Pulmonary Hypertension and Survival among Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study in the U.S. Military Health System.

Lung cancer is one of the most lethal cancers with survival being closely related to stage and influenced by comorbid illness. The survival implications of pulmonary hypertension (PH) on patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have only been evaluated in small cohorts, with limited long-term follow-up. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 7946 patients with NSCLC diagnosed in the MHS.

Assessment of Lung Cancer Risk Among Smokers for Whom Annual Screening Is Not Recommended.

Importance: The US Preventive Services Task Force does not recommend annual lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) for adults aged 50 to 80 years who are former smokers with 20 or more pack-years of smoking who quit 15 or more years ago or current smokers with less than 20 pack-years of smoking.

Objective: To determine the risk of lung cancer in older smokers for whom LDCT screening is not recommended.

Design, Settings, And Participants: This cohort study used the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) data sets obtained from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, which also sponsored the study.

Comparative study of survival among small cell lung cancer patients in the U.S. military health system and those in the surveillance, epidemiology, and end results (SEER) program.

Purpose: The U.S. military health system provides universal health care access to beneficiaries.

Patient Perspectives on the Risk-Based NLST Outcomes Tool for Lung Cancer Screening.

Researchers at the NCI have developed the Risk-Based NLST Outcomes Tool (RNOT), an online tool that calculates risk of lung cancer diagnosis and death with and without lung cancer screening, and false-positive risk estimates. This tool has the potential to facilitate shared decision making for screening. The objective of this study was to examine how current heavy and former smokers understand and respond to personalized risk estimates from the RNOT.

Optimizing routine screening for cardiac sarcoidosis through use of commonly available studies.

Background: Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disorder with unclear etiology. Morbidity and mortality vary based on organ involvement, with cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) associated with higher mortality; despite this, CS remains underdiagnosed. The Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) expert consensus statement recommends screening sarcoidosis patients for CS utilizing a symptom screen, EKG, and echocardiogram (TTE), while the American Thoracic Society (ATS) guideline recommends only EKG and symptom screening.

Comparative Trends in the Distribution of Lung Cancer Stage at Diagnosis in the Department of Defense Cancer Registry and the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data, 1989-2012.

Introduction: We compared the stage at diagnosis for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients in the military healthcare system (MHS) and the general public to assess differences between these two groups as well as to assess the trends in stage at diagnosis in the recent past.

Method: This study was based on the non-identifiable data from the U.S.

Comorbidity and stage at diagnosis among lung cancer patients in the US military health system.

Purpose: We investigated the association between comorbidities and stage at diagnosis among NSCLC patients in the US Military Health System (MHS), which provides universal health care to its beneficiaries.

Methods: The linked data from the Department of Defense's Central Cancer Registry (CCR) and the MHS Data Repository (MDR) were used. The study included 4768 patients with histologically confirmed primary NSCLC.

Survival among Lung Cancer Patients in the U.S. Military Health System: A Comparison with the SEER Population.

The U.S. military health system (MHS) provides universal health care access to its beneficiaries.

Metformin use and survival after non-small cell lung cancer: A cohort study in the US Military health system.

Research suggests that metformin may be associated with improved survival in cancer patients with type II diabetes. This study assessed whether metformin use after non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) diagnosis is associated with overall survival among type II diabetic patients with NSCLC in the U.S.

The Impact of Preexisting Mental Health Disorders on the Diagnosis, Treatment, and Survival among Lung Cancer Patients in the U.S. Military Health System.

Background: Higher cancer-related mortality has been observed among people with mental health disorders than in the general population. Both delay in diagnosis and inadequate treatment due to health care access have been found to explain the higher mortality. The U.

Sonographic Findings of Hydropneumothorax.

Ultrasound is increasingly being used in examination of the thorax. The sonographic features of normal aerated lung, abnormal lung, pneumothorax, and intrapleural fluid have been published. The sonographic features of uncommon intrathoracic syndromes are less known.

Clinical Importance of Echogenic Swirling Pleural Effusions.

Thoracic sonography is an important tool in diagnosis and assessment of pleural effusions and can provide valuable information about the characteristics of accumulated pleural fluid, in addition to improving the safety of thoracentesis. In addition to the 4 classic sonographic pleural effusion patterns (anechoic, complex nonseptate, complex septate, and homogeneously echogenic), an echogenic swirling pattern has been previously described, which was originally thought to be associated with malignant effusion. Two cases of pleural effusion with an echogenic swirling pattern are described below, illustrating that this sonographic finding can be seen in both exudative and transudative effusions.

A Prognostic Model to Predict Mortality among Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Patients in the U.S. Military Health System.

Introduction: Accurate prognosis assessment after non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) diagnosis is an essential step for making effective clinical decisions. This study is aimed to develop a prediction model with routinely available variables to assess prognosis in patients with NSCLC in the U.S.

Molecular targets in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer: is there hope on the horizon?

Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a growing concern worldwide, and its incidence continues to increase in developing countries. It has a strong association with smoking. Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in most industrialized countries and in the United States.

Cardiomyopathy induced by sinus tachycardia in combat wounded: a case study.

Tachycardia induced cardiomyopathy is a potentially lethal cause of heart failure generally because of atrial tachycardia and less frequently ventricular tachycardia. We present two cases of Marines with severe traumatic blast injuries secondary to improvised explosive device attacks whose hospital courses included amputation, massive blood transfusions, and multiple surgeries. Both patients had prolonged sinus tachycardia averaging >110 beats per minute and developed depressed left ventricular function, which recovered when treated with β blockers.

Battlefield applications for handheld ultrasound.

Combat medical care provides unique challenges and opportunities for military medical teams. The austerity of the environment severely limits access to many diagnostic and therapeutic tools. Because of their compact size, handheld ultrasound (US) machines are increasingly being used in these constrained environments.

Comorbidities of advanced lung disease.

Lung disease in advanced stages is often accompanied by multiple comorbidities. Often, these processes lead to significant morbidity and occasionally mortality. Symptoms of pulmonary comorbidities, including pulmonary embolus, pulmonary hypertension, sleep-disordered breathing, and lung malignancy, may be intertwined with symptoms of advancing lung disease.