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A venobronchial fistula developed between the azygous vein and the upper aspect of the right main bronchus 12 months after completion of the treatment of a stage IIIB non-small-cell lung cancer in a 54-year-old man. The fistula contained the tip of the catheter placed for chemotherapy perfusion. The reported case presented risk factors previously identified for such a complication. In addition, some clinical particularities were present, suggesting new potent risk factors and some preventive means for safe long-term central venous catheterization. Copyright © 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Long-term outcome of patients treated for a spontaneous esophageal rupture (Boerhaave’s syndrome) is seldom reported. Methods: From 1989 to 2004, 62 esophageal perforations were treated in a single institution. Eighteen patients presented with a spontaneous esophageal rupture. Among them, 15 could be treated with a transthoracic primary repair and constituted the material of the present study. A chart review was performed with special attention to survival, residual symptoms, and anatomic and motility disorders. Results: Three patients died postoperatively (20%). At last follow-up, 10 patients were alive and 2 had died from unrelated causes. At a median delay of 13 months (3 to 74), 7 patients accepted to undergo complementary investigations. None of them had any anatomic abnormality as checked by barium swallow. Six patients complained of mild symptoms from gastroesophageal reflux. Six patients (85%) presented with esophageal motility disorders on manometry and 4 (54%) had nocturne chronic reflux disease on pH monitoring. Two patients underwent endoscopic ultrasonography, of which one presented with a focal absence of one layer of the esophageal wall within the area of the suture. With time, no patient experienced recurrence, but one developed a cancer in the cervical esophagus. Conclusions: These results suggest that esophageal functional disorders are the rule after primary repair of a Boerhaave’s syndrome. Whether or not these findings are causal, coincidental, or related to the surgical treatment remains unclear. However, performance of routine postoperative explorations is strongly encouraged for a better understanding of this challenging condition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: We sought to assess postoperative outcome after pneumonectomy after neoadjuvant therapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Methods: This retrospective study included 100 patients treated from January 1989 through December 2003 for a primary lung cancer in whom pneumonectomy had been performed after an induction treatment. Surgical intervention had not been considered initially for the following reasons: N2 disease (stage IIIA, n = 79), doubtful resectability (stage IIIB [T4, N0], n = 19), and M1 disease (stage IV [T2, N0, M1, solitary brain metastasis], n = 2). All patients received a 2-drug platinum-based regimen with a median of 2.5 cycles (range, 2–4 cycles), and 30 had associated radiotherapy (30–45 Gy). Results: There were 55 right and 45 left resections. Overall 30-day and 90-day mortality rates were 12% and 21%, respectively. At multivariate analysis, one inde- pendent prognostic factor entered the model to predict 30-day mortality: postoperative cardiovascular event (relative risk, 45.7; 95% confidence interval, 3.7–226.7; P = .001). Four variables predicted 90-day mortality: age of more than 60 years (relative risk, 5.06; 95% confidence interval, 1.47–17.48; P = .01), male sex (relative risk, 8.25; 95% confidence interval, 1.01–67.34; P = .049), postoperative respiratory event (relative risk, 3.64; 95% confidence interval, 1.14–9.37; P = .007), and postoperative cardiovascular event (relative risk, 7.84; 95% confidence interval, 3.12–19.71; P < .001). Estimated overall survivals in 90-day survivors were 35% (range, 29%-41%) and 25% (range, 19.3%-30.7%) at 3 and 5 years, respectively. At multivariate analysis, one independent prognostic factor entered the model: pathologic stage III-IV residual disease (relative risk, 1.89; 95% confidence interval, 1.09–3.26; P = .022). Conclusions: Pneumonectomy after induction therapy is a high-risk procedure, the survival benefit of which appears uncertain. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the clinical relevance of preoperative airway colonisation in patients undergoing oesophagectomy for cancer after a neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Methods: From 1998 to 2005, 117 patients received neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for advanced stage oesophageal cancer. Among them, 45 non-randomised patients underwent a bronchoscopic bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL group) prior to surgery to assess airways colonisation. The remaining patients (n =72) constituted the control group. The two groups were similar with respect to various clinical or pathological characteristics. Results: Thirteen of the 45 BAL patients (28%) had a preoperative bronchial colonisation by either potentially pathogenic micro-organisms (PPMs) (n =7, 16%) or non-potentially pathogenic micro-organisms (n =6, 13%). Cytomegalovirus (CMV) was cultured from BAL in four patients. Pre-emptive therapy was administrated in seven patients: four antiviral and three antibiotic prophylaxes. Postoperatively, 14 patients (19%) developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in the control group and three (7%) in the BAL group (p =0.064). The cause of ARDS was attributed to CMV pneumonia in six control group patients on the basis of the results of open lung biopsies (n =3) or BAL cultures (n =3) versus none of the BAL group patients (p =0.08). Timing for extubation was shorter in the BAL group (mean 13±3h) as compared with the control group (mean 19.5±14h; p =0.039). In-hospital mortality was not significantly lower in BAL group patients when compared to that of control group patients (8% vs 12.5%). Conclusions: Airway colonisation by PPMs after neoadjuvant therapy is suggested as a possible cause of postoperative ARDS after oesophagectomy. Pre-emptive treatment of bacterial and viral (CMV) colonisation seems an effective option to prevent postoperative pneumonia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]