Thoracic CT Scan Research Articles

Diagnostic challenge and surgical management of Boerhaave\u2019s syndrome: a case series\xa0

BackgroundBoerhaave’s syndrome is the spontaneous rupture of the esophagus, which requires early diagnosis and treatment. Symptoms may vary, and diagnosis can be challenging.Case presentationCase 1: A 54-year-old Chinese man presented to us with sudden-onset epigastric pain radiating to the back following hematemesis. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed a full-thickness rupture of the esophageal wall. Subsequent computed tomography showed frank pneumomediastinum and heterogeneous pleural effusion. Immediately, esophageal perforation repair operation and jejunostomy were performed. The postoperative period was uneventful, and he was discharged.Case 2: A 62-year-old Chinese man was admitted to the emergency department with thoracic dull pain and chest distress. Chest computed tomography scan showed pneumomediastinum and large left-sided pleural effusion. Esophagus fistula was confirmed by contrast esophagography. Then, we performed thoracotomy to repair the esophageal tear as well as to debride and irrigate the left pleural space. His postoperative period was uneventful, with no leakage or stricture.Case 3: The patient was a 69-year-old Chinese male presenting with severe retrosternal and upper abdominal pain following an episode of forceful vomiting. Thoracic computed tomography scan revealed a rupture in the left distal part of the esophagus, a pneumomediastinum, and left-sided pleural effusions. Conservative treatment failed to improve disease conditions. Open thoracic surgery was performed with debridement and drainage of the mediastinum and the pleural cavity, after which he made a slow but full recovery.ConclusionsWe highlight that early diagnosis and appropriate surgical treatment are essential for optimum outcome in patients with esophageal rupture. We emphasize the importance of critical care support, particularly in the early stages of management.

Clinical case of nebulized surfactant therapy for severe COVID-19-associated pneumonia at the 2nd stage of rehabilitation treatment

The development of an effective and safe drug for the treatment of patients with COVID-19 is currently an urgent task for the global medical community. Given that lung damage remains the predominant syndrome in COVID-19, and the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is the most common reason for transfer to intensive care unit and connection to artificial lung ventilation, it seems promising to study the effectiveness and safety of surfactant therapy, successfully proven in practice in the treatment of adult and preterm infants ARDS. Despite the fact that most studies are devoted to the use of this method in patients in the acute stage, we present a case from our own practice of Surfactant-BL inhalation in a patient with COVID-19-associated pneumonia at the 2nd stage of rehabilitation treatment. Clinical signs of respiratory failure (RR 22 per minute, Sa O2 86% on atmospheric air, 95% on insufflation of humidified oxygen 7 L/min), high percentage of lung tissue damage according to thoracic CT (55% – CT3) on admission to the Medical Rehabilitation Unit, as well as a score of 6 on the NEWS2 scale served as a basis for the patient to receive Surfactant-BL inhalation for the indication «prevention of the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome» in a dosage of 75 mg twice a day for 5 days. Positive dynamics of clinical data at the end of the course of inhalations (decrease of RR to 16 per minute, increase of Sa O2 to 90% on atmospheric air and to 95% on insufflation of humidified oxygen 5 l/min, improvement of auscultatory picture), as well as the control thoracic CT scan, which showed a decrease of lung parenchyma damage to 45.2% (CT-2), indicated the effectiveness and safety of this method in the complex rehabilitation of COVID-19 patient, being a basis for further investigation of this issue

Impact of Muscle Mass as a Prognostic Factor for Failed Waiting Time Prior to Heart Transplantation.

Objectives: Clinical deterioration during the waiting time impairs the prognosis of patients listed for heart transplantation. Reduced muscle mass increases the risk for mortality after cardiac surgery, but its impact on resilience against deterioration during the waiting time remains unclear.Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from 93 patients without a VAD who were listed in Eurotransplant status “high urgent (HU)” for heart transplantation between January 2015 and October 2020. The axial muscle area of the erector spinae muscles at the level of thoracic vertebra 12 indexed to body surface area (TMESA/BSA) measured in the preoperative thoracic computed tomography scan was used to measure muscle mass.Results: Forty patients (43%) underwent emergency VAD implantation during the waiting time and four patients (4%) died during the waiting time. The risk of emergency VAD implantation/death during the waiting time decreased by 10% for every cm2/m2 increase in muscle area [OR 0.901 (95% CI: 0.808–0.996); p = 0.049]. After adjusting for gender [OR 0.318 (95% CI: 0.087–1.073); p = 0.072], mean pulmonary artery pressure [OR 1.061 (95% CI: 0.999–1.131); p = 0.060], C-reactive protein [OR 1.352 (95% CI: 0.986–2.027); p = 0.096], and hemoglobin [OR 0.862 (95% CI: 0.618–1.177); p = 0.360], TMESA/BSA [OR 0.815 (95% CI: 0.698–0.936); p = 0.006] remained an independent risk factor for emergency VAD implantation/death during the HU waiting time.Conclusion: Muscle area of the erector spinae muscle appears to be a potential, easily identifiable risk factor for emergency VAD implantation or death in patients on the HU waiting list for heart transplantation. Identifying patients at risk could help optimize the outcome and the timing of VAD support.

Visual estimate of coronary artery calcium predicts prevalent coronary artery disease in patients with respiratory disease

Abstract Background Coronary artery calcification (CAC) measured using ECG-triggered coronary computed tomography correlates strongly with overt cardiovascular disease risk. Evidence is emerging to suggest CAC measured on non-gated thoracic CT scans may also correlate with cardiovascular disease. Herein, we sought to ascertain the utility of Weston scoring (visual score for CAC) in predicting prevalent coronary artery disease (CAD) and incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) for patients undergoing lung cancer screening or follow-up for interstitial lung disease with a non-triggered high-resolution CT (HRCT) thorax. Methods The Computerised Radiology Information Service (CRIS) database was manually searched to determine all HRCT scans performed in a single UK trust from 01/05/2016 to 01/05/2017 for the aforementioned indications. Radiology reports and images of selected studies were reviewed. For patients with evidence of CAC, we calculated the calcium score using the Agatston and Weston methods. Clinical events were determined from the electronic medical record without knowledge of patients' CAC findings. At baseline, significant CAC was defined as Agatston >400 and Weston >7. Results 2152 scans were analysed. Data at follow up was available for 100% of patients, with a median duration of follow up of 3.6 years. A history of CAD was reported by 8% (172) of subjects at baseline, who were subsequently excluded from analysis. Significant CAC was found in 450 (22.5%) and 650 (32.5%) by Weston and Agatston scores respectively, with a significant correlation between the two scores (r-0.71, p<0.01). During follow up 7.4% (160) of patients developed incident CVD. Patients with low Weston scores of ≤7 and Agatston scores of ≤400 had a lower incidence of CVD compared to those with Weston >7 and Agatston >400 (31 [19.3%] vs 129 [80.6%]; P=0.003 for Weston scores; 37 [23.1%] vs 123 [76.9%] for Agatston scores; P<0.001). Conclusion In this retrospective study of patients with respiratory disease attending for HRCT scanning, the Weston visual score for CAC performs well in predicting prevalent CAD and future CVD events. With previous data demonstrating excellent inter- and intra- observer agreement, our study demonstrates Weston scoring is a valid tool in reporting non-gated CT scans, removing the need for dedicated software analysis as required with the Agatston score, and has a high overall positive and negative predictive value for future CVD. Further multi-centre prospective studies of this strategy, should be conducted to clarify the utility of Weston CAC scoring in non-gated CTs as a prediction tool which may be used to modify cardiac risk and reduce the risk of incident cardiovascular events. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.

COVID-19-Related Lung Involvement at Different Time Intervals: Evaluation of Computed Tomography Images With Semiquantitative Scoring System and COVID-19 Reporting and Data System Scoring.

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of typical and atypical thoracic CT findings in patient groups diagnosed during different periods of the pandemic, examine disease severity using radiological scoring methods, and determine the relationship between atypical CT findings and disease severity.Materials and methods: One hundred fifty-one patients with positive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test and thoracic CT scan were included in the study. The patients were divided into two groups as group 1 (March to August 2020) diagnosed in the first six months of the pandemic and group 2 (September 2020 to February 2021) diagnosed in the second six months. CT images of the patients were analyzed for the frequency of typical and atypical findings. Evaluation was made in terms of disease suspicion and severity by scoring methods, and the relationship between atypical findings and disease severity was examined.Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the frequency and distribution patterns of typical CT findings observed in both groups. The most common atypical finding in both groups was nodular lesions. Central distribution, one of the atypical findings, was not seen in group 1, whereas it was present in nine patients in group 2 (p=0.001). The mean CT severity score was higher in group 2, and there was a statistically significant difference between the mean CT scores of both groups (p<0.001). In addition, six (7.2%) patients in group 1 and 34 (50%) patients in group 2 had CT scores above the cut-off value (p<0.001). There was no statistically significant relationship between atypical findings and severity score.Conclusion: Other diseases and atypical findings that may accompany COVID-19 pneumonia may increase the rate of misdiagnosis. In the diagnosis of the disease, clinical signs and symptoms and radiological findings should be evaluated together, and it should be kept in mind that lung findings in thorax CT change over time.

Thoracic involvement and imaging patterns in IgG4-related disease.

Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a rare orphan disease. Lung, pleura, pericardium, mediastinum, aorta and lymph node involvement has been reported with variable frequency and mostly in Asian studies. The objective of this study was to describe thoracic involvement assessed by high-resolution thoracic computed tomography (CT) in Caucasian patients with IgG4-RD. Thoracic CT scans before treatment were retrospectively collected through the French case registry of IgG4-RD and a single tertiary referral centre. CT scans were reviewed by two experts in thoracic imagery blinded from clinical data. 48 IgG4-RD patients with thoracic involvement were analysed. All had American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism classification scores ≥20 and comprehensive diagnostic criteria for IgG4-RD. CT scan findings showed heterogeneous lesions. Seven patterns were observed: peribronchovascular involvement (56%), lymph node enlargement (31%), nodular disease (25%), interstitial disease (25%), ground-glass opacities (10%), pleural disease (8%) and retromediastinal fibrosis (4%). In 37% of cases two or more patterns were associated. Asthma was significantly associated with peribronchovascular involvement (p=0.04). Among eight patients evaluated by CT scan before and after treatments, only two patients with interstitial disease displayed no improvement. Thoracic involvement of IgG4-RD is heterogeneous and likely underestimated. The main thoracic CT scan patterns are peribronchovascular thickening and thoracic lymph nodes.

CT Lung Abnormalities after COVID-19 at 3 Months and 1 Year after Hospital Discharge.

BackgroundData on the long-term pulmonary sequelae in COVID-19 are lacking.PurposeTo assess symptoms, functional impairment, and residual pulmonary abnormalities on serial chest CT scans in COVID-19 survivors discharged from hospital at up to 1-year follow-up.Materials and MethodsAdult patients with COVID-19 discharged between March 2020 and June 2020 were prospectively evaluated at 3 months and 1 year through systematic assessment of symptoms, functional impairment, and thoracic CT scans as part of the PHENOTYPE study, an observational cohort study in COVID-19 survivors. Lung function testing was limited to participants with CT abnormalities and/or persistent breathlessness. Bonferroni correction was used.ResultsEighty participants (mean age, 59 years ± 13 [SD]; 53 men) were assessed. At outpatient review, persistent breathlessness was reported in 37 of the 80 participants (46%) and cough was reported in 17 (21%). CT scans in 73 participants after discharge (median, 105 days; IQR, 95–141 days) revealed persistent abnormalities in 41 participants (56%), with ground-glass opacification (35 of 73 participants [48%]) and bands (27 of 73 participants [37%]) predominating. Unequivocal signs indicative of established fibrosis (ie, volume loss and/or traction bronchiectasis) were present in nine of 73 participants (12%). Higher admission serum C-reactive protein (in milligrams per liter), fibrinogen (in grams per deciliter), urea (millimoles per liter), and creatinine (micromoles per liter) levels; longer hospital stay (in days); older age (in years); and requirement for invasive ventilation were associated with CT abnormalities at 3-month follow-up. Thirty-two of 41 participants (78%) with abnormal findings at 3-month follow-up CT underwent repeat imaging at a median of 364 days (range, 360–366 days), with 26 (81%) showing further radiologic improvement (median, 18%; IQR, 10%–40%).ConclusionCT abnormalities were common at 3 months after COVID-19 but with signs of fibrosis in a minority. More severe acute disease was linked with CT abnormalities at 3 months. However, radiologic improvement was seen in the majority at 1-year follow-up.ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04459351.© RSNA, 2022 Online supplemental material is available for this article.

Rare Case of Mediastinal Compressive Teratoma in a Child

Benign teratomas of the mediastinum are rare tumors that represent 5 to 10% of mediastinal tumors. They remain asymptomatic for a long time and their discovery often reveals their bulky size. They occur most often in young subjects. We report the observation of a 6-year-old patient with a large mediastinal teratoma revealed by rest dyspnea and chest pain in a context of asthenia who was referred to our pediatric imaging department for a thoracic CT scan. Although benign mediastinal teratomas are slow growing, they can rarely become complicated and cause symptoms. Imaging is essential to make the diagnosis and to look for possible complications. The gold standard treatment is complete surgical resection.

IDIOPATHIC PULMONARY ARTERIOVENOUS MALFORMATION: A RARE CAUSE OF DYSPNEA ON EXERTION

TOPIC: Lung Pathology TYPE: Fellow Case Reports INTRODUCTION: Pulmonary arteriovenous malformation (PAVM) is rare cardiopulmonary vascular abnormality caused by the abnormal connection between pulmonary arteries and venous systems, more commonly associated to congenital disorders. More than 80% are congenital, and of these 47%–80% are associated with Osler-Weber-Render disease or hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). Although most patients are asymptomatic, can cause dyspnea from right-to-left shunt, and the degrees of hypoxemia will be determined by the size of the shunt. PAVM was first described in 1897 by Churton, and even though the prevalence of PAVMs may be 1 in 2600 individuals, the condition is underdiagnosed and poorly understood. PAVMs may be single or multiple in occurrence and the incidence of single PAVMs ranges from 42% to 74%. CASE PRESENTATION: Case of a 48-year-old man with hypertension, GERD, testicular leydig cell tumor status post left orchiectomy and hypogonadism presented to his gastroenterologist with persistent abdominal pain refractory to medication. Upon review of systems, stated progressive dyspnea on exertion of one-year duration after orchiectomy, with associated fatigue. Denied any history of dizziness, syncope, epistaxis, hemoptysis, chest pain, palpitations, or cough. Physical examination was unremarkable and peripheral saturation at 99% at room air. Chest X-Ray with no cardiopulmonary pathology. Given persistent abdominal pain, abdominal CT scan was ordered, and a right lower lung lobe AVM was identified. CT angiography of the chest confirmed the presence of PAVM arising from the peripheral branches of the right pulmonary artery and feeding artery measuring 4mm. Radionuclide perfusion lung scan was compatible with a right to left shunt of 12%. Pulmonary function test done with the 100% oxygen and ABGs showed normal spirometry and estimated a shunt fraction of 15%. Bubble Study with evidence of PAVM. Considering patient is symptomatic he was scheduled for embolization. DISCUSSION: For many years, PAVM has been underdiagnosed and poorly understood, other symptoms include hemoptysis, chest pain, palpitations, epistaxis, and cough. Most patient are asymptomatic, confirmed patients should be screened for cerebral malformation by contrast enhanced head CT scan or magnetic resonance imaging given the high risk of stroke and brain abscess. Treatment must be offered to all symptomatic patients whereas asymptomatic patients should be evaluated on case to case basis. The treatment of choice for PAVMs is embolization, especially if the feeding vessel is larger or equal than 3mm. Follow-up with Thoracic CT Scan at 6–12 months must be performed to detect reperfusion of PAVM and opening of other occult PAVM. CONCLUSIONS: This case is intended to raise medical awareness on possible differential diagnosis of uncommon pulmonary causes of hypoxemia and dyspnea on exertion including pulmonary arteriovenous malformation. REFERENCE #1: Gossage JR, Kanj G. Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations. A state of the art review. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1998 Aug;158(2):643-61. REFERENCE #2: Shovlin CL. Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2014 Dec 1;190(11):1217-28. REFERENCE #3: Shovlin CL, Condliffe R, Donaldson JW, Kiely DG, Wort SJ; British Thoracic Society. British Thoracic Society Clinical Statement on Pulmonary Arteriovenous Malformations. Thorax. 2017 Dec;72(12):1154-1163. DISCLOSURES: No relevant relationships by Onix Cantres-Fonseca, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Vanessa Fonseca Ferrer, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by SULIMAR MORALES, source=Web Response

Role of CT and modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST criteria) in response evaluation of malignant pleural mesothelioma

Abstract Background Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive tumor that the growth pattern of it poses unique difficulties in measurement and response assessment . however, robust and reproducible assessment of response is critically important in the conduct, interpretation, and reporting of clinical trials. Objectives The aim of this study is to assess the value of CT and modified RECIST criteria in follow up patients of malignant pleural mesothelioma patient during treatment with chemotherapy . Patients and methods We evaluated 20 malignant pleural mesothelioma patients undergoing to chemotherapy . Tumor thickness is measures perpendicular to the chest wall or mediastinum in two positions at three separate levels on thoracic CT scans. The sum of the six measurements defined a pleural unidimensional measure. A reduction of at least 30% on two occasions 6 weeks apart defined a partial response; an increase of 20% over the nadir measurement known as progressive disease. Patients who fulfilled the criteria for neither PR nor PD called CD .The validity of the modified criteria was gauged by clinical evaluation . Results In our study, CT and modified RECIST criteria were used as the method of choice in response evaluation of malignant pleural mesothelioma .Our study showed as follow up results of each group and comparison between clinical evaluation and modified RECIST criteria show over all accuracy 73.3% with P value = 0.03 and this results confirm accuracy of CT with modified RECIST criteria as good predictor of disease outcome . Conclusion These Modified RECIST criteria for tumor response correlate with clinical evaluation and can be used to measure outcome in pleural mesothelioma.

Strategies to develop radiomics and machine learning models for lung cancer stage and histology prediction using small data samples.

Predictive models based on radiomics and machine-learning (ML) need large and annotated datasets for training, often difficult to collect. We designed an operative pipeline for model training to exploit data already available to the scientific community. The aim of this work was to explore the capability of radiomic features in predicting tumor histology and stage in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We analyzed the radiotherapy planning thoracic CT scans of a proprietary sample of 47 subjects (L-RT) and integrated this dataset with a publicly available set of 130 patients from the MAASTRO NSCLC collection (Lung1). We implemented intra- and inter-sample cross-validation strategies (CV) for evaluating the ML predictive model performances with not so large datasets. We carried out two classification tasks: histology classification (3 classes) and overall stage classification (two classes: stage I and II). In the first task, the best performance was obtained by a Random Forest classifier, once the analysis has been restricted to stage I and II tumors of the Lung1 and L-RT merged dataset (AUC=0.72±0.11). For the overall stage classification, the best results were obtained when training on Lung1 and testing of L-RT dataset (AUC=0.72±0.04 for Random Forest and AUC=0.84±0.03 for linear-kernel Support Vector Machine). According to the classification task to be accomplished and to the heterogeneity of the available dataset(s), different CV strategies have to be explored and compared to make a robust assessment of the potential of a predictive model based on radiomics and ML.

MTU-COVNet: A hybrid methodology for diagnosing the COVID-19 pneumonia with optimized features from multi-net

PurposeThe aim of this study was to establish and evaluate a fully automatic deep learning system for the diagnosis of COVID-19 using thoracic computed tomography (CT). Materials and methodsIn this retrospective study, a novel hybrid model (MTU-COVNet) was developed to extract visual features from volumetric thoracic CT scans for the detection of COVID-19. The collected dataset consisted of 3210 CT scans from 953 patients. Of the total 3210 scans in the final dataset, 1327 (41%) were obtained from the COVID-19 group, 929 (29%) from the CAP group, and 954 (30%) from the Normal CT group. Diagnostic performance was assessed with the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, sensitivity, and specificity. ResultsThe proposed approach with the optimized features from concatenated layers reached an overall accuracy of 97.7% for the CT-MTU dataset. The rest of the total performance metrics, such as; specificity, sensitivity, precision, F1 score, and Matthew Correlation Coefficient were 98.8%, 97.6%, 97.8%, 97.7%, and 96.5%, respectively. This model showed high diagnostic performance in detecting COVID-19 pneumonia (specificity: 98.0% and sensitivity: 98.2%) and CAP (specificity: 99.1% and sensitivity: 97.1%). The areas under the ROC curves for COVID-19 and CAP were 0.997 and 0.996, respectively. ConclusionA deep learning–based AI system built on the CT imaging can detect COVID-19 pneumonia with high diagnostic efficiency and distinguish it from CAP and normal CT. AI applications can have beneficial effects in the fight against COVID-19.

Immunity Profiling of COVID-19 Infection, Dynamic Variations of Lymphocyte Subsets, a Comparative Analysis on Four Different Groups.

Background: A novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)-induced pneumonia (COVID-19) emerged in December 2019 in China, spreading worldwide. The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the immunological response and the clinical subset of peripheral lymphocyte subset alteration in COVID-19 infection. Methods: the study was conducted on four different clinical groups (n = 4; total n = 138). Each individual was assigned to different groups based on specific criteria evaluated at the admission such as fever, dyspnea, arterial blood gas analysis (ABG), oral-nasopharyngeal swab/RT-PCR, and thoracic CT-scan. Treatment was performed only after blood samples were collected from each patient (PP and PP) at day 1. The blood samples were analyzed and tested the same day (CBC and Flowcytometry). The positive–positive group (PP n = 45; F = 18/ M = 27; median age = 62.33), comprised individuals affected by COVID-19 who showed fever, dyspnea (ABG = pO2 < 60), confirmed positive by oral-nasopharyngeal swab/RT-PCR and with CT-scan showing ground-glass opacities. The negative–positive (NP; n = 37; F = 11/M = 26; median age = 75.94) or “COVID-like” group comprised individuals with fever and dyspnea (ABG = pO2 < 60), who tested negative to nasopharyngeal swab/RT-PCR, with CT-scans showing ground-glass opacities in the lungs. The negative–affected group (NA; n = 40; F = 14/M = 26; median age = 58.5) included individuals negative to COVID-19 (RT-PCR) but affected by different chronic respiratory diseases (the CT-scans didn’t show ground-glass opacities). Finally, the negative–negative group (NN; n = 16; F = 14/M = 2) included healthy patients (NN; n = 16; median age = 42.62). Data and findings were collected and compared. Results: Lymphocytes (%) cells showed a decline in COVID-19 patients. The subsets showed a significant association with the inflammatory status in COVID-19, especially with regard to increased neutrophils, T-killer, T-active, T-suppressor, and T-CD8+CD38+ in individuals belong to the either COVID-19 and Covid-like NP group. Conclusions: Peripheral lymphocyte subset alteration was associated with the clinical characteristics and progression of COVID-19. The level of sub-set cells T-lymphocytes (either high or low) and B-lymphocytes could be used as an independent predictor for COVID-19 severity and treatment efficacy.

Volumetric study of tracheal diverticulum: a retrospective analysis in computed tomography

Aim: The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the prevalence and morphology (location, diameter, number and volume) of the tracheal diverticulum (TD) on thoracic computed tomography (CT), in a sample of the Turkish population.&#x0D; Material and Method: The study was conducted over 15 months, from February 2020 to April 2021, and included 3,860 thoracic CT scans, of which 1,891 subjects were men and the rest were women. All of the thoracic CT scans were evaluated retrospectively. All images were reviewed for the presence or absence of the TD in the axial plane, defined as air sacs around the trachea and communication with the trachea. For volume measurement, the TD contour was manually evaluated by a single radiologist, for all patients. Descriptive statistics were reported as mean±standard deviation (SD). A p value of less than 0.05 was considered significant.&#x0D; Results: The mean age of the patients was 57.87±14.76 (29-84). In this study, the incidence of TD was calculated to be 0.80%. The mean tracheal diverticulum volume (TDV) and maximum transverse diameter (MTD) of TD were 983.62±1 509.80 mm3 and 8.79±6.19 mm, respectively. &#x0D; Conclusion: In this study, we demonstrated the volumetric measurement of TD and its prevalence. We believe that the frequency of its use in clinical practice should increase, as volumetric measurements provide healthier results than diameter measurements.

AUTOIMMUNE & INFLAMMATORY NMD: EP.06 Granulomatous myositis, perimysial pathology and immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy in anti-PL7 antisynthetase syndrome

A 72-year-old woman presented with a 6-month history of anorexia, weight loss (-14kg) and myalgia in upper limbs. Clinical examination showed moderate proximal muscle weakness in upper limbs and crepitation at lung auscultation, but no skin rash nor joint involvement. Biological assessment disclosed increased C-reactive protein (68µM) and creatine-kinase (3800 U/l) serum levels and anti-nuclear and -PL7 autoantibodies at immunological screening. Thoracic CT-scan showed abnormalities consistent with interstitial pneumonia. Search for cancer was negative. Deltoid muscle biopsy revealed an unusual myositis combining (i) randomly distributed myonecrosis with complement activation and membrane attack complex deposition at the surface of non-necrotic myofibers, (ii) perimysial inflammation with collagenolysis, and (iii) non-caseous granulomas. Immunohistochemical techniques revealed ubiquitous myofiber expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-class I and multifocal MHC-II myofiber expression witnessing interferon-gamma signature. The peculiar histopathological features found in this patient was strikingly similar to that previously reported in anti-PL7 myositis, suggesting that anti-PL7 could be the marker of a specific subtype of overlap myositis.

Giant pulmonary hydatid cyst in children.

Hydatid disease is still endemic in Tunisia. It is mostly seen in young people less than 40 years and children are affected in one third of cases. The lungs are the predominant location in children. Our study aims to define the particularities of children PHC's (pulmonary hydatic cyst) management, the characteristics of giant cyst and to study predictive factors of complications. We included retrospectively 105 children with PHC followed between 1999 and 2019. Patients were aged less than 16 years with surgically confirmed diagnosis of PHC. Two groups of cysts were defined: giant cysts which were 10 cm across or more, and no giant cysts.The sex-ratio was 1.38 with a mean age of 10.5±3 years. The symptomatology was dominated by cough (59%), thoracic pain (51%) and hemoptysis (46%). Giant cysts were observed in 24 (22.9%) patients. Dyspnea (29% vs 5% p<0.001) and thoracic pain (88% vs 41% p<0.001) were significantly more frequently reported in giant cysts. Eighty-six patients had a single cyst (83%) and 19 had multiple cysts (17%). Giant cysts accounted for 22,9% (24 cases). Thoracic ultrasonography was diagnostic in 77.4%. The thoracic CT scan was performed in 27 children with inaccessible cysts in thoracic ultrasonography or in diagnostic doubt.Patients were all treated surgically. Surgical procedures consisted of cystectomy (59%), pericystectomy (18%) and pulmonary resection when parenchyma was destroyed (23%). Parenchymal resection was more often performed in complicated cysts (27% vs 20% p>0.05) and in giant cysts (41% vs 18% p<0.05). A two-stage thoracotomy was performed in the 4 patients with bilateral cysts. Thirteen patients presented immediate post-operative complications which occurred more frequently in complicated and giant cysts. Hospital stay was longer in complicated cysts (16±9 days vs 7±3 days; p<0.001) and in giant cysts (14±9 days vs 11±8 days; p>0.05). In endemic regions, the diagnosis of PHC in children should be based on the combination of thoracic radiography and ultrasonography which are effective, not costly, safe and accessible. Complicated and giant PHC cause lung damage leading to extensive parenchymal resection. They are more associated with post-operative complications prolonging hospital stay and increasing expenses.

Evaluation of skeletal muscle mass using prediction formulas at the level of the 12th thoracic vertebra

ObjectivesPeople with cancer have a high risk of cachexia and sarcopenia, which are associated with worse clinical outcomes. We evaluated the prediction accuracy of the Matsuyama et al. and Ishida et al. formulas using computed tomography (CT) slices from the twelfth thoracic vertebra (Th12) level in people with cancer. MethodsThis retrospective study included patients with advanced cancer who underwent thoracic and abdominal CT scans (n = 173). The cross-sectional area (CSA) on CT images was measured at the levels of Th12 and the third lumbar vertebra (L3). The Matsuyama et al. formula used the Th12 CSA, whereas the Ishida et al. formula used only the Th12 CSA of the spinal erectors; thus, the measurements were performed separately. The correlation between predicted and actual L3 CSA was assessed using r and the intraclass correlation coefficient. A prediction-accuracy analysis of the predicted values was also performed. ResultsThe mean participant age was 66.2 ± 12.8 y; 50.3% of participants were women and 49.7% were men. Strong correlations were observed between the predicted and measured L3 values calculated from the two prediction formulas. The prediction-accuracy analysis using previously reported cutoff values showed that the Ishida et al. method had high sensitivity and the Matsuyama et al. method had high specificity for low skeletal muscle index determined by the predicted and measured L3 skeletal muscle index. ConclusionsBoth the Matsuyama et al. and Ishida et al. formulas had good reliability on CT slices at the Th12 level in people with advanced cancer, indicating that these formulas can be applied in clinical practice.

Isıtılmış Tütün Ürünü İlişkili Subakut Akciğer Hasarı

Heated tobacco products release nicotine without burning tobacco with an electronically controlled heating system. 56-year-old male patient admitted with sudden onset of chest pain and shortness of breath. He had been using a heated tobacco product (I quit ordinary smoking, IQOS) for 2.5 years. Thoracic computed tomography scan revealed pleural-based atelectasis and fibroatelectatic changes in the lower lobe of the right lung, pleural fluid in the right upper lobe, fibroatelectatic changes and pleural thickening in the left lung. Biopsy taken with video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) showed lymphoid aggregation in nodular form and widespread anthracosis around the lung, fibrillar material that double-refracting the light in the alveoli, hyaline membrane-like material in the alveoli, type 2 pneumocyte hyperplasia, an interstitial organization, and a subacute lung injury picture with exogenous lipoid material. These findings were evaluated in accordance with toxic substance-induced chemical pneumonia. It was thought that it might be related to 2.5 years of using heated tobacco product.

Influence of reduced muscle mass and quality on ventilator weaning and complications during intensive care unit stay in COVID-19 patients

Background & aimsSarcopenia, a loss of muscle mass, quality and function, which is particularly evident in respiratory muscles, has been associated with many clinical adverse outcomes. In this study, we aimed at evaluating the role of reduced muscle mass and quality in predicting ventilation weaning, complications, length of intensive care unit (ICU) and of hospital stay and mortality in patients admitted to ICU for SARS-CoV-2-related pneumonia.MethodsThis was an observational study based on a review of medical records of all adult patients admitted to the ICU of a tertiary hospital in Milan and intubated for SARS-CoV-2-related pneumonia during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Muscle mass and quality measurement were retrieved from routine thoracic CT scans, when sections passing through the first, second or third lumbar vertebra were available.ResultsA total of 81 patients were enrolled. Muscle mass was associated with successful extubation (OR 1.02, 95% C.I. 1.00–1.03, p = 0.017), shorter ICU stay (OR 0.97, 95% C.I. 0.95–0.99, p = 0.03) and decreased hospital mortality (HR 0.98, 95% C.I. 0.96–0.99, p = 0.02). Muscle density was associated with successful extubation (OR 1.07, 95% C.I. 1.01–1.14; p = 0.02) and had an inverse association with the number of complications in ICU (Β −0.07, 95% C.I. −0.13 - −0.002, p = 0.03), length of hospitalization (Β −1.36, 95% C.I. −2.21 - −0.51, p = 0.002) and in-hospital mortality (HR 0.88, 95% C.I. 0.78–0.99, p = 0.046).ConclusionsLeveraging routine CT imaging to measure muscle mass and quality might constitute a simple, inexpensive and powerful tool to predict survival and disease course in patients with COVID-19. Preserving muscle mass during hospitalisation might have an adjuvant role in facilitating remission from COVID-19.

Comparison of electrical dyssynchrony parameters between electrocardiographic imaging and a simulated ECG belt

AimsElectrocardiographic imaging (ECGi) and the ECG belt are body surface potential mapping systems which can assess electrical dyssynchrony in patients undergoing cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). ECGi-derived dyssynchrony metrics are calculated from reconstructed epicardial potentials based on body surface potentials combined with a thoracic CT scan, while the ECG belt relies on body surface potentials alone. The relationship between dyssynchrony metrics from these two systems is unknown. In this study we aim to compare intra-ventricular and inter-ventricular dyssynchrony metrics between ECGi and the ECG belt. MethodsSeventeen patients underwent ECGi after CRT. A subsample of 40 body surface potentials was used to simulate the ECG belt. ECGi dyssynchrony metrics, calculated from reconstructed epicardial potentials, and ECG belt dyssynchrony metrics, calculated from the sampled body surface potentials were compared. ResultsThere was a strong positive correlation between ECGi left ventricular activation time (LVAT) and ECG belt left thorax activation time (LTAT) (R = 0.88 ; P < 0.001) and between ECGi standard deviation of activation times (SDAT) and ECG belt-SDAT (R = 0.76; P < 0.001) during intrinsic rhythm. The correlation for both pairs was also strong during biventricular pacing. Ventricular electrical uncoupling, a well validated ECGi inter-ventricular dyssynchrony metric, correlated strongly with ECG belt-SDAT during intrinsic rhythm (R = 0.76; P < 0.001) but not biventricular pacing (R = 0.29; P = 0.26). Cranial or caudal displacement of the simulated ECG belt did not affect LTAT or SDAT. ConclusionECGi- and ECG belt-derived intra-ventricular and inter-ventricular dyssynchrony metrics were strongly correlated. The ECG belt may offer comparable dyssynchrony assessment to ECGi, with associated practical and cost advantages.