Andrew Stanton

Effect of an Indwelling Pleural Catheter vs Chest Tube and Talc Pleurodesis for Relieving Dyspnea in Patients With Malignant Pleural Effusion: The TIME2 Randomized Controlled Trial

CONTEXT Malignant pleural effusion causes disabling dyspnea in patients with a short life expectancy. Palliation is achieved by fluid drainage, but the most effective first-line method has not been determined. OBJECTIVE To determine whether indwelling pleural catheters (IPCs) are more effective than chest tube and talc slurry pleurodesis (talc) at relieving dyspnea. DESIGN Unblinded randomized controlled trial (Second Therapeutic Intervention in Malignant Effusion Trial [TIME2]) comparing IPC and talc (1:1) for which 106 patients with malignant pleural effusion who had not previously undergone pleurodesis were recruited from 143 patients who were treated at 7 UK hospitals. Patients were screened from April 2007-February 2011 and were followed up for a year. INTERVENTION Indwelling pleural catheters were inserted on an outpatient basis, followed by initial large volume drainage, education, and subsequent home drainage. The talc group were admitted for chest tube insertion and talc for slurry pleurodesis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Patients completed daily 100-mm line visual analog scale (VAS) of dyspnea over 42 days after undergoing the intervention (0 mm represents no dyspnea and 100 mm represents maximum dyspnea; 10 mm represents minimum clinically significant difference). Mean difference was analyzed using a mixed-effects linear regression model adjusted for minimization variables. RESULTS Dyspnea improved in both groups, with no significant difference in the first 42 days with a mean VAS dyspnea score of 24.7 in the IPC group (95% CI, 19.3-30.1 mm) and 24.4 mm (95% CI, 19.4-29.4 mm) in the talc group, with a difference of 0.16 mm (95% CI, −6.82 to 7.15; P = .96). There was a statistically significant improvement in dyspnea in the IPC group at 6 months, with a mean difference in VAS score between the IPC group and the talc group of −14.0 mm (95% CI, −25.2 to −2.8 mm; P = .01). Length of initial hospitalization was significantly shorter in the IPC group with a median of 0 days (interquartile range [IQR], 0-1 day) and 4 days (IQR, 2-6 days) for the talc group, with a difference of −3.5 days (95% CI, −4.8 to −1.5 days; P < .001). There was no significant difference in quality of life. Twelve patients (22%) in the talc group required further pleural procedures compared with 3 (6%) in the IPC group (odds ratio [OR], 0.21; 95% CI, 0.04-0.86; P = .03). Twenty-one of the 52 patients in the catheter group experienced adverse events vs 7 of 54 in the talc group (OR, 4.70; 95% CI, 1.75-12.60; P = .002). CONCLUSION Among patients with malignant pleural effusion and no previous pleurodesis, there was no significant difference between IPCs and talc pleurodesis at relieving patient-reported dyspnea. TRIAL REGISTRATION isrctn.org Identifier: ISRCTN87514420.

Survival in Patients With Malignant Pleural Effusions Who Developed Pleural Infection: A Retrospective Case Review From Six UK Centers.

OBJECTIVE Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) incidence is increasing, and prognosis remains poor. Indwelling pleural catheters (IPCs) relieve symptoms but increase the risk of pleural infection. We reviewed cases of pleural infection in patients with IPCs for MPE from six UK centers between January 1, 2005, and January 31, 2014. METHODS Survival in patients with pleural infection was compared with 788 patients with MPE (known as the LENT [pleural fluid lactate dehydrogenase, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, serum neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, and tumor type] cohort) and with national statistics. RESULTS Of 672 IPCs inserted, 25 (3.7%) became infected. Most patients (20 of 25) had mesothelioma or lung cancer. Median survival in the pleural infection cohort appeared longer than in the LENT cohort, although this result did not achieve significance (386 days vs 132 days; hazard ratio, 0.67; P = .07). Median survival with mesothelioma and pleural infection was twice as long as national estimates for mesothelioma survival (753 days vs < 365 days) and double the median survival of patients with mesothelioma in the LENT cohort (339 days; 95% CI, nonoverlapping). Survival with lung and breast cancer did not differ significantly between the groups. Sixty-one percent of patients experienced early infection. There was no survival difference between patients with early and late infection (P = .6). CONCLUSIONS This small series of patients with IPCs for MPE suggests pleural infection may be associated with longer survival, particularly in patients with mesothelioma. Results did not achieve significance, and a larger study is needed to explore this relationship further and investigate whether the local immune response, triggered by infection, is able to modulate mesothelioma progression.

Outpatient Talc Administration by Indwelling Pleural Catheter for Malignant Effusion

BACKGROUND Malignant pleural effusion affects more than 750,000 persons each year across Europe and the United States. Pleurodesis with the administration of talc in hospitalized patients is the most common treatment, but indwelling pleural catheters placed for drainage offer an ambulatory alternative. We examined whether talc administered through an indwelling pleural catheter was more effective at inducing pleurodesis than the use of an indwelling pleural catheter alone. METHODS Over a period of 4 years, we recruited patients with malignant pleural effusion at 18 centers in the United Kingdom. After the insertion of an indwelling pleural catheter, patients underwent drainage regularly on an outpatient basis. If there was no evidence of substantial lung entrapment (nonexpandable lung, in which lung expansion and pleural apposition are not possible because of visceral fibrosis or bronchial obstruction) at 10 days, patients were randomly assigned to receive either 4 g of talc slurry or placebo through the indwelling pleural catheter on an outpatient basis. Talc or placebo was administered on a single‐blind basis. Follow‐up lasted for 70 days. The primary outcome was successful pleurodesis at day 35 after randomization. RESULTS The target of 154 patients undergoing randomization was reached after 584 patients were approached. At day 35, a total of 30 of 69 patients (43%) in the talc group had successful pleurodesis, as compared with 16 of 70 (23%) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 2.20; 95% confidence interval, 1.23 to 3.92; P=0.008). No significant between‐group differences in effusion size and complexity, number of inpatient days, mortality, or number of adverse events were identified. No significant excess of blockages of the indwelling pleural catheter was noted in the talc group. CONCLUSIONS Among patients without substantial lung entrapment, the outpatient administration of talc through an indwelling pleural catheter for the treatment of malignant pleural effusion resulted in a significantly higher chance of pleurodesis at 35 days than an indwelling catheter alone, with no deleterious effects. (Funded by Becton Dickinson; EudraCT number, 2012–000599–40.)

A mentorship programme for final-year students.

Current mentorship programmes in the UK tend to focus predominantly on junior medical students; however, final‐year medical students may encounter significant academic and personal pressures. We established a mentoring scheme to provide individualised support for final‐year students from a junior doctor mentor. The objectives of this study were to assess the benefits of the scheme and identify areas for future improvement.

Using simulation for prescribing: an evaluation

Drug errors are a major cause of patient morbidity. The UK General Medical Council has highlighted that prescribing teaching should be prioritised. How should medical teachers best teach the practical aspects of prescribing?

Improving standards in flexible bronchoscopy for lung cancer

Can the detection rate of flexible bronchoscopy for lung cancer be increased by a series of simple quality improvement measures? Bronchoscopy-associated clinical parameters were prospectively recorded between 2001 and 2007 in patients with suspected lung malignancy. The detection rate of bronchoscopy, diagnostic yield of each biopsy modality and the possible impact of different service-improvement measures were assessed. 746 bronchoscopies were performed in 704 patients. The detection rate of bronchoscopy for malignancy was 83.6%, and increased over time (67.3% detection rate in 2001 (95% CI 52.9–79.7), 89.7% detection rate in 2007 (95% CI 81.3–95.2); p<0.001). Detection rate increased for bronchoscopically visible (75.0% in 2001 to 94.5% in 2007) and non-visible tumours (41.7% in 2001 to 81.2% in 2007; p<0.001 for both analyses). Prior computed tomography availability was associated with a higher diagnostic yield that did not reach statistical significance. Logistic regression analysis identified tumour visibility, year of study, use of transbronchial needle aspiration and pathologist identity as independent predictors of a positive diagnosis. A significant increase in bronchoscopic detection rate for malignancy occurred in association with a number of simple improvement measures.

Hepatic hydrothorax in the absence of ascites

A previously well 66-year-old woman presented with a recurrent transudative right-sided pleural effusion. A nodular liver with coarse echotexture was demonstrated on ultrasound and subsequent MRI found hepatocellular carcinoma. In the absence of cardiopulmonary disease and significant protein uria, the recurrent pleural effusion was presumed to be hepatic hydrothorax despite the absence of ascites or other clinical features of chronic liver disease. The patient is currently awaiting liver transplantation.

Providing safe and effective pleural medicine services in the UK: an aspirational statement from UK pleural physicians

Physicians face considerable challenges in ensuring safe and effective care for patients admitted to hospital with pleural disease. While subspecialty development has driven up standards of care, this has been tempered by the resulting loss of procedural experience in general medical teams tasked with managing acute pleural disease. This review aims to define a framework though which a minimum standard of care might be implemented. This review has been written by pleural clinicians from across the UK representing all types of secondary care hospital. Its content has been formed on the basis of literature review, national guidelines, National Health Service England policy and consensus opinion following a round table discussion. Recommendations have been provided in the broad themes of procedural training, out-of-hours management and pleural service specification. Procedural competences have been defined into descriptive categories: emergency, basic, intermediate and advanced. Provision of emergency level operators at all times in all trusts is the cornerstone of out-of-hours recommendations, alongside readily available escalation pathways. A proposal for minimum standards to ensure the safe delivery of pleural medicine have been described with the aim of driving local conversations and providing a framework for service development, review and risk assessment.

A smoker with joint pain

A 45 year old man presented with a 6 month history of painful joints, cough, fever, and weight loss. He had a smoking history of 15 pack years. On examination there was synovitis of the hands, feet, and ankles. Radiographs were taken of the chest, ankle (fig 1⇓), hands, and feet. The chest radiograph and computed tomography image of the thorax showed a lung mass. A biopsy found a poorly differentiated epithelioid …

Oxford Case Histories in Respiratory Medicine

Oxford case histories in respiratory medicine , Oxford case histories in respiratory medicine , کتابخانه دیجیتال جندی شاپور اهواز