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Purpose: Respiratory complications are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality after lung cancer surgery. We hypothesized that oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal decontamination with chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) would be an effective method to reduce these complications as reported in cardiac surgery., Methods: In this multicenter parallel-group randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial, we enrolled consecutive adults scheduled for anatomical pulmonary resection for lung cancer. Perioperative decontamination consisted in oropharyngeal rinse solution (0.12% CHG) and nasopharyngeal soap (4% CHG) or a placebo. The primary outcome measure was the proportion of patients requiring postoperative invasive and/or noninvasive mechanical ventilation (MV). Secondary outcome measures included occurrence of respiratory and non-respiratory healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and outcomes within 90 days., Results: Between July 2012 and April 2015, 474 patients were randomized. Of them, 24 had their surgical procedure cancelled or withdrew consent. The remaining 450 patients were included in a modified intention-to-treat analysis: 226 were allocated to CHG and 224 to the placebo. Proportions of patients requiring postoperative MV were not significantly different [CHG 14.2%; placebo 15.2%; relative risks (RRs) 0.93; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.59-1.45; P = 0.76]. Neither of the proportions of patients with respiratory HAIs were different (CHG 13.7%; placebo 12.9%; RRs 1.06; 95% CI 0.66-1.69; P = 0.81). The CHG group had significantly decreased incidence of bacteremia, surgical-site infection and overall Staphylococcus aureus infections. However, there were no significant between-group differences for hospital stay length, change in tracheal microbiota, postoperative antibiotic utilization and outcomes by day 90., Conclusions: CHG decontamination decreased neither MV requirements nor respiratory infections after lung cancer surgery. Additionally, CHG did not change tracheal microbiota or postoperative antibiotic utilization., Trial Registration: This study is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01613365.

Background: Histological subdivision into typical (TC) and atypical (AC) is crucial for treatment and prognosis of lung carcinoids but can be also very challenging, even for experts. In this study, we aimed to strengthen or reduce the prognostic value of several pathological, clinical, or per-operative factors some of which are still controversial., Methods: We retrospectively reviewed clinical records related to 195 patients affected by TC (159) or AC (36) surgically treated between 2000 and 2014, in three different centers. Survival and subtypes comparison analyses were performed to identify potential prognostic factors., Results: TCs showed a lower rate of nodal involvement than ACs (N0 = 94.9%; N1 = 1.9%; N2 = 3.2% in typical and N0 = 63.8%; N1 = 16.6%; N2 = 19.4% in atypical carcinoids, respectively, p < 0.0001). Long-term oncological results of resected carcinoids were significantly better in TCs than ACs with higher 5- and 10-year overall survival rates (97.2 and 88.2% vs. 77.9 and 68.2%, respectively; p = 0.001) and disease-free survival rates (98.2 and 90.3% in typical and 80.8 and 70.7% atypical carcinoids, respectively; p = 0.001). Risk factors analysis revealed that AC subtype [HR 4.33 (95% CI 1.72-8.03), p = 0.002], pathological nodal involvement [HR 3.05 (95% CI 1.77-5.26), p < 0.0001], and higher SUV max [HR 4.33 (95% CI 1.03-7.18), p = 0.002] were independently and pejoratively associated with overall survival. Factors associated with a higher risk of recurrence were AC subtype [HR 6.13 (95% CI 1.13-18.86), p = 0.002]; nodal involvement [HR 5.48 (95% CI 2.85-10.51), p < 0.0001]; higher Ki67 expression level [HR 1.09 (95% CI 1.01-1.20), p = 0.047]; and SUV max [HR 1.83 (95% CI 1.04-3.23), p = 0.035]., Conclusion: Surgery for lung carcinoids allows satisfactory oncological results which mainly depend on carcinoid subtype dichotomy, pathological nodal status, and SUV max .