Hidir Esme

The effect of aprotinin on ischemia-reperfusion injury in an in situ normothermic ischemic lung model

OBJECTIVES In the context of the physiopathology of damage due to ischemic preservation and reperfusion injury following preservation, we aimed to demonstrate the positive effects of the addition of aprotinin, a serine protease inhibitor, to low potassium dextran (LPD), used as a single-flush solution in normothermic ischemic animal models, on lung protection and the prevention of reperfusion injury. METHODS In the study, 21 New Zealand white rabbits were used as experimental subjects. The subjects were ventilated with the assistance of a manual mechanical ventilator at 30 breaths/min and 10 ml/kg tidal volume. Lung protection solution was supplied to the pulmonary artery via a catheter. After applying the solution, ischemia was carried out for 120 min. At the end of this period, reperfusion was carried out for 90 min. The subjects were divided into three groups of seven subjects each. In the control group, pulmonary perfusion solution was not employed, whereas in the second group LPD was employed, and in the third group LPD and aprotinin (LPD+A) were perfused. Blood gas analysis, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid examination, tissue malondialdehyde (MDA) level analysis and morphological examinations were performed. RESULTS The LPD+A group showed the significantly highest levels of oxygenation at the 15th and 60th minutes of reperfusion (297+/-76.7 and 327+/-97.4 mmHg) in comparison to the LPD (157+/-20.6 and 170+/-53.6 mmHg) and control (64+/-8.4 and 59+/-7.2 mmHg) groups (P<0.001). The LPD+A group showed the significantly lowest levels of alveolar-arterial oxygen difference at the 60th minute of reperfusion (389+/-15 mmHg) in comparison to the LPD (478+/-19 mmHg) and control (542+/-23) groups (P<0.001). The BAL fluid neutrophil percentage was significantly lower in the LPD+A group (22+/-2.4%) compared to the LPD (31+/-6.1%) and control (38+/-2.4%) groups. MDA levels were significantly lower in the LPD+A group (119.8+/-5.3 nmol MDA/g) when compared to the LPD (145.06+/-9.5 nmol MDA/g) and control (147.3+/-3.9 nmol MDA/g) groups (P<0.05). Morphological examinations revealed pathological lesions and alveolar hemorrhaging in all samples, with the LPD+A group having statistically more significant levels than the LPD and control groups (P<0.005). The LPD+A group had a significantly lower percentage of pathological lesions and alveolar hemorrhage grade values than the LPD and control groups (P<0.005). CONCLUSIONS It was observed that the addition of aprotinin to LPD solution as a pulmonary flush solution in an in situ normothermic ischemic lung model prevents reperfusion injury by means of various mechanisms and also protects the morphological, functional and biochemical integrity of the lung. In our view, therefore, the addition of aprotinin to lung protection solution will provide positive results in lung transplantation protocols.

Comparison between intermittent intravenous analgesia and intermittent paravertebral subpleural analgesia for pain relief after thoracotomy

OBJECTIVE In the present prospective double-blind randomized trial, the effects of intermittent paravertebral subpleural bupivacaine and morphine on pain management in patients undergoing thoracotomy were evaluated and compared with intermittent systemic analgesia. METHODS Forty-five patients undergoing elective lobectomy were included in the present study. Three randomized groups consisting of 15 patients each were compared. Those in the control group were administered intravenously with tramadol 100 mg plus metamizol 1000 mg every 4 h for 3 days. We placed the catheter just below the parietal pleura along the paravertebral sulcus at the level of T5-T7. At the end of the operation and every 4 h thereafter, the patients received either 1.5 mg kg(-1) bupivacaine (bupivacaine group) or 0.2 mg kg(-1) morphine sulfate (morphine group) with paravertebral subpleural catheter for 3 days. Data regarding demographics, visual analog pain scores, need for supplementary intravenous analgesia, pulmonary function tests, and postoperative pulmonary complications were recorded for each patient. RESULTS Visual analog pain scores (visual analog scale (VAS)) were lower in the morphine and bupivacaine groups compared with control group at all postoperative time points. The mean postoperative VAS was significantly different between the control and bupivacaine groups at postoperative hour 12, the control and morphine groups at postoperative hours 6, 12, 48, and 72, and the bupivacaine and morphine groups at postoperative hours 6 and 24 (p<0.05). In the control group, additional analgesic requirement was significantly higher than in the bupivacaine and morphine groups (p<0.05). Postoperative pulmonary complications occurred in three patients (20%) in the control group, in two patients (13%) in the bupivacaine group, and in one (6%) in the morphine group. CONCLUSIONS The patients undergoing lung resection through a thoracotomy were observed with reduced postoperative pain and better surgical outcomes with respect to the length of hospital stay, postoperative forced expiratory volume in the first second, pulmonary complications, and need for bronchoscopic management, when paravertebral subpleural analgesia was induced by morphine.

Early and midterm results of single-port video-assisted thoracoscopic sympathectomy.

BACKGROUND Video-assisted thoracoscopic sympathectomy (VATS) is the gold standard for patients with hyperhidrosis of the upper limbs. The primary aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the midterm outcome and the degree of satisfaction of patients who underwent single-port VATS. METHODS Forty three patients diagnosed with hyperhidrosis underwent T3, T4 VATS single-port approach, between January 2009 and May 2011. Early and midterm outcome with particular emphasis on patient satisfaction were collected by hospital chart and telephonic interview. RESULTS The mean follow-up was 14 months. No major perioperative complication occurred except for chylothorax in a case. During the immediate postoperative period, all the patients reported palmar anhydrosis. Compensatory sweating (6.9%) and recurrence of hyperhidrosis (6.9%) are responsible mainly for dissatisfaction. No patients experienced moderate or severe chronic pain. CONCLUSIONS Single-port VATS is a feasible and minimally invasive technique with a low incidence of chronic pain for the treatment of hyperhidrosis. A few patients may experience compensatory sweating and recurrence of hyperhidrosis. The degree of patient satisfaction with the midterm surgical results is high.

The effectiveness of transdermal opioid in the management multiple rib fractures: randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND The most commonly observed pathology in chest traumas is rib fracture, and the most important clinical symptom is severe pain. AIMS To investigate the effectiveness of intramuscular opioid (IMO), intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IVPCA) and the Fentanyl transdermal therapeutic system (TTS) in the management of rib fracture pain. STUDY DESIGN Prospective randomized clinical trial. METHODS In our prospective and randomised study, we included 45 patients with a diagnosis of multiple rib fractures. There were three groups and intercostal nerve blockage (ICB) in the first day and oral paracetamol for five days was administered to each group as standard. In Group IMO (n=15), 4×40 mg pethidine HCl was administered to the patients, while in Group IVPCA (n=15) this was 5 μg/mL continuous intravenous fentanyl and was 50 μg fentanyl TTS in Group TTS (n=15). The demographics, injury data and vital signs of the patients were recorded. Pain was scored using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The pain during lying down (VASl) and mobilisation (VASm) was detected. RESULTS There were no differences between the three groups regarding age, sex, the trauma pattern, the number and distribution of costal fracture localisations, the presence of additional pathology, complications, thoracal catheter and the duration of thoracal catheter. No significant difference between the groups regarding systolic and diastolic arterial tension, number of breaths and beats in a minute was observed (p>0.05). We observed an improvement in the mean VAS score after treatment in all three groups. The mean VASl score significantly decreased after treatment in each group (p<0.05). The mean VASl and VASm scores measured on the 1(st), 2(nd), 3(rd), 4(th) and 5(th) days were found to be higher in Group IMO than in Groups IVPCA and TTS; however, these differences were not statistically significant (p>0.05). CONCLUSION In the analgesia of patients with multiple rib fractures, TTS administration with ICB showed similar effectiveness with IVPCA administration with ICB. In the management of pain due to multiple rib fractures, TTS administration is a safe, non-invasive and effective procedure.

Importance of the Cell Block Technique in Diagnosing Patients with Non-Small Cell Carcinoma Accompanied by Pleural Effusion

BACKGROUND Cytological examination of pleural effusions is very important in the diagnosis of malignant lesions. Thoracentesis is the first investigation to be performed in a patient with pleural effusion. In this study, we aimed to compare traditional with cell block methods for diagnosis of lung disease accompanied by pleural effusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 194 patients with exudative pleural effusions were included. Ten mililiters of fresh pleural fluid were obtained by thoracentesis from all patients in the initial evaluation. The samples gathered were divided to two equal parts, one for conventional cytological analysis and the other for analysis with the cell block technique. In cytology, using conventional diagnostic criteria cases were divided into 3 categories, benign, malignant and undetermined. The cell block sections were evaluated for the presence of single tumor cells, papillary or acinar patterns and staining with mucicarmine. In the cell block examination, in cases with sufficient cell counts histopathological diagnosis was performed. RESULTS Of the total undergoing conventional cytological analyses, 154 (79.4%)were reported as benign, 33 (17%) as malignant and 7 (3.6%) as suspicious of malignancy. With the cell block method the results were 147 (75.8%) benign, 12 (6.2%) metastatic, 4 (2.1%) squamous cell carcinoma, 18 (9.3%) adenocarcinoma, 5 (2.6%) large cell carcinoma, 2 (1%) mesothelioma, 3 (1.5%) small cell carcinoma, and 3 (1.5%) lymphoma. CONCLUSIONS Our study confirmed that the cell block method increases the diagnostic yield with exudative pleural effusions accompanying lung cancer.

A Cause of Bilateral Chylothorax: A Case of Mesothelioma without Pleural Involvement during Initial Diagnosis.

Chylothorax is characterized by fluid accumulation in the pleural cavity containing chylomicrons due to disruption of lymphatic drainage in the thoracic ductus and development of chylothorax. A 60-year-old male patient presented to our clinic with shortness of breath and displayed bilateral pleural effusion and diffuse mediastinal lymph nodes in his computed chest tomography images. There were no thickening and nodular formation on the pleural surfaces. PET-CT showed no pathological FDG uptake. Thoracentesis showed a chylous effusion. Drainage reduced during monitoring could not be stopped; therefore, surgical intervention was considered. The patient underwent right thoracotomy. There were no pathological findings in the parietal and visceral pleura during the surgery. Initially lymphoma was considered. Perioperative samples were collected from the mediastinal lymph node. The pathology analysis reported metastasis of malignant mesothelioma. Evaluation of a repeated chest computed tomography showed nodular formations on the pleural surfaces. Mediastinal lymph nodes compressed the ductus thoracicus, resulting with chylothorax. The present case, with malignant mesothelioma, bilateral chylothorax, and mediastinal lymph node without any pleural involvement during initial diagnosis, is rare and will hence contribute to the literature.

Retained foreign body after chest stab wound

Summary Foreign bodies may occur after a thoracic trauma, but foreign bodies retained after stab wounds are rare. This paper reports the case of a 20-year-old man who was admitted with the diagnosis of haemothorax following a single stab wound on the chest. One month later, he was referred to the authors’ clinic with symptoms of pain and swelling under the left scapula due to a previously overlooked foreign body on the chest wall.

Clinically Significant Thyroid Metastasis of Lung Cancer: A Rare Case Report

The thyroid gland is one of the most vascularized organs in the body, and one would expect it to be a site of metastatic disease. However, the thyroid gland is protected from colonization by tumor cells by its rich vascular supply. On the other hand, when the thyroid gland is altered by goiter, neoplasm, or inflammation, metabolic changes related to a decrease in oxygen and iodine content might enhance metastatic growth (1).

Vagal Schwannoma of the Superior Mediastinum With Cervical Extension

DOI: 10.4328/ACAM.6115 Received: 09.12.2018 Accepted: 02.01.2019 Publihed Online: 05.01.2019 Printed: 01.11.2019 Ann Clin Anal Med 2019;10(6): 765-8 Corresponding Author: Mustafa Calik, Department of Thoracic Surgery, Health Sciences University, Konya Training and Research Hospital, Meram, Konya, Turkey. T.: +90 3323236709 F.: +90 3323236723 E-Mail: drmcalik@hotmail.com ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9963-5724 Abstract A 35-year-old male was admitted to our Emergency Department with chest pain and hoarseness lasting for a month. A well-defined 58x36x34 mm mass located in the left posterior mediastinum with cervical extension was found on radiological imaging. It was completely excised with transversal cervicotomy and left-sided videoassisted thoracoscopic surgery. Schwannomas originating from the intrathoracic vagus nerve are extremely rare. Due to its rarity, similarity with other mediastinal lesions and unusual localization, diagnosis can be missed easily in busy and crowded Emergency Department. Here, the essence of diagnosis is to exclude other causes and keep in mind.

Management of Malignant Pleural Effusion

Classically described; pleural effusion is the accumulation of fluid in the pleural gap that may be caused by any reason [4]. If there is an evidence of invasion by the tumor or any malignant cells detected in this fluid, it is described as malignant pleural effusion. Although there has been no epidemiologic study with respect to pleural effusion yet, it is a common clinic problem which is estimated to be a million cases in the United States of America every year. Malignant diseases account for over 22% of all cases that means; approximately 220 000 new patients in the United States and 40 000 in the United Kingdom [5].