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Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is commonly recommended for the diagnosis of mediastinal lymphadenopathy with malignant and nonmalignant etiology. EBUS-TBNA has been preferred over mediastinoscopy because of several advantages such as comparable diagnostic accuracy, safety, cost-effectiveness, and less invasiveness. Hemorrhage, mediastinitis, pneumonia, mediastinal abscess, empyema, lung abscess, pericarditis, and pneumothorax have been reported as major complications of EBUS-TBNA. Equipment malfunction has been observed mostly in the form of breakage of EBUS scope parts such as working channel, optical fibers, and ultrasound probe. Needle malfunction either involving assembly leading to inability to retract the needle within the sheath or accidental breakage of the needle tip has also been reported but the evidence is still limited. We encountered an accidental breakage of needle tip while performing EBUS-TBNA procedure in a 58-year-old male having subcarinal lymphadenopathy suspected to have lung cancer. We were able to successfully retrieve the broken fragment bronchoscopically without any complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lung recruitment maneuvers are rescue measures commonly used to improve oxygenation in severely hypoxemic patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), who fail to improve on standard treatment. After recruitment, appropriate level of positive end.expiratory pressure (PEEP) is applied to prevent alveolar de.recruitment during expiration. Computed tomography scan of thorax and quasi.static pressure.volume curves have played a pivotal role are important in the assessment of recruitment, but they have several limitations. Lung ultrasound (LUS), which is now easily available in nearly every Intensive Care Unit, could be an attractive alternative method for assessing lung recruitment. It is noninvasive, easily repeatable and is devoid of radiation hazards. We are presenting a case of 24.year.old female patient with moderate ARDS in whom bedside LUS was successfully used into assessing lung recruitment as well as into determining the appropriate level of PEEP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Upper airway imaging can often identify the anatomical risk factors for sleep apnea and provide sufficient insight into the pathophysiology of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Materials and Methods: We conducted a case–control, observational study at a tertiary care hospital in North India. All cases and controls underwent lateral cephalometry and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for craniofacial and upper airway evaluation. Only the cases had polysomnography testing for confirmation of OSA and assessing the severity of disease. Results: Forty cases and an equal number of matched controls were recruited. On X‑ray cephalometry, it was observed that the cases had a significantly larger hyoid mandibular distance and soft palate length; and shorter mandibular length. The MRI cephalometric variables were significantly different, the soft palate length, tongue length, and submental fat were longer while the retropalatal and retroglossal distance was shorter amongst the cases. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between the cephalometric parameters and the indices of severity of OSA. An increased hyoid mandibular distance and soft palate length, and a decrease in the lower anterior facial height were found to be predictive of severe OSA (Apnea–Hypopnea Index –>30/h). An increased hyoid mandibular distance, soft palate length, and the tongue length and a reduced mandibular length were found to be predictive of need for continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) pressures of ≥15 cm H2O. There were significant differences between the cephalometric parameters of the Indian OSA patients and patients from other ethnicities reported in the literature. Conclusions: OSA patients had a significantly smaller upper airway compared to age‑, sex‑, and body mass index‑matched controls and cephalometric variables correlated with the indices of OSA severity. The cephalometric assessment was also predictive of severe OSA and the need for higher pressures of CPAP. This indicates the important role of upper airway anatomy in the pathogenesis of OSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Peripheral pulmonary lesions (PPLs) pose a diagnostic challenge, and the optimal investigation in many such cases remains unclear. Computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous needle biopsy (CT-PNB) has been the modality of choice for such lesions with a high diagnostic accuracy but with high rates of pneumothorax. Endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) with a radial probe is an alternate diagnostic modality with increased diagnostic yield of bronchoscopy in the evaluation of PPL. We conducted a randomized controlled trial comparing the diagnostic accuracy and complication rates of radial EBUS with CT-guided lung biopsy for the evaluation of PPL. Methods: Fifty patients with PPL surrounded by lung parenchyma on all sides were randomly assigned to either radial EBUS or CT-PNB group (25 each). Results: Both groups had similar clinicoradiologic characteristics. The diagnostic accuracy of radial EBUS was comparable to CT-PNB with no statistically significant difference (72 vs. 84%; P = 0.306). However, the yield was significantly lower in right upper lobe lesions (20% vs. 83.3%; P = 0.03). CT-PNB group had significantly higher pneumothorax rates than radial EBUS (20% vs. 0%; P = 0.03). The lesions that were more than 2 cm, those with ultrasound feature of continuous hyperechoic margin around the lesion (P = 0.007), and the position of the ultrasound probe within the lesion (P < 0.001) were associated with a higher diagnostic yield with radial EBUS. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that radial EBUS is a safer investigation than CT-PNB with a comparable diagnostic accuracy for PPL not abutting the chest wall (CTRI/2017/02/007762). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A case of 60-year-old male with acute pulmonary embolism without hypotension but signs of right ventricular dysfunction and elevated cardiac biomarkers is reported in this study. The patient comes under intermediate high-risk category and was successfully thrombolysed with alteplase infused through pulmonary artery catheter. Catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) can be considered as much safer and effective alternative to systemic thrombolysis in such patients with lower risk of bleeding. This novel bedside method of pulmonary artery CDT with the advantage of no radiation exposure and real time monitoring of pulmonary artery pressures as an end-point of thrombolysis can be utilized in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]