It is now well recognized that treatment with anti-IgE antibodies like omalizumab is a valuable option in patients with allergic asthma who remain symptomatic despite optimal treatment. To our knowledge, treatment with omalizumab in patients with nonallergic asthma has not been reported.
We present and discuss a patient with severe asthma and elevated total IgE who had a negative radioallergosorbent (RAST) test result and a negative skin-prick test result; the patient showed a dramatic improvement with this treatment strategy.
Admission of patients with lung cancer to the ICU has been criticized. We evaluated whether ICU admission improved 3-month survival in patients with nonresectable lung cancer. Factors associated with survival were identified.
A retrospective study was conducted in consecutive nonsurgical patients with lung cancer admitted to three ICUs in France between 2000 and 2007, 2005 and 2007, and 2005 and 2006.
We included 103 patients with a median (interquartile range) Simplified Acute Physiology Score II of 33 (25-46) and logistic organ dysfunction (LOD) score of 3 (1-4). Invasive mechanical ventilation was required in 41 (40%) patients. Sixty-three (61%) patients had metastasis and 26 (25%) an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG-PS) > 2. The reason for ICU admission was acute respiratory failure in 58 (56%) patients. Three-month survival rate was 37% (95% CI, 28%-46%). By multivariate analysis, variables associated with mortality were ECOG-PS > 2 (hazard ratio [HR], 2.65; 95% CI, 1.43-4.88), metastasis at admission (HR, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.08-3.33), and worse LOD score (HR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.08-1.32). An LOD score decrease over the first 72 h was associated with survival.
Survival in nonsurgical patients with lung cancer requiring ICU admission was 37% after 90 days. Our results provide additional evidence that ICU management may be appropriate in patients with nonresectable lung cancer and organ failure.
Although mediastinoscopy is still the gold standard for diagnosis of mediastinal lymphadenopathy, minimally invasive procedures have been developed: transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) using a flexible bronchoscope (conventional TBNA) or linear echoendoscope (endobronchial ultrasound [EBUS]) allowing real-time guided lymph node aspiration. The observation of contamination of samples by foreign particles led us to determine the frequency and the nature of this material and to identify its origin.
From June 2007 to November 2008, 141 consecutive patients underwent conventional TBNA (n = 84) or EBUS-guided TBNA (EBUS-TBNA) (n = 57). All cytologic samples were reviewed in blinded fashion, and contamination was assessed semiquantitatively. Mineral analysis using a transmission electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer was performed on the solution obtained after rinsing unused needles and on four samples of calf thymuses punctured with EBUS needles.
Foreign material, different from anthracosis, was identified in samples obtained with five different batches of needles, only from EBUS-TBNA (P < .0001). The contamination score was correlated to the number of passes (P = .035). Mineral analyses of the rinsing solutions from conventional TBNA needles were negative, whereas metal alloys of iron, titanium, nickel, and chromium were released with EBUS needles. The same contamination was identified in three of the four punctured calf thymuses.
Dedicated EBUS-TBNA needles are able to release metal particles, probably by friction between the stylet and the needle, with a potential risk to inject particles into nodes. The long-term consequences are unknown, but the need for safety measures should be evaluated.
COPD is characterized by a poorly reversible airflow limitation resulting from chronic inflammation, mainly due to tobacco exposure.
Over the past few years, the understanding of COPD has evolved from it being a disease affecting the lungs to it being a complex, heterogeneous, and generalized disorder in an aging population. Extrapulmonary comorbidities significantly complicate the management and influence the prognosis of patients with COPD. Although certain comorbidities like cardiovascular diseases share some risk factors with COPD, such as cigarette smoking, other frequently observed comorbidities, including musculoskeletal wasting, metabolic syndrome, and depression, cannot be easily attributed to smoking. There is increasing evidence that chronic inflammation is a key factor in COPD and that inflammation might be the common pathway linking these comorbidities and explaining why they typically develop together. Physicians treating patients with COPD need to become aware of these extrapulmonary aspects. Any patient with COPD should be carefully evaluated for comorbidities and the systemic consequences of COPD since they not only influence the prognosis but also have an impact on disease management.
The treatment of COPD is no longer focused exclusively on inhaled therapy but is taking on a multidimensional approach, especially because the treatment of the comorbidities might positively affect the course of COPD itself.