population.

Pulmonary arterial enlargement predicts cardiopulmonary complications after pulmonary resection for lung cancer: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

The finding of pulmonary arterial enlargement on computed tomography has been reported to be associated with pulmonary hypertension. On the other hand, pulmonary hypertension is a known risk factor for thoracic surgery. We investigated whether pulmonary arterial enlargement predicts cardiopulmonary complications following pulmonary resection for lung cancer.

METHODS

We reviewed 237 consecutive patients who underwent pulmonary resection for lung cancer. Preoperative patient characteristics (sex, age, Brinkman index, cardiopulmonary comorbidities, cardiothoracic ratio, pulmonary function, and pulmonary arterial enlargement) and surgical data (surgical procedure, pathological stage, postoperative complications, mortality, and length of postoperative hospital stay) were analyzed. In order to evaluate preoperative pulmonary arterial enlargement, we measured the diameter of the main pulmonary artery at its bifurcation and that of the ascending aorta at its widest point using chest computed tomography and calculated the ratio of the former diameter to the latter.

RESULTS

In all, 16 patients developed postoperative cardiopulmonary complications and 221 did not. One patient died from postoperative pneumonia. The mean age of patients who developed postoperative cardiopulmonary complications was significantly higher than that of those who did not (78 ± 5 years vs 69 ± 9 years, P=0.0001). The pulmonary artery-to-ascending-aorta ratio was significantly higher in patients who developed postoperative complications than in those who did not (0.94 ± 0.15 vs. 0.81 ± 0.11, P=0.03). Other preoperative patient characteristics and surgical data did not differ significantly between the groups. On multivariate analysis, pulmonary artery-to-ascending-aorta ratio (0.1-point increase; odds ratio 2.3, 95 % confidence interval 1.5-3.5; P=0.0002) and age (1-year increase; odds ratio 1.2, 95 % confidence interval 1.1-1.3; P=0.03) were found to be independent predictors of postoperative cardiopulmonary complications.

CONCLUSIONS

A finding of pulmonary arterial enlargement on computed tomography is a potential predictor of postoperative cardiopulmonary complications after lung cancer surgery.

American College of Chest Physicians and Society of Thoracic Surgeons consensus statement for evaluation and management for high-risk patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND

The standard treatment of stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is lobectomy with systematic mediastinal lymph node evaluation. Unfortunately, up to 25% of patients with stage I NSCLC are not candidates for lobectomy because of severe medical comorbidity.

METHODS

A panel of experts was convened through the Thoracic Oncology Network of the American College of Chest Physicians and the Workforce on Evidence-Based Surgery of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Following a literature review, the panel developed 13 suggestions for evaluation and treatment through iterative discussion and debate until unanimous agreement was achieved.

RESULTS

Pretreatment evaluation should focus primarily on measures of cardiopulmonary physiology, as respiratory failure represents the greatest interventional risk. Alternative treatment options to lobectomy for high-risk patients include sublobar resection with or without brachytherapy, stereotactic body radiation therapy, and radiofrequency ablation. Each is associated with decreased procedural morbidity and mortality but increased risk for involved lobe and regional recurrence compared with lobectomy, but direct comparisons between modalities are lacking.

CONCLUSIONS

Therapeutic options for the treatment of high-risk patients are evolving quickly. Improved radiographic staging and the diagnosis of smaller and more indolent tumors push the risk-benefit decision toward parenchymal-sparing or nonoperative therapies in high-risk patients. Unbiased assessment of treatment options requires uniform reporting of treatment populations and outcomes in clinical series, which has been lacking to date.