Background: Bronchoscopic thermal vapor ablation (BTVA) ablates emphysematous tissue through a localized inflammatory response followed by contractive fibrosis and tissue shrinkage leading to lung volume reduction that should not be influenced by collateral ventilation. Objectives: To determine the correlation of clinical data from a trial of BTVA with fissure integrity visually assessed by computed tomography (CT).

Methods: We conducted a single-arm study of patients with upper lobe-predominant emphysema (n = 44). Patients received BTVA either to the right upper lobe or left upper lobe, excluding the lingula. Primary efficacy outcomes were forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV₁) and St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) at 6 months. Lobar volume reduction from CT was another efficacy outcome measurement. The fissure of the treated lobe was analyzed visually on preinterventional CT. Incompleteness of the small fissure, the upper half of the right large fissure and the whole left large fissure were estimated visually in 5% increments, and the relative amount of fissure incompleteness was calculated. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated for the association between fissure incompleteness and change in efficacy outcomes (baseline to 6 months) of BTVA.

Results: A total of 38 out of 44 patients (86%) had incompleteness in the relevant fissure. Calculated relevant fissure incompleteness was a mean of 13% of fissure integrity (range 0–63). Correlation coefficients for the association of incompleteness with outcomes were as follows: FEV₁ = 0.17; lung volume reduction = –0.27; SGRQ score = –0.10; 6-min walk distance = 0.0; residual volume (RV) = –0.18, and RV/total lung capacity = –0.14.

Conclusions: Lobar fissure integrity has no or minimal influence on BTVA-induced lung volume reduction and improvements in clinical outcomes.

Middle lobe syndrome (MLS) is a rare but important clinical entity that has been poorly defined in the literature. It is characterized by recurrent or chronic collapse of the middle lobe of the right lung but can also involve the lingula of the left lung. Pathophysiologically, there are two forms of MLS, namely obstructive and nonobstructive. Obstructive MLS is usually caused by endobronchial lesions or extrinsic compression of the middle lobe bronchus such as from hilar lymphadenopathy or tumors of neoplastic origin, resulting in postobstructive atelectasis and pneumonitis. In the nonobstructive type, no obstruction of the middle lobe bronchus is evident during bronchoscopy or with computerized tomography of the chest.

The etiology of the nonobstructive form is not completely understood. Inefficient collateral ventilation, infection and inflammation in the middle lobe or lingula are thought to play a role, and bronchiectasis is the most common histological finding. Patients with proven endobronchial lesions or malignancy are usually offered surgical resection directly. This contrasts with nonobstructive MLS, where most patients respond to medical treatment consisting of bronchodilators, mucolytics and broad-spectrum antibiotics. However, some patients do not respond to conservative treatment and may suffer irreversible damage of the middle lobe or lingula, in addition to having recurrent symptoms of infection or inflammation.

These selected patients can be offered surgical resection of the middle lobe or lingula, which is associated with a low mortality rate and favorable outcome.

CONCLUSIONS:Our model suggests that patients with intermediate and high/likely probabilities of PE benefit from preemptive anticoagulation. With a low probability, the decision to treat could rely on the expected diagnostic delay. PMID: 22383664 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Chest)

CONCLUSIONS:Available evidence suggests that indacaterol may prove useful as an alternative to tiotropium or TD-LABA due to its effects on health status, dyspnea and pulmonary function. PMID: 22383666 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Chest)