Lemonia Velentza

“Liquid elbows” due to afatinib administration

Non-small cell lung cancer adenocarcinoma in the past decade has targeted therapies as the cornerstone for therapy. In specific patients with epidermal growth factor receptor mutation have three different therapy approaches with the tyrosine kinase inhibitors: erlotinib, gefitinib and afatinib. Nowadays we can use tyrosine kinase inhibitors as second line treatment for squamous cell carcinoma. We present a case with a patient with squamous cell carcinoma receiving afatinib tyrosine kinase inhibitor who presented elbow bursitis or olecranon bursitis in both elbows.

Sleepiness, fatigue, anxiety and depression in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Obstructive Sleep Apnea – Overlap – Syndrome, before and after continuous positive airways pressure therapy

Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and / or Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) often complain about sleepiness, fatigue, anxiety and depression. However, common screening questionnaires, like Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) have not been previous evaluated in patients with overlap–coexisting COPD and OSA–syndrome versus patients with OSA alone. Our study compared ESS, FSS and HADS between patients with overlap syndrome and patients with OSA, before and after treatment with Continuous Positive Airways Pressure (CPAP). We examined 38 patients with coexisting COPD and OSA versus 38 patients with OSA-only and 28 subjects without respiratory disease, serving as controls. All patients underwent pulmonary function tests (PFTs), oximetry and overnight polysomnography and completed the questionnaires, before and after 3 months of CPAP therapy. The two patient groups did not differ significantly in terms of age, Body Mass Index (BMI), neck, waist and hip circumferences, and arterial blood pressure values. They also had similar comorbidities. They differed significantly, as expected, in PFTs (Forced Vital Capacity–FVC, 2.53±0.73 vs 3.08±0.85 lt, p = 0.005, Forced Expiratory Volume in 1sec–FEV1, 1.78±0.53 vs 2.60±0.73 lt/min, p<0.001) and in daytime oximetry (94.75±2.37 vs 96.13±1.56%, p = 0.007). ESS, HADS–Anxiety and HADS–Depression scores did not differ statistically significant between these two groups, whereas overlap syndrome patients expressed significantly more fatigue (FSS) than OSA-only patients, a finding that persisted even after 3 months of CPAP therapy. We conclude that sleepiness, anxiety and depression were similar in both groups, whereas fatigue was more prominent in patients with overlap syndrome than in sleep apneic patients and did not ameliorate after treatment.

Complications of anesthesia during electroconvulsive therapy due to undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea: A case-study

This is a case description of two patients with bipolar affective disorder, who presented complications, possibly due to underlying, undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), during anesthesia for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The first patient, just after receiving the second ECT, developed tachypnea with spasm of the upper airways and severe oxygen desaturation He was intubated and transferred to the medical intensive care unit where he was extubated 15 h later. The second patient, just after the eighth ECT, developed tachycardia and severe hypertension. He was transferred to the recovery room where he received oxygen therapy via nasal cannula and amlodipine. Both patients in the diagnostic polysomnographic tests which followed revealed a moderate to high apnea – hypopnea index (AHI) and distortion of sleep architecture. These cases highlight the need to assess for OSAS patients who receive ECT, especially if they exhibit peri-anesthesia complications.

Progressive dyspnea due to pulmonary carcinoid tumorlets.

This is a case description of a female patient, 77 years-old, who presented with progressive dyspnea and cough. She had a mild hypoxemia in the arterial blood gases (PaO2 72 mmHg) and normal spirometry. The chest computer tomography revealed diffuse “ground glass” opacities, segmental alveolitis, bronchiectasis, fibrotic lesions and numerous micronodules. A thoracoscopy was performed and the obtained biopsy showed carcinoid tumorlets, with positive CK8/18, CD56, TTF-1 and synaptophysin immunohistochemical markers. Pulmonary carcinoid tumorlets are rare, benign lesions and individuals with tumorlets are typically asymptomatic. Our report presents a symptomatic clinical case of carcinoid tumorlet.