Epidemiology, Etiology and Prevention of Postpneumonectomy Pleural Empyema.

Background: Pleural empyema after pneumonectomy still poses a serious postoperative complication. A broncho-pleural fistula is often detected. Despite various therapeutic options developed over the last five decades it remains a major surgical challenge.

Treatment Optimization of Post-pneumonectomy Pleural Empyema.

Introduction: Pleural empyema after pneumonectomy still poses a serious postoperative complication. A bronchopleural fistula is often detected. Despite various therapeutic options developed during the last five decades it remains a major surgical challenge.

Diagnostic value and complication rate of ultrasound-guided transthoracic core needle biopsy in mediastinal lesions.

Background: Ultrasound-guided transthoracic core needle biopsy (US-TCNB) is a promising method for establishing the correct diagnosis of mediastinal masses. However, the existing studies in this area are scant and with small samples.

Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic value and the complication rate of US-TCNB, particularly large bore cutting biopsy in patients with mediastinal lesions.

Migration of Bare-Metal Stent Placed in the Right Iliac Vein Into the Right Pulmonary Artery.

Stent migration is a rare event with potentially serious complications including cardiac arrhythmias and heart failure. We report a case of migration of arterial stent placed in the right iliac vein into the right pulmonary artery; it was diagnosed there and subsequently not removed for at least 3 years. Despite reports in the literature for the removal of migrated stents by minimally invasive interventional methods, in our case, that was not possible because of the long period during which the foreign body was in the right pulmonary artery and the proximal partial occlusion of organized mural thrombus.

Bardet-Biedl Syndrome with a Kidney Transplant, Esophageal Adenocarcinoma, and Postoperative Complications.

The authors present a rare clinical case of a patient with Bardet-Biedl syndrome and chronic kidney disease, who reached end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and underwent a long-term hemodialysis treatment, during which infections with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection and Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection were established. Kidney transplantation from an alive unrelated donor was performed. Later, an adenocarcinoma of the esophagus was diagnosed at an early stage, treated surgically with resection of the esophagus and gastroesophagoplasty afterward.

Surgery and pleuro-pulmonary tuberculosis: a scientific literature review.

Tuberculosis (TB) is still a major public health concern, mostly affecting resource-constrained settings and marginalized populations. The fight against the disease is hindered by the growing emergence of drug-resistant forms whose management can be rather challenging. Surgery may play an important role to support diagnosis and treatment of the most complex cases and improve their therapeutic outcome.

Spotlight on esophageal perforation: A multinational study using the Pittsburgh esophageal perforation severity scoring system.

Objective: The Pittsburgh group has suggested a perforation severity score (PSS) for better decision making in the management of esophageal perforation. Our study aim was to determine whether the PSS can be used to stratify patients with esophageal perforation into distinct subgroups with differential outcomes in an independent study population.

Methods: In a retrospective study cases of esophageal perforation were collected (study-period, 1990-2014).

Whole genome microarray analysis in non-small cell lung cancer.

Lung cancer is a serious health problem, since it is one of the leading causes for death worldwide. Molecular-cytogenetic studies could provide reliable data about genetic alterations which could be related to disease pathogenesis and be used for better prognosis and treatment strategies. We performed whole genome oligonucleotide microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization in 10 samples of non-small cell lung cancer.

Lung resection for lung cancer after pleural empyema.

Background: The association of pleural empyema and lung cancer has traditionally been considered as a contraindication for lung resection. However, several aspects of this problem still remain controversial.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective study was conducted including 15 patients (12 pneumonectomies and 3 lobectomies) who underwent a lung resection for primary lung cancer after previous pleural empyema.

Expression analysis of angiogenesis-related genes in Bulgarian patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer.

Aims And Background: Angiogenesis is a key process in the early stages of tumor development. In this study we aimed to evaluate the expression of a panel of angiogenesis-related genes in a group of Bulgarian patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods And Study Design: We analyzed the expression of 84 genes associated with the angiogenic process in 12 NSCLCs of two histological subtypes: 7 adenocarcinomas and 5 squamous cell carcinomas.

EGFR and hTERT Expression as a Diagnostic Approach for Non-small Cell Lung Cancer in High Risk Groups.

Objective: The early detection of NSCLC is of importance because it provides chances for better outcomes. The aim of the study was to explore the clinical utility of EGFR and hTERT mRNA expression as markers for diagnosis of NSCLC.

Methods: EGFR and hTERT mRNA were quantified by quantative reverse transcription real time polymerase chain reaction in plasma of 45 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 40 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, selected by certain spirometric characteristics that made them at high risk of developing lung cancer in future.

Clinical usefulness of alpha-crystallin antibodies in non-small cell lung cancer patients.

The non-invasive approach of finding biomarkers in peripheral blood of cancer patients makes it useful for clinical application and cancer screening. The aim of the study was to explore the clinical utility of alpha-crystallin antibodies as markers for diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and screening among high-risk groups. Alpha-crystallin antibodies were detected with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 51 NSCLC patients, 38 high-risk chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and 52 age and sex matched healthy volunteers.

Epidermal growth factor receptor gene copy number changes in lung cancer.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the implication of copy number changes of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in lung cancer pathogenesis.

Materials And Methods: We used the highly reliable method of FISH, applied on tissue microarray (TMA), containing 306 lung tumors of different histological types, grades and tumor stage, in order to analyze the correlations between gene copy number changes and tumor phenotype.

Results: The frequency of EGFR copy number changes was 22.

Expression profile of the small heat-shock protein alpha-B-crystallin in operated-on non-small-cell lung cancer patients: clinical implication.

Objective: Alpha-B-crystallin, a small heat-shock protein, recently gained major interest because of its differential expression during tumourigenesis and metastasis in various epithelial tumours. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of alpha-B-crystallin and its biologic and prognostic significance in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Immunohistochemical analysis was performed on a tissue microarray slide containing samples from 146 NSCLC patients who were operated on between 2004 and 2005.

Thymic epithelial cells of human patients affected by myasthenia gravis overexpress IGF-I immunoreactivity.

Accumulating evidence shows that several kinds of thymic cells express insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), which is known to play an important role in T cell ontogeny under both physiological and pathological conditions. Still, little is known about the mechanisms of IGF-I involvement in the pathological transformation of the thymocyte microenvironment. The present study focuses on a comparative analysis of the IGF-I immunoreactivity of thymic epithelial cells (EC) from human patients with hyperplasia-associated myasthenia gravis (MG) versus physiological thymic tissue from healthy controls using immunohistochemistry and immunoelectron microscopy.

Anaerobic microbiology in 198 cases of pleural empyema: a Bulgarian study.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the incidence of anaerobic bacteria in 198 patients with pleural empyema and the susceptibility of isolates to eight antibacterial agents. Isolates were identified by the Crystal anaerobes identification system, API System rapid ID 32 A and/or routine methods. Susceptibility was tested by Sceptor MIC system for anaerobic bacteria and limited agar dilution method.

Structural and ultrastructural localization of NGF and NGF receptors in the thymus of subjects affected by myasthenia gravis.

We have previously reported that the thymus of patients affected by myasthenia gravis (MG) is characterized by an elevated level of nerve growth factor (NGF), an endogenous polypeptide which plays a marked role in the cell biology of nervous and immune system. A consistent number of studies has shown altered expression of NGF in diseases associated with inflammatory and/or autoimmune responses. To evaluate the biochemical and molecular mechanisms implicated in NGF action in human myasthenic thymus, it is important to identify the cellular and structural organization of NGF receptors.