Abstract： Objective To investigate strategies for prevention，early diagnosis，and prompt treatment for acute pulmonary embolism（PE）after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery（VATS）lobectomy. Methods From January 2007 to November 2010, 1 115 patients with lung cancer underwent VATS lobectomy in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical College. Among them, 13 patients had acute PE postoperatively, including 6 male patients and 7 female patients with their mean age of 62.3 years（ranging from 42 to 73 years）.All the patients were diagnosed by spiral CT pulmonary artery angiography（SCTPA）, and received anticoagulation therapy with low molecular weight heparin and warfarin. Results The incidence of acute PE after VATS lobectomy was 1.17%（13/1 115）, and the patients with low PE-related early mortality risk accounted for a large proportion（11/13）. There were 12 patients with right-side PE. All the patients’ signs and symptoms were significantly alleviated after administration of anticoagulation therapy. Nine patients received SCTPA review after treatment which showed that their PE had disappeared or been significantly absorbed. No hematological complications including thoracic hemorrhage or wound errhysis occurred after treatment. All surviving patients were followed up for 1 month to 3 months. During follow-up, these patients were alive without PE recurrence. Conclusion SCTPA is the first-choice examination for the diagnosis of acute PE after VATS lobectomy. Prophylaxis against PE and prompt treatment are necessary depending on individual manifestations. VATS lobectomy should be favored as a minimally invasive surgical treatment for patients with lung cancer, for the low incidence of postoperative PE and low PE-related early mortality risk.
Objective To assess the predictive value of alveolar dead space fraction ( ADSF) for severity and reperfusion of acute pulmonary embolism( APE) . Methods 39 consecutive patients with APE were enrolled in a perspective study from July 2004 to March 2007. All patients were divided into a large pulmonary embolism group ( LPE) and a small pulmonary embolism group ( SPE) based to the mass and location of the embolus. The patients of the LPE group received thrombolytic therapy and anticoagulation,while the patients of the SPE group received anticoagulation only. CTPA or lung scintigraphy was performed before and after treatment to confirm the resolve condition of the embolism after treatment. Pressure of endexpired carbon dioxide ( PETCO2 ) and blood gas analysis ( including PaCO2 ) were measured at the time of run-in and 30 days after treatment by bedside. ADSF was calculated by PET CO2 and PaCO2 . Results Among 39 APE patients, there were 18 patients in the LPE group, while 21 in the SPE group. The ADSF of the LPE group before treatment were higher than that of the SPE group ( 0. 34 ±0. 078 vs. 0. 18 ±0. 027,P lt;0. 05) . The ADSF decreased significantly after treatment in the patients with full reperfusion ( 0. 09 ±0. 04 vs. 0. 28 ±0. 11, P lt;0. 01) . Conclusion As a bedside test, ADSF can reflect the mass of embolism and the reperfusion condition, and is useful in monitoring the disease.
Objective To investigate the prognostic value of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) for short-term all-cause mortality in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE). Methods Such databases as PubMed, EMbase, Central Register of Controlled Trials, CBM, and CNKI (from the date of their establishments to March 2010) were searched. The level of BNP and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) was collected to conduct eligible cohort study for assessing their effects on APE prognosis. Quality assessment and data extraction were performed in those clinical trials in line with the inclusion criteria. Then, RevMan 5.0 software was applied to carry out meta-analyses. Results Sixteen relevant studies with 1 126 APE patients were included. Nine studies reported BNP level and seven studies reported NT-pro BNP level. There was less satistical and clinical Heterogeneity among the groups (P=0.94, I2=0; P=0.99, I2=0). The meta-analyses results showed: the BNP or NT-pro BNP level was closely related with the short-term all-cause mortality. SPE was 0.52, + LR was 1.87, –LR was 0.20, PPV was 0.16, NPV was 0.98, SROC area under the curve was 0.830 5, SE (AUC) = 0.033 5.Conclusion While elevated BNP levels can help to identify APE patients at a higher risk of death, the high negative predictive value of normal BNP levels is more useful for doctors to identify patients with less likelihood of adverse events so as to conduct a selective follow-up.
Objective To investigate the incidence and management of CTEPH in the Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine in Xijing Hospital to enrich the epidemiological data of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) in China.Methods We conducted a retrospective study to investigate the incidence and management of CTEPH in the Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine in Xijing Hospital from 2008 to 2012. Results The incidence of CTEPH was 5.24% . About 62.90% of venous thromboembolism/pulmonary embolism (VTE/PE) patients were unprovoked, and about 53.85% of CTEPH patients was unprovoked. About 38% of CTEPH patients had no history of VTE, and 62% of CTEPH patients had no history of acute pulmonary embolism. None of the CTEPH patients was treated by pulmonary thromboendarterctom (PTE) , and about 53.85% of patients were only given anticoagulant monotherapy. Conclusions The incidence of CTEPH is higher in our hospital than reported. This phenomenon may be related to the lack of awareness of risk factors of CTEPH and the insufficient thrombolytic and anticoagulant therapy to acute pulmonary embolism. It’s very urgent to standardize the diagnosis and management of CTEPH in pulmonologists.
Objective To investigate the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) after thoracotomy. Methods We analyzed the clinical data of 10 patients with PTE after thoracotomy treated from January 2011 to March 2015. Among them were 8 males and 2 females, with their age ranging from 51 to 73 years old, averaging 61. Six patients had lung cancer lobectomy, and 4 had esophagus carcinoma resection. All the 10 patients suffered sudden shortness of breath, chest pain and palpitation within the first 40 hours to 128 hours after surgery, and the physical examinations revealed tachypnea, drop of blood pressure and tachycardia. The PTE diagnosis was confirmed after using echocardiography, three-dimensional imaging of CT pulmonary angiography. All the patients accepted the treatment combination of low molecular weight heparin and warfarin. Results All the patients were cured without complications like chest or wound bleeding. Follow-up checks 3 months after the surgery showed no relapses. Conclusions Thoracotomy patients are of high risks of PTE. The diagnosis should be based on imaging examinations. Treatment combination of low molecular weight heparin and warfarin has a remarkable effect in treating PTE patients after thoracotomy, which also has a low rate of bleeding complications.
Objective To investigate whether antipsychotic drugs will increase the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and pulmonary embolism (PE), and to provide evidence for the prevention of VTE and PE in patients with APs exposure. Methods Databases including PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI, VIP and Elsevier were searched from inception to July 2016 to collect case-control studies and cohort studies on the association between APs exposure and the risk of VTE and PE. The literature were screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the data were extracted and the bias risk of the included studies were evaluated by two reviewers independently. The Meta-analysis was performed by using Stata 12 software. Results Nineteen studies were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that APs exposure was associated with VTE (OR=1.50, 95%CI 1.30 to 1.74,P<0.001). Exposure to low-potency FGA (OR=2.28, 95%CI 1.02 to 5.10,P=0.045), high-potency FGA (OR=1.68, 95%CI 1.37 to 2.05,P<0.001) and SGA (OR=1.74, 95%CI 1.24 to 2.44,P=0.001) revealed an increased risk of VTE. Exposure to APs also signi?cantly increase the risk of PE (OR=3.69, 95%CI 1.23 to 11.07,P=0.02), especially exposure to FGA (OR=2.54, 95%CI 1.22 to 5.32,P=0.013), but exposure to SGA could not revealed an increased risk of PE. Conclusion FGA and SGA exposure maybe associated with an increase in the risk of developing VTE. And exposure to the FGA could increase the risk of PE. The occurrence of VTE and PE should be monitored when taking Aps.
Objective To improve the knowledge of paradoxical embolism originated from pulmonary embolism. Methods The medical literature about pulmonary embolism complicated with paradoxical embolism from 1998 to 2011 was searched from “Wanfang medical literature database”. Meanwhile 1 case diagnosed in Central Hospital of Dazhou City was reported. Then the clinical characteristics were summarized. Results 51 cases of pulmonary embolism complicated with paradoxical embolism were diagnosed, aged from23 to 76 years old. There were 27 males and 23 females, and sex was unknown in 1 case. In all cases, the cerebral embolism occurred in 30 cases( 58. 8% ) , lower limb artery embolism in 14 cases( 27. 4% ) , kidney artery embolism in 6 cases( 11. 8% ) , patent foramen ovale with straddling thrombus in 4 cases( 8% ) ,multiple embolismin 8 cases( 15. 7% ) , heart ventricle with straddling thrombus in 1 case ( 1. 96% ) , coronary artery embolism in 1 case( 1. 96% ) , aorta embolism in 1 case( 1. 96% ) , and spleen embolism in 1 case ( 1. 96% ) . There were 35 patients ( 68. 8% ) with patent foramen ovale and 7 cases ( 13. 7% ) died. Conclusions Paradoxical embolism waranted more awareness in the cases of pulmonary embolismand/ or venous thromboembolism and aggressive screening might avoid misdiagnosis.
【Abstract】 Objective To improve the knowledge of pulmonary embolism with normal D-dimer levels. Methods Nine consecutive patients of established pulmonary embolism with a normal D-dimer concentration admitted from January 2004 to December 2009 were analyzed retrospectively. Results Pulmonary embolism was confirmed in the 9 patients with a normal D-dimer concentration. Pulmonary embolismwas confirmed in only one patientwith an unlikely probability of pulmonary embolism. Wells score was 3 and the localization of the emboli was segmental emboli. In other 8 patients with a likely clinical probability of pulmonary embolism, the complaints of those patients existed between 1 hour and 2 months.Wells score was between 4. 5 and 7. 5, with a median of 6. 0. D-dimer concentration was between 0. 1 and 0. 5 mg/L, with a median of 0. 3 mg/L. The localization of the emboli was sub-segmental emboli in 3 cases,segmental emboli in 4 cases, and central emboli in 2 cases. Conclusions Our findings indicate that it is essential to examine the patient and assess the clinical probability at the first, then the D-dimer concentration should be taken into account. In patients with a likely clinical probability, a normal D-dimer test result can not exclude pulmonary embolism, and additional imaging testing is necessary.
Abstract: Objective To investigate the clinical features, differential diagnosis, surgical treatment and outcome of primary pulmonary artery sarcoma. Methods Between January 1994 and December 2004, 5 patients with primary pulmonary artery sarcoma were identified at operation and treated by surgical resection. Pulmonary valve stenosis were initially diagnosed in 3 patients, and chronic pulmonary embolism were initially diagnosed in 2 patients. Tumor resection from the vascular bed was performed in 1 patient and tumor resection and homograft reconstruction of pulmonary arteries were performed in 4 patients. Results One patient died of postoperative refractory pulmonary hypertension, 2 patients died 4 months after operation because of brain metastases, 1 patient was alive for 9 months after operation with recurrent pulmonary tumor, and 1 patient was alive for 2 years after operation without clinical or radiological signs of tumor recurrence or metastasis. Histological examinations showed 4 malignant mesenchymomas and 1 fibrosarcoma. Conclusions Primary pulmonary artery sarcomas are rare and usually fatal tumors of the cardiovascular system. The diagnosis is difficult and this disease is frequently misdiagnosed as chronic pulmonary hromboembolism and pulmonary valve stenosis. Early diagnosis can be improved by computerized tomography scanning and magnetic resonance imaging. Radical surgical resection was the most effective modality for shortterm palliation. The prognosis of pulmonary artery sarcoma is poor. The survival time after resection varies from several months to several years depending on the presence of recurrence or metastasis.
Objective To study the diagnostic value of MRI for pulmonary embolism, so as to provide information for clinical decision. Methods The trials about MRI in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism were searched in the following databases such as PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CBM, CNKI and VIP. The data of the included trials were extracted, the methodological quality was evaluated in accordance with the quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies (QUADAS), and then meta-analysis was conducted using Meta-Disc 1.4 software. The weighted sensitivity and specificity were aggregated, as well as the summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve. Further, the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated to evaluate the value of MRI in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. Results A total of 6 English articles involing 595 patients were included. The results of heterogeneity test revealed that there was statistical heterogeneity among the results of studies. According to the random effects model, the weighted sensitivity and specificity were 0.87 (95%CI 0.80 to 0.91), and 0.98 (95%CI 0.96 to 0.99), respectively; and the AUC was 0.988 7. Conclusion MRI is a better non-invasive method as a routine examination for pulmonary embolism. It shows fairly high sensitivity and specificity, and has a good clinical value.