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 summarize the probability of pulmonary embolism （PE） induced by lower extremity deep venous thrombosis （DVT） and investigate the role of vena cava filter （VCF） in preventing from PE. Methods The clinical data of 1 058 patients with lower extremity DVT from January 2005 to January 2012 were analyzed retrospectively. Results The PE rate was 3.21% （34/1 058） and the death rate was 1.42% （15/1 058） in 1 058 patients with lower extremity DVT. The VCF was implanted in 171 of 1 058 patients. The VCFs of 151 patients were implanted from femoral vein， 20 patients were implanted from jugular vein. The PE rates were 3.61% （32/887） and 1.17% （2/171） and the death rates were 1.69% （15/887） and 0 （0/171） in patients without VCF and with VCF， respectively. Both of them occurred in the first ten days. PE could keep as long as 35 d. The PE rate and death rate in the patients without VCF were significantly higher than those in the patients with VCF （P＜0.01）. The PE rates and death rates in both lower extremities DVT were higher than those in patients with the right and left ones （P＜0.05）， which in the right lower extremity were higher than those in the left one （P＜0.05）. The PE rate and death rate in the patients with lower extremity DVT combined with vena cava thrombosis were significantly higher than those in the patients with central type （P＜0.05）， which in the central type were significantly higher than those in the peripheral type （P＜0.05）， there were no significant differences between peripheral type and mixed pattern. The follow-up time was from 1 month to 7 years with （39±19） months， the patency rate of VCF was 98.7%. There were no filter migration， declination， and failure of expansion. Conclusions VCF can prevent from PE effectively， but the indications must be controlled.
Objective To assess the overall diagnostic value of magnetic resonance angiography ( MRA) in patients with suspected pulmonary embolism. Methods A search in Cochrane Library,Medline,Embase,Wanfang and China Biology Medicine disc ( CBMdisc) was performed to identify relevant English and Chinese language publications from1990 to 2012. Criteria for inclusion was established based on validity criteria for diagnostic research published by the Cochrane Methods Group on Screening and Diagnostic Tests. Subsequently, the characteristics of the included articles were appraised and extracted. Statistical analysis was performed byMeta-disc version1. 4. Heterogeneity of the included articles was tested, which was used to select proper effect model to calculate pooled weighted sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio. Summary receiver opertating characteristic ( SROC) curve was performed and the area under the curve ( AUC) was calculated.Results 6 literatures in English were finally collected, with a total of 534 cases recruited into the study. Heterogeneity was found because of threshold effect. A Metaanalysis was performed using the randomeffect model. The value of the positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio of MRA with 95% confidence interval ( 95% CI) were 32. 392( 15. 951-65. 778) and 0. 217( 0. 160-0. 294) , respectively. The pooled weighted sensitivity and specificity were 0. 800 ( 0. 728-0. 860)and 0. 984( 0. 966-0. 994) , respectively. The AUC of SROC was 0. 9783. Conclusions MRA has certain diagnosis value for pulmonary embolismwith high sensitivity and specificity. MRA may be the best choice for some patients with renal mysfunction and allergy to radiographic contrast material. Otherwise, patients who are detected by MRA avoid exposure to ionizeing radiation.
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.
ObjectivesTo investigate the clinical and imaging characteristics of pleural effusion in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE).MethodsComputed tomographic pulmonary angiography (CTPA) scans and clinical data of suspected APE patients from January 2014 to December 2018 were analyzed.ResultsA total of 1024 suspected APE patients underwent CTPA examination in the imaging department of our hospital. Two hundred patients (19.5%) were diagnosed with APE. Imaging findings of pleural effusion were revealed in 70 cases (35.0%). The majority of APE patients without pleural effusion were males (82.3% vs. 64.3%, P<0.01), and the majority of APE patients with pleural effusion were females (35.7% vs. 17.7%, P<0.01). Most of the effusions were bilateral, small to moderate, with peripheral embolism (62.9%, P<0.05). Pulmonary consolidation, atelectasis and ground-glass opacity were common manifestations of CTPA. Compared with patients with simple pulmonary embolism, pulmonary embolism with pleural effusion was more common (62.9% and 33.8%, respectively, OR=3.279 and 95%CI 1.798 - 6.091, P<0.001). Diagnostic thoracic puncture was performed in 6 cases (8.6%). Pleural effusion was exudate in these 6 patients, with normal blood sugar and neutrophils predominated.ConclusionsAbout one third of APE patients are associated with pleural effusion, which most presented with small and bilateral pleural effusions. The main embolism associated with pleural effusion is peripheral embolism. There is a significant correlation between pulmonary consolidation and pleural effusion. Pleural effusion is mostly exudate and neutrophils often predominate.
Objective To discuss and evaluate the value of insertion of inferior vena cava filter in treating lower extremity deep venous thrombosis (DVT). Methods Inferior vena cava filters were placed in 46 patients with lower extremity DVT prior treatment, 20 in which were treated by therapy with anticoagulation and thrombolysis, and therapy with pressure gradient, and the other 26 patients by operation and thrombolysis therapy, and therapy with pressure gradient. Whether patients occurred pulmonary embolism was observed and the form and site of filters were monitored by periodic fluoroscopy. Results Inferior vena cava filters were placed successfully in all patients, 38 cases were implanted permanence inferior vena cava filter, 8 cases were implanted temporary inferior vena cava filter. Symptoms and signs of DVT disappeared or remitted in 44/46 patients after treatment. None of pulmonary embolism was occurred. Follow up 2-24 months (average 13 months) for 36 cases with permanence inferior vena cava filter, there was no complication of the filter and pulmonary embolism occurred. Conclusions The method of inserting inferior vena cava filter is simple and safe, which can prevent pulmonary embolism effectually to offer sufficient safeguard for the treatment of DVT.
Objective To improve the knowledge of inflammatory bowel disease complicated with venous thromboembolism for better diagnosis and treatment. Methods One case of patient with ulcerative colitis complicated with a multiple vessel thromboembolism ( pulmonary arterial, deep vein of lower limb, and superior mesenteric vein) was analyzed, and related literatures were reviewed. Results The patient resulted in pulmonary thromboembolism ( PTE) recurrence because of irregular treatment. In addition to deep vein thrombosis of the lower extremity, a new discovery of the superior mesenteric vein embolism ( MVT) was diagnosed. The bleeding risk of heparin or lowmolecular weight heparin ( LMWH) for treatment is low, while that of warfarin is high. Conclusions Venous thromboembolism ( VTE) has a close relationship with inflammatory bowel disease ( IBD) such as ulcerative colitis. The symptomis not so typical that it is easy to misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis. It is noted that mesenteric venous thrombosis ( MVT) should be excluded in IBD patients suffering from VTE, if the source of embolus is not clear. Suitable treatment should be considered according to the risk stratification of VTE and risk-benefit ratio because of a high bleeding risk.