Reduction of postoperative pulmonary complications after lung surgery using a fast track clinical pathway.

Background: Fast track programs, multimodal therapy strategies, have been introduced in many surgical fields to minimize postoperative morbidity and mortality. In terms of lung resections no randomized controlled trials exist to evaluate such patient care programs.

Methods: In a prospective, randomized controlled pilot study a conservative and fast track treatment regimen in patients undergoing lung resections was compared.

Prospective randomized controlled trial to evaluate "fast-track" elective open infrarenal aneurysm repair.

Background And Aims: Fast-track programs have been introduced in many surgical fields to minimize postoperative morbidity and mortality. Morbidity after elective open infrarenal aneurysm repair is as high as 30%; mortality ranges up to 10%. In terms of open infrarenal aneurysm repair, no randomized controlled trials exist to introduce and evaluate such patient care programs.

Performance of integrated FDG-PET/CT for differentiating benign and malignant lung lesions--results from a large prospective clinical trial.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate prospectively whether integrated 2-deoxy-2-[(18)F]fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) is more accurate for determination of malignancy in newly diagnosed pulmonary lesions compared to separate interpretation of CT and FDG-PET.

Procedures: Two hundred and seventy-six patients with newly diagnosed lung lesions underwent FDG-PET/CT. Helical CT, FDG-PET, and FDG-PET/CT were interpreted separately to determine the performance of each imaging modality.

Thoracic surgery in children.

Objective: Children rarely undergo thoracic surgery. When they do, the procedures fall into five main groups: oncologic indications, immune defects, malformations, infections and trauma. In addition to considerations associated with the underlying indication, the different proportions of the anatomical structures in children require special modifications in both diagnostics and surgical technique compared to corresponding procedures in adults.

Clinical relevance of imaging proliferative activity in lung nodules.

Purpose: Recently, the thymidine analogue 3'-deoxy-3'[18F]fluorothymidine (FLT) has been introduced for imaging proliferation with positron emission tomography (PET). In this prospective study, we examined the accuracy of FLT for differentiation of benign from malignant lung lesions and for tumour staging.

Methods: A total of 47 patients with newly diagnosed pulmonary nodules on chest CT suspicious for malignancy were examined with FLT-PET in addition to routine staging procedures.

Imaging proliferation in lung tumors with PET: 18F-FLT versus 18F-FDG.

Unlabelled: Recently, the thymidine analog 3'-deoxy-3'-(18)F-fluorothymidine (FLT) was suggested for imaging tumoral proliferation. In this prospective study, we examined whether (18)F-FLT better determines proliferative activity in newly diagnosed lung nodules than does (18)F-FDG.

Methods: Twenty-six patients with pulmonary nodules on chest CT were examined with PET and the tracers (18)F-FDG and (18)F-FLT.

3-deoxy-3-[(18)F]fluorothymidine-positron emission tomography for noninvasive assessment of proliferation in pulmonary nodules.

We investigated whether uptake of the thymidine analogue 3-deoxy-3-[(18)F]fluorothymidine ([(18)F]FLT) reflects proliferation in solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs). Thirty patients with SPNs were prospectively examined with positron emission tomography. Standardized uptake values were calculated for quantification of FLT uptake.