Bronchial obstruction causing mediastinal shift and hemodynamic compromise.
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Airway Obstruction↗
Biomedical subjects
Sean C Grondin
Publications and source records attributed to Sean C Grondin.
Retrospective analysis of the clinical performance of anterior mediastinotomy.
BACKGROUND: Accurate staging of patients with lung cancer is imperative in generating an appropriate treatment strategy. This study examined the clinical performance of anterior mediastinotomy in staging patients with suspected left upper lobe non-small cell lung cancer. METHODS: This study was designed as a retrospective cohort. All patients with suspected left upper lobe cancer and otherwise normal computed tomography scan results were eligible. Patients with clinically unresectable disease (advanced disease or not fit for surgery) were excluded. After exclusions, 151 patients were stratified into two groups: 117 patients had cervical and anterior mediastinotomy as part of preoperative staging, and 34 had cervical mediastinoscopy only. The primary outcome was rate of preventable thoracotomy defined as thoracotomy during which either metastases to aortopulmonary or paraaortic lymph nodes, or mediastinal invasion was identified. RESULTS: The rate of preventable thoracotomy for the anterior mediastinotomy arm was 4 (3.4%) of 117, compared with 1 (2.9%) of 34 for cervical mediastinoscopy-only arm (p = 0.99). The rate of morbidity in the anterior mediastinotomy arm was 8 (6.8%) of 117, compared with 2 (5.8%) of 34 for the cervical mediastinoscopy-only arm (p = 0.99). Anterior mediastinotomy patients stayed in hospital 1 day longer (p = 0.008). Anterior mediastinotomy was successful at harvesting one or more lymph nodes in 67% of patients. Five patients (4.3%) who underwent anterior mediastinotomy were spared a thoracotomy by identification of metastases to aortopulmonary lymph nodes. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with suspected left upper lobe lung cancer and otherwise normal computed tomography scan results, anterior mediastinotomy does not significantly reduce the rate of preventable thoracotomy.
Aged↗
Levels of evidence and grades of recommendations in general thoracic surgery.
OBJECTIVES: To determine the grades of recommendations and levels of evidence available if the formal practice of evidence-based medicine is applied to general thoracic surgery. METHODS: Three general thoracic surgeons, by consensus, developed a sample of 10 clinically important questions. The first 3 steps of evidence-based medicine (creation of answerable clinical questions, search for best external evidence, and critical appraisal of literature) were performed. Abstracts and appropriate articles were identified through Medline from January 1999 through December 2001. A hierarchical series of search strategies was employed to identify the best level of evidence. The best evidence found was categorized according to the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine into 4 grades of recommendations (A-D) and 5 levels of evidence (1-5). RESULTS: The best evidence found for the 10 sample questions was categorized as grade A recommendations in 5 and grade B, also in 5 questions. The levels of evidence found were la in 3 studies, 1b in 5, and 2b in 2. CONCLUSIONS: A formal evidence-based-medicine approach to general thoracic surgery found the grades of recommendation and levels of evidence for a sample of clinically important questions to be high.
Evidence-Based Medicine↗
Intraoperative sentinel lymph node mapping in non-small-cell lung cancer improves detection of micrometastases.
PURPOSE: Lymph node metastases are the most significant prognostic factor in localized non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Nodal micrometastases may not be detected with current standard histologic methods. We performed intraoperative technetium-99m ((99m)Tc) sentinel lymph node (SN) mapping in patients with resectable NSCLC. This study aimed to identify the first station of nodal drainage of operable lung cancers. Serial section histology and immunohistochemistry were used to validate the SN and to identify the presence of micrometastatic disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred patients with potentially resectable suspected NSCLC were enrolled. At thoracotomy, the primary tumor was injected with 0.25 to 2 mCi (99m)Tc. Intraoperative scintigraphic readings of both the primary tumor and lymph nodes were obtained with a hand-held gamma counter. Anatomic resection with a mediastinal node dissection was then performed. RESULTS: Nine of the 100 patients did not have NSCLC (seven benign lesions and two metastatic tumors) and were excluded. Seventy-eight (86%) of 91 patients had a SN identified and a complete resection. Sixty-nine (88.5%) out of the 78 SNs were classified as true-positive with no metastases found in other intrathoracic lymph nodes without concurrent SN involvement. In nine patients, the SN was the only positive node. In seven of these nine patients, the SN was found to harbor only micrometastatic disease. CONCLUSION: Intraoperative SN mapping with (99m)Tc is an accurate way to identify the first site of lymphatic tumor drainage in NSCLC. This method may also improve the precision of pathologic staging.
Adult↗
Current concepts in the staging of non-small cell lung cancer.
When evaluating a patient diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), staging helps define the extent of disease. The main goals of staging are to assist in determining appropriate treatment options (surgery versus non-surgical) and in predicting prognosis. Based on the recommendation of the American Joint Committee for Cancer (AJCC), a TNM (tumor, node, and metastases) staging system is used for NSCLC. Clinical staging (cTNM) is determined using non-invasive techniques such as clinical assessment and radiologic testing. Pathologic staging (pTNM) is determined using invasive techniques such as bronchoscopy, mediastinoscopy, and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery, or at the time of thoracotomy. Recently, new staging modalities such as positron emission tomography and intraoperative sentinel node mapping have been used with promising results. In the near future, these techniques, as well as molecular and serum tumor markers, will likely be used to more accurately determine the burden of disease and allow for more appropriate treatment.
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung↗