Giant-Size Main Pulmonary Artery Aneurysm in an Adult Patient with Ebstein Anomaly and Dextrocardia

Main pulmonary artery aneurysms are rare,mostly asymptomatic and discovered accidentally.The main pulmonary artery aneurysms may be idiopathic or secondary to underlying diseases such as pulmonary hypertension,Behcet’s disease,connective tissue disorders,congenital heart disease,vasculitis,syphilis,tuberculosis and endocarditis.There are some indices that dextrocardia is associated with anomalies of the pulmonary arteries and pulmonary valve.A rare occurrence of main pulmonary artery aneurysms results in a lack of recommendations,so the remaining challenges are whether main pulmonary artery aneurysms should be treated,how,and when.The decision on surgical intervention or conservative treatment of the main pulmonary artery aneurysms depends on its size,etiology and accompanying diseases and includes a multidisciplinary heart team.Our case of the main pulmonary artery aneurysm and pulmonary valve abnormality associated with Ebstein anomaly and dextrocardia in a 67-year-old male patient brings causality considerations and treatment options in such a unique condition.

Chronic pulmonary mucormycosis caused by rhizopus microsporus mimics lung carcinoma in an immunocompetent adult:A case report

BACKGROUND Pulmonary mucormycosis is a rare but life-threatening invasive fungal infection that mostly affects immunocompromised patients.This disease usually develops acutely and progresses rapidly,often leading to a poor clinical prognosis.Chronic pulmonary mucormycosis is highly unusual in immunocompetent patients.CASE SUMMARY A 43-year-old man,who was a house improvement worker with a long history of occupational dust exposure,presented with an irritating cough that had lasted for two months.The patient was previously in good health,without dysglycemia or any known immunodeficiencies.Chest computed tomography revealed a mass in the left lower lobe,measuring approximately 6 cm in diameter,which was suspected to be primary lung carcinoma complicated with obstructive pneumonia.Thoracoscopic-assisted left lower lobectomy was performed,and metagenomic next-generation sequencing detection,along with special pathological staining of surgical specimens,suggested Rhizopus microsporus infection.Postoperatively,the patient’s respiratory symptoms were relieved,and no signs of recurrence were found during the six-month follow-up.CONCLUSION This article reports a rare case of chronic pulmonary mucormycosis caused by Rhizopus microsporus in a middle-aged male without dysglycemia or immunodeficiency.The patient’s surgical outcome was excellent,reaffirming that surgery remains the cornerstone of pulmonary mucormycosis treatment.

Establishment of adult right ventricle failure in ovine using a graded, animal-specific pulmonary artery constriction model

Background: Right ventricle failure(RVF) is associated with serious cardiac and pulmonary diseases that contribute significantly to the morbidity and mortality of patients. Currently, the mechanisms of RVF are not fully understood and it is partly due to the lack of large animal models in adult RVF. In this study, we aim to establish a model of RVF in adult ovine and examine the structure and function relations in the RV.Methods: RV pressure overload was induced in adult male sheep by revised pulmonary artery constriction(PAC). Briefly, an adjustable hydraulic occluder was placed around the main pulmonary artery trunk. Then, repeated saline injection was performed at weeks 0, 1, and 4, where the amount of saline was determined in an animal-specific manner. Healthy, age-matched male sheep were used as additional controls. Echocardiography was performed bi-weekly and on week 11 post-PAC, hemodynamic and biological measurements were obtained.Results: This PAC methodology resulted in a marked increase in RV systolic pressure and decreases in stroke volume and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion, indicating signs of RVF. Significant increases in RV chamber size, wall thickness, and Fulton's index were observed. Cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and collagen accumulation(particularly type III collagen) were evident, and these structural changes were correlated with RV dysfunction.Conclusion: In summary, the animal-specific, repeated PAC provided a robust approach to induce adult RVF, and this ovine model will offer a useful tool to study the progression and treatment of adult RVF that is translatable to human diseases.

Diagnostic Value of Spiral CT Chest Enhanced Scan in Adult with Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Aim:To explore the diagnostic value of spiral CT chest enhanced scan for adults with active pulmonary tuberculosis.Methods:The clinical data of 60 adult patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis who were treated in our hospital from January 2018 to November 2019 were retrospectively analyzed.All patients underwent conventional chest radiography and spiral CT chest enhanced scan.The number of tuberculosis diagnosis,the detection rate of special site lesions,and the detection rate of active pulmonary tuberculosis signs by the two methods were compared.Results:In 60 patients,the pathological results confirmed the existence of 75 tuberculosis lesions.The detection rate of spiral CT was 98.67%,which was not statistically significant compared with the detection rate of 92.00%(P>0.05)in the conventional chest X-ray.The detection rate of spiral CT enhanced scans for tuberculosis lesions in special sites was 100.00%,which was significantly higher than that of conventional chest X-ray of 7.69%,and the accuracy rate of active pulmonary tuberculosis signs was 98.85%higher than that of conventional chest X-ray of 79.31%.P<0.05).The difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).Conclusion:Spiral CT chest enhanced scan can not only find special tuberculosis lesions that cannot be detected by conventional chest radiography,but also accurately determine active pulmonary tuberculosis in adults,which is of high diagnostic value.

Treatment and Clinical Management of Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension:An Update of Literature Review

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension(CTEPH)is a chronic,progressive,debilitating,and life-threa-tening complication of pulmonary embolism(PE).Recent technological advances have permitted various treat-ment options for the treatment of CTEPH,including surgery,angioplasty,and medical treatment,depending on the location and characteristics of lesions.Pulmonary endarterectomy(PEA)is the treatment of choice for CTEPH,as it offers excellent long-term outcomes and a high probability of recovery.Moreover,various medical and interventional therapies are currently being developed for patients with inoperable CTEPH.This review mainly summarizes the current treatment approaches of CTEPH,offering more options for specialist physicians to,thus,better manage chronic thromboembolic syndromes.

Primary pulmonary meningioma and minute pulmonary meningothelial-like nodules: Rare pulmonary nodular lesions requiring more awareness in clinical practice

In this editorial,we comment on an article by Ruan et al published in a recent issue of the World Journal of Clinical Case.Pulmonary meningothelial proliferative lesions,including primary pulmonary meningiomas,minute pulmonary meningothelial-like nodules,and metastatic pulmonary meningiomas are rare pulmonary lesions.These lesions are difficult to differentiate from lung cancers based on clinical and imaging manifestations.Herein,we briefly introduce the clinical,imaging,and pathological characteristics of these lesions and discuss their pathogenesis to strengthen the current understanding of pulmonary meningothelial proliferative lesions in clinical diagnosis and therapy.

Pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis in adults: A case report

BACKGROUND Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare disease of unknown aetiology. While it may affect any organ of the body, few cases of solitary lung involvement are published in the literature. Here, we report a rare case of pulmonary LCH (PLCH) in an adult. CASE SUMMARY A 52-year-old male presented to hospital in July 2018 with complaints of progressively worsening cough with sputum, breathlessness, easy fatigability, and loss of appetite since 2016, and a 32-year history of heavy cigarette smoking (average 30 cigarettes/d). Physical examination showed only weakened breathing sounds and wheezing during lung auscultation. Chest computed tomography (CT) showed irregular micronodules and multiple thin-walled small holes. Respiratory function tests showed a slight decrease. Ultrasonic cardiogram showed mild tricuspid regurgitation and no pulmonary hypertension. Fibreoptic bronchoscopy was performed with transbronchial biopsies from the basal segment of right lower lobe. LCH was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. The final diagnosis was PLCH without extra-pulmonary involvement. We suggested smoking cessation treatment. A 3-mo follow-up chest CT scan showed clear absorption of the nodule and thin-walled small holes. The symptoms of cough and phlegm had improved markedly and appetite had improved. There was no obvious dyspnoea. CONCLUSION Imaging manifestations of nodules, cavitating nodules, and thick-walled or thinwalled cysts prompted suspicion of PLCH and lung biopsy for diagnosis.

Studies on monitoring hemodynamics and oxygen dynamics of adult respiratory distress syndrome secondary to high altitude pulmonary edema

To study monitoring hemodynamics and oxygen dynamics of adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) secondary to high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE),we performed clinic and laboratory studies in 8 patients who preliminarily developed high altitude cerebral edema (HACE) and then ARDS occurred at an altitude of 4 500 m. After an initial emergency treatment on high mountains,all the patients were rapidly transported to a hospital at a lower altitude of 2 808 m. The right cardiac catheterizations were carried out within 5 h after hospitalized. The monitoring hemodynamics and oxygen dynamics were studied via a thermodilution Swan-Gaze catheter. The results showed that before treatments at the beginning of monitoring,there presented a significant pulmonary artery hypertension with a decreased cardiac function,and a lower oxygen metabolism in all the 8 patients. However,after some effective treatments,including mechanical ventilation and using dexamethasone,furosemide,etc,four days later the result of a repeated monitoring showed that their pulmonary artery pressure had been decreased with an improved cardiac function with all the oxygen metabolic indexes increased significantly. Our studies suggested that performing monitoring hemodynamics in patients with ARDS secondary to HAPE will define the clinical therapeutic measures which will benefit the outcome.

Perioperative Nursing for Adult Congenital Heart Disease with Severe Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Objectives: To explore the main points of perioperative nursing for adult congenital heart disease with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension. Methods: A retrospective study of 13 patients with congenital heart disease and severe pulmonary arterial hypertension who admitted to the perioperative period of care from January 2018 to December 2019. To prevent perioperative complications of the patients, the focus is on respiratory and circulatory system care, followed by blood coagulation monitoring, digestive system protection and psychological care. Results: All 13 patients passed the perioperative period and were discharged from ICU. Conclusion: Adult congenital heart disease with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension has high perioperative risk, respiratory and circulatory system care is the key.

Pediatric vs adult pulmonary tuberculosis:A retrospective computed tomography study

AIM: To compare the manifestations of chest tuberculosis(TB) in pediatric and adult patients based on contrast enhanced computed tomography of chest.METHODS: This was a retrospective study consisting of 152 patients of chest TB including 48 children and 104 adults who had undergone contrast enhanced computed tomography of chest prior to treatment. The patterns and severity of parenchymal, mediastinal and pleural manifestations were analyzed and compared among different age groups.RESULTS: Parenchymal changes observed include consolidation, air space nodules, miliary TB, cavitation, bronchiectasis and fibrosis and these were noted in 60% of children, 71% of adolescents and 76.9% of adults. These changes were more common in right upper lobe in all age groups. There was no significant difference in the frequency of these changes(except nodules) in different age groups. Centrilobular nodules were seen less commonly in children less than 10 years(P = 0.028). Pleural effusion was noted in 28(18.42%) patients and pericardial effusion in 8(5.3%) patients. No significant difference in the serosal involvement is seen among children and adults. Mediastinal adenopathy was seen 70% of children, 76.3% adolescents and 76.9% of adults and paratracheal nodes were seen most frequently. Nodes had similar features(except matting) among all age groups. Matting of nodes was seen more commonly in children(P = 0.014). CONCLUSION: Pediatric chest tuberculosis can have severe parenchymal lesions and nodal involvement similar to adults. The destructive lung changes observed in children needs immediate attention in view of the longer life span they have and hence in formulating optimal treatment strategies.

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Medical Management of the Adult Patient with Congenital Heart Disease

Congenital heart disease(CHD)-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension(PAH)includes a heterogeneous patient population that can be characterized by the underlying cardiac malformation.CHD-associated PAH has an estimated prevalence of 5– 10% in adult patients,with an increasing number of patients surviving to adulthood because of advances in the surgical management and the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension(PAH)-targeted pharmacotherapy.Although limited data exist,targeted PAH pharmacotherapy has proven to be benefi cial in patients with CHD-associated PAH,with observed improvement in functional class,increase in exercise capacity,and improvement in quality of life and cardiopulmonary hemodynamics.Additionally,there has been increasing interest in the“treat-to-close”strategy.PAH-targeted pharmacotherapy may be used to optimize cardiopulmonary hemodynamics so as to improve patients’operability in repairing the cardiac defect.Although there have been signifi cant advances in the management of this disease state in the past 2 decades,mortality remains high,and ongoing clinical trials are needed to better understand the treat-to-close strategy.

Diagnosis and multi-modality treatment of adult pulmonary plastoma:Analysis of 18 cases and review of literature

The clinical data of 18 patients with PB from April 1989 to April 2013 was analyzed retrospectively,including 11 men and 7 women,aged 45 and 76 years old(mean 53 years).There were 12 eases of PB occurrlng in right lung and other cases in left lung,AraBng them,3 patients had no symptoms,and 15 patients displayed symptoms of cough,chest pain,asthenia or minor hacmoptysis.Overall,11 patients had a preoperative diagnosis of lung cancer,7 patients were preoperatively diagnosed as the other disease,which included lung benign tumor(n=5)and mediastinal mass(n=2).All patients received a radical resection.Six patients received postoperative cisplalinbascd chemothcrapy,and two paticnts received postoperative irradiation with the dose of 55 Gy.Histologically.14 eases of 18 patients had biphasie pulmonary blastema and four cases had well differentiated fetal adenocarcinoma.A total of 12 patients died in a period of 6-36 months after operation,and 1 ease was lost after 2 years of follow up.The median survival time was 19 months,PB is a rare primary lung malignant embryonal neoplasm.Despite its assumed embyonal origin,the tumor has a predileetion for adults.A preoperative correct diagnosis is very difficult in spite of modern diagnostic imaging and biopsy techniques,Surgical resection is the main method for diagnosis and treatment.Postoperative chemotherapy or irradiation can help eliminate tumor remnants.Its prognosis is very poor,especially for the biphasie type.

Clinical Analysis of 15 Patients with Adult-Type Pulmonary Blastoma

OBJECTIVE To study the clinical and histopathological characteristics of pulmonary blastoma(PB),and to review the diagnostic criterion and treatment methods.METHODS Clinical and histopathological data from 15 cases of PB in this hospital,from 1990 to 2006,were retrospectively analyzed.RESULTS Surgical procedures were conducted in all 15 patients,including pulmonary lobectomy in 9,lobectomy of the 2 right pulmonary lobes in 2,excision of pulmonary segments in 1,lobectomy and bronchoplasty in 1,lobectomy and angioplasty in 1,and excision of the whole left lung in 1.Of the 15 cases,11 were misdiagnosed as lung cancer,2 were doubted to be a benign tumor before surgery,1 was suspected to be a malignant mesenchymoma,and only 1 was diagnosed as a PB.CONCLUSION Preoperative final diagnosis of PB is very difficult,since the clinical symptoms of the disease are nonspecific.To confirm the diagnosis,comprehensive consideration of the factors,such as the clinical manifestations,morphological characteristics and immunohistochemical tumor markers,should be taken.Surgery is the treatment of choice for PB,and a thorough removal is the key to a cure.PB has a high malignancy and o en recurs and metastasizes,usually with a poor prognosis.

Hypoxia in the pulmonary vein increases pulmonary vascular resistance independently of oxygen in the pulmonary artery

Introduction:Hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction(HPV)can be a challenging clinical problem.It is not fully elucidated where in the circulation the regulation of resistance takes place.It is often referred to as if it is in the arteries,but we hypothesized that it is in the venous side of the pulmonary circulation.Methods:In an open thorax model,pigs were treated with a veno-venous extra corporeal membrane oxygenator to either oxygenate or deoxygenate blood passing through the pulmonary vessels.At the same time the lungs were ventilated with extreme variations of inspired air from 5%to 100%oxygen,making it possible to make combinations of high and low oxygen content through the pulmonary circulation.A flow probe was inserted around the main pulmonary artery and catheters in the pulmonary artery and in the left atrium were used for pressure monitoring and blood tests.Under different combinations of oxygenation,pulmonary vascular resistance(PVR)was calculated.Results:With unchanged level of oxygen in the pulmonary artery and reduced inspired oxygen fraction lowering oxygen tension from 29 to 6.7 kPa in the pulmonary vein,PVR was doubled.With more extreme hypoxia PVR suddenly decreased.Combinations with low oxygenation in the pulmonary artery did not systematic influence PVR if there was enough oxygen in the inspired air and in the pulmonary veins.Discussion:The impact of hypoxia occurs from the alveolar level and forward with the blood flow.The experiments indicated that the regulation of PVR is mediated from the venous side.

C-Reactive Protein as a Triage Test in Guiding Who Should Get a Confirmatory Test for Pulmonary Tuberculosis Diagnosis among Adults: A Case-Control Proof-of-Concept Study from Urban Tanzania

Background: The current screening tools for tuberculosis (TB) are inadequate resulting in insufficient TB case detection and continued community transmission of TB. As the world is geared into finding missing TB cases, new strategies are called for to aid in rapid identification of TB cases. This study aimed to evaluate the role C-reactive protein (CRP) in triaging patients to get a definitive test for active pulmonary TB diagnosis in urban Tanzania. Methods: A case-control study was conducted among pulmonary TB (PTB) patients and contacts without active PTB. The diagnosis of PTB was performed using GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay and culture. Blood was collected from cases and controls for measuring CRP levels during recruitment. We compared socio-demographic characteristics, clinical and laboratory parameters obtained during recruitment and performed diagnostic accuracy analyses for CRP. Results: Out of all 193 study participants who were involved in final analysis, 147 (76.2%) were males. Pulmonary TB cases had significantly lower median BMI than controls (median 17.4 kg/m2 [IQR: 15.8 - 19.2 kg/m2] vs., 24.9 kg/m2 [IQR: 22.1 - 28.5 kg/m2), p < 0.001). There was no statistical difference in prevalence of HIV between PTB cases and controls i.e., 13.33% vs., 11.7%, p = 0.48. CRP was significantly higher in PTB cases vs., controls (median 67.8 mg/L, [IQR: 36.5 - 116.9 mg/L] vs., 1.55 mg/L, [IQR: 0.59 - 6.0 mg/L], p = 0.003). Furthermore, CRP at cut-off ≥10 mg/L was associated with best combination of sensitivity, specificity and area under the curve of 89.9%, 95% CI: 82.2 - 95.0, 80.9%, CI: 71.4 - 88.2 and 0.85, 95% CI: 0.80 - 0.90 respectively. A multivariate logistic regression model adjusted for fever, night sweats and body mass index showed that CRP above 10 mg/L was significantly associated with PTB, aOR 5.2, 95% CI 1.2 - 22.8. Conclusions: CRP at cut-off ≥10 mg/L can be used to screen pulmonary TB. These findings can be used to improve TB screening algorithm by incorporating CRP in combination with TB symptoms to identify patients who need further confirmatory TB tests. However, additional prospective studies are required to support our findings and contribute into policy recommendations on use of CRP in a screening algorithm for pulmonary TB.

Primary pulmonary rhabdomyosarcoma in adult:A case report

Primary pulmonary rhabdomyosarcoma (PPR) in adult is an extremely rare disease, and because of its early metastasis, the prognosis of it is poor. PPR should be included in consideration in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of lung tumors.

The effect of traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation exercise(pulmonary Daoyin)in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease:A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective:Previous research has demonstrated that pulmonary Daoyin could be an efficacious way to ameliorate the physical and psychological state of sufferers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)and bolster the quality of life.However,the results are not consistent.Thus,the objective of this research is to assess the impacts of pulmonary Daoyin in individuals with COPD.Methods:Relevant articles were searched in Web of Science,Cochrane Library,PubMed,EMBASE,SinoMed,CNKI,Wanfang,and VIP from database inception to January 2024.Results:There were a total of 15 randomized controlled trials(RCTs)included in this meta-analysis involving 1732 patients,of which 864 participated in the intervention group and 868 in the control group.When comparing with the control group,the COPD patients practicing pulmonary Daoyin demonstrated a significant improvement in 6 min walking distance(mean difference[MD]=24.53,95%confidence interval[CI][18.55,30.52],P<0.00001),forced expiratory volume in the 1 s(FEV_(1))(MD=0.39,95%CI[0.18,0.59],P=0.0002),percentage of FEV_(1)to the predicted value(FEV_(1)%)(MD=5.35,95%CI[3.22,7.48],P<0.0001),the forced vital capacity(FVC)(MD=0.39,95%CI[0.06,0.73],P=0.02),percentage of FVC to the predicted value(FVC%)(MD=7.52,95%CI[4.91,10.13],P<0.00001),the ratio of FEV_(1)/FVC(MD=4.95,95%CI[0.91,8.99],P=0.02),peak expiratory flow rate(standardized MD=0.98,95%CI[0.74,1.22],P<0.00001),modified Medical Research Council(mMRC)scale(MD=-0.47,95%CI[-0.89,-0.04],P=0.03),and Borg scale(MD=-0.65,95%CI[-0.75,-0.55],P<0.00001).Conclusions:Our findings may illuminate the influence of pulmonary Daoyin on exercise ability,breathlessness,and pulmonary function in COPD patients.More rigorous RCTs with larger samples and longer-term interventions will be required moving forward.

Anomalous Left Coronary Artery from Pulmonary Artery with Good Ventricular Function in an Adult. A Rare Scenario

Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) with preserved ventricular function is a rare congenital coronary artery anomaly when diagnosed in an adult patient and remains an important cause of sudden cardiac death. We report a 42-year-old patient with ALCAPA managed with intrapulmonary interruption of the left main coronary artery (LMCA) ostea and grafting of the LMCA with left internal mammary artery so as to restore antegrade coronary flow. This restores a dual-coronary-artery system and also allows antegrade blood flow as in a normal coronary artery to a large area of viable myocardium. This strategy is simple to accomplish and is more physiological in an anteriorly placed and dilated LMCA as seen in our case.

Perioperative anesthetic management of interrupted aortic arch associated with severe pulmonary hypertension in a young adult: case report and review of the literature

The interrupted aortic arch (IAA) is rare congential heart defect and entails a very poor prognosis without surgical treatment. We describe a young adult patient with IAA associated with severe pulmonary hypertension and discuss the perioperative anesthetic management of single-stage surgical correction in this patient. Preoperative anesthetic preparation with better understanding of the malformation, intraoperative hemodynamic monitoring, and adequate alveolar ventilation in the perioperative period were all important factors contributing to a successful outcome.

Neocuspidization of the Pulmonary Valve with Autologous Pericardium in the Adult Patient with Ventricular Septal Defect and Infective Endocarditis: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is one of the risk factors for developing infective endocarditis (IE). Right-sided IEoccurs in 5%–10% of endocarditis cases, and pulmonary valve (PV) is involved in less than 2% of such patients.Literature data are few, and optimal treatment methods, indications for surgery, and types of operative techniquesare still under debate. We present an adult patient with a rare combination of the ventricular septal defect (VSD)and PV IE who underwent surgical treatment. Neocuspidization with autologous pericardium was utilized for thereconstruction of his PV. We discuss details of this novel surgical technique.