Sensitivity and complications of thoracentesis and thoracoscopy: a meta-analysis.

Background: Thoracentesis and thoracoscopy are used to diagnose malignant pleural effusions (MPE). Data on how sensitivity varies with tumour type is limited.

Methods: Systematic review using PubMed was performed through August 2020 to determine the sensitivity of thoracentesis and thoracoscopy for MPE secondary to malignancy, by cancer type, and complication rates.

An unusually "complex" glomerulonephritis.

A 53-year-old man with granulomatosis with polyangiitis presented with fever and acute kidney injury with nephrotic-range proteinuria following the second dose of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. Renal biopsy revealed an unexpected immune complex-glomerulonephritis (IC-GN) without vasculitis. Further workup found the patient to have HIV that was unmasked following the treatment of IC-GN.

Breast and Lung Effusion Survival Score Models: Improving Survival Prediction in Patients With Malignant Pleural Effusion and Metastasis.

Background: Evidence-based guidelines recommend management strategies for malignant pleural effusions (MPEs) based on life expectancy. Existent risk-prediction rules do not provide precise individualized survival estimates.

Research Question: Can a newly developed continuous risk-prediction survival model for patients with MPE and known metastatic disease provide precise survival estimates?

Study Design And Methods: Single-center retrospective cohort study of patients with proven malignancy, pleural effusion, and known metastatic disease undergoing thoracentesis from 2014 through 2017.

Is Biopsy of Contralateral Hilar N3 Lymph Nodes With Negative PET-CT Scan Findings Necessary When Performing Endobronchial Ultrasound Staging?

Background: Systematic endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS)-guided lung cancer staging starts with hilar N3 nodes, proceeding sequentially to mediastinal N3, N2, and N1 nodes, with sampling of all enlarged nodes (size, ≥ 5 mm) by EBUS. However, procedure time is limited by patient comfort when moderate sedation is used. It is unclear if EBUS staging should start with hilar N3 nodes or whether starting with mediastinal N3 nodes suffices.

A Prediction Model to Help with Oncologic Mediastinal Evaluation for Radiation: HOMER.

When stereotactic ablative radiotherapy is an option for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), distinguishing between N0, N1, and N2 or N3 (N2|3) disease is important. To develop a prediction model for estimating the probability of N0, N1, and N2|3 disease. Consecutive patients with clinical-radiographic stage T1 to T3, N0 to N3, and M0 NSCLC who underwent endobronchial ultrasound-guided staging from a single center were included.

Inducible Lung Epithelial Resistance Requires Multisource Reactive Oxygen Species Generation To Protect against Viral Infections.

Viral pneumonias cause profound worldwide morbidity, necessitating novel strategies to prevent and treat these potentially lethal infections. Stimulation of intrinsic lung defenses via inhalation of synergistically acting Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists protects mice broadly against pneumonia, including otherwise-lethal viral infections, providing a potential opportunity to mitigate infectious threats. As intact lung epithelial TLR signaling is required for the inducible resistance and as these cells are the principal targets of many respiratory viruses, the capacity of lung epithelial cells to be therapeutically manipulated to function as autonomous antiviral effectors was investigated.