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Background There are conflicting data regarding the diagnostic performance of chest CT for COVID-19 pneumonia. Disease extent at CT has been reported to influence prognosis. Purpose To create a large publicly available data set and assess the diagnostic and prognostic value of CT in COVID-19 pneumonia. Materials and Methods This multicenter, observational, retrospective cohort study involved 20 French university hospitals. Eligible patients presented at the emergency departments of the hospitals involved between March 1 and April 30th, 2020, and underwent both thoracic CT and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing for suspected COVID-19 pneumonia. CT images were read blinded to initial reports, RT-PCR, demographic characteristics, clinical symptoms, and outcome. Readers classified CT scans as either positive or negative for COVID-19 based on criteria published by the French Society of Radiology. Multivariable logistic regression was used to develop a model predicting severe outcome (intubation or death) at 1-month follow-up in patients positive for both RT-PCR and CT, using clinical and radiologic features. Results Among 10 930 patients screened for eligibility, 10 735 (median age, 65 years; interquartile range, 51-77 years; 6147 men) were included and 6448 (60%) had a positive RT-PCR result. With RT-PCR as reference, the sensitivity and specificity of CT were 80.2% (95% CI: 79.3, 81.2) and 79.7% (95% CI: 78.5, 80.9), respectively, with strong agreement between junior and senior radiologists (Gwet AC1 coefficient, 0.79). Of all the variables analyzed, the extent of pneumonia at CT (odds ratio, 3.25; 95% CI: 2.71, 3.89) was the best predictor of severe outcome at 1 month. A score based solely on clinical variables predicted a severe outcome with an area under the curve of 0.64 (95% CI: 0.62, 0.66), improving to 0.69 (95% CI: 0.6, 0.71) when it also included the extent of pneumonia and coronary calcium score at CT. Conclusion Using predefined criteria, CT reading is not influenced by reader's experience and helps predict the outcome at 1 month. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04355507 Published under a CC BY 4.0 license.

BackgroundThe long-term outcomes of adult pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis (PLCH), particularly survival, are largely unknown. Two earlier retrospective studies reported a high rate of mortality, which contrasts with our clinical experience.MethodsTo address this issue, all patients with newly diagnosed PLCH referred to the French national reference centre for histiocytoses between 2004 and 2018 were eligible for inclusion. The primary outcome was survival, which was defined as the time from inclusion to lung transplantation or death from any cause. Secondary outcomes included the cumulative incidences of chronic respiratory failure (CRF), pulmonary hypertension (PH), malignant diseases and extrapulmonary involvement in initially isolated PLCH. Survival was estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method.Results206 patients (mean age 39±13 years, 60% female, 95% current smokers) were prospectively followed for a median duration of 5.1 years (IQR 3.2–7.6 years). Of these, 12 patients (6%) died. The estimated rate of survival at 10 years was 93% (95% CI 89–97%). The cumulative incidences of CRF and/or PH were ConclusionThe long-term prognosis of PLCH is significantly more favourable than has previously been reported. Patients must be closely monitored after diagnosis to detect severe complications early.

International audience

Importance: Few data are available on patients with leptomeningeal disease (LM) from melanoma treated with new systemic therapies. Objective: To gain a better understanding of patients, disease characteristics, and therapeutic interventions in melanoma patients with LM in the era of new systemic treatment. Design: Clinical characteristics, treatments, and survival of melanoma patients diagnosed with LM, isolated or associated with brain metastases, were collected. The Cox regression model assessed the influence of patient and melanoma characteristics on survival. Setting: Monocentric, retrospective, real-life cohort of patients with LM from melanoma. Participants: All patients followed up at Saint-Louis University Hospital and diagnosed with LM between December 2013 and February 2020 were included. For each patient identified, a central review by dermato-oncologist and neuro-oncologist experts was performed to confirm the diagnosis of LM. Exposure: Impact of new systemic therapies and radiotherapy. Results: Among the 452 advanced melanoma patients followed at St Louis Hospital between 2013 and 2020, 41 patients with LM from melanoma were identified. Among them, 29 patients with a diagnosis of LM &ldquo, confirmed&rdquo, or &ldquo, probable&rdquo, after central neuro-oncologists reviewing were included. Nineteen patients had known melanoma brain metastases at LM diagnosis. Among the 27 patients treated with systemic therapy, 17 patients were treated with immunotherapy, 5 patients received targeted therapy, 1 was treated with chemotherapy, and 4 patients were treated with anti-PD-1 in combination with BRAF inhibitor. The median overall survival (OS) from LM diagnosis was 5.1 months. Median OS was 7.1 months for the 9 patients receiving systemic therapy combined with radiotherapy, and 3.2 months for the 20 patients not receiving combined radiotherapy. Elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (HR 1.44, 95% CI 1.09&ndash, 1.90, p &lt, 0.01) and presence of neurological symptoms at LM diagnosis (HR 2.96, 95% CI 1.25&ndash, 6.99, p = 0.01) were associated with poor survival. At the time of data analysis, five patients were still alive with a median follow-up of 47.4 months and had persistent complete response. Conclusion: Targeted therapy and immunotherapy are promising new treatment options in LM from melanoma that can increase overall survival, and may induce long lasting remission in some patients.

Background Confirming that subsolid adenocarcinomas show exponential growth is important because it would justify using volume doubling time to assess their growth. Purpose To test whether the growth of lung adenocarcinomas manifesting as subsolid nodules at chest CT is accurately represented by an exponential model. Materials and Methods Patients with lung adenocarcinomas manifesting as subsolid nodules surgically resected between January 2005 and May 2018, with three or more longitudinal CT examinations before resection, were retrospectively included. Overall volume (for all nodules) and solid component volume (for part-solid nodules) were measured over time. A linear mixed-effects model was used to identify the growth pattern (linear, exponential, quadratic, or power law) that best represented growth. The interactions between nodule growth and clinical, CT morphologic, and pathologic parameters were studied. Results Sixty-nine patients (mean age, 70 years ± 9 [standard deviation]; 48 women) with 74 lung adenocarcinomas were evaluated. Overall growth and solid component growth were better represented by an exponential model (adjusted

To compare BI-RADS classification, management, and outcome of nonpalpable breast lesions assessed both by community practices and by a multidisciplinary tumor board (MTB) at a breast unit. All nonpalpable lesions that were first assigned a BI-RADS score by community practices and then reassessed by an MTB at a single breast unit from 2009 to 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Inter-review agreement was assessed with Cohen’s kappa statistic. Changes in biopsy recommendation were calculated. The percentage of additional tumor lesions detected by the MTB was obtained. The sensitivity, AUC, and cancer rates for BI-RADS category 3, 4, and 5 lesions were computed for both reviews. A total of 1909 nonpalpable lesions in 1732 patients were included. For BI-RADS scores in the whole cohort, a fair agreement was found (κ = 0.40 [0.36–0.45]) between the two reviews. Agreement was higher when considering only mammography combined with ultrasound (κ = 0.53 [0.44–0.62]), masses (κ = 0.50 [0.44–0.56]), and architectural distortion (κ = 0.44 [0.11–0.78]). Changes in biopsy recommendation occurred in 589 cases (31%). Ninety of 345 additional biopsies revealed high-risk or malignant lesions. Overall, the MTB identified 27% additional high-risk and malignant lesions compared to community practices. The BI-RADS classification AUCs for detecting malignant lesions were 0.66 (0.63–0.69) for community practices and 0.76 (0.75–0.78) for the MTB (p

The purpose of this study is to describe the management and outcome of critically ill cancer patients with Superior Vena Cava Syndrome (SVCS). All cancer patients admitted to the medical intensive care unit (ICU) of the Saint-Louis University Hospital for a SVCS between January 2004 and December 2016 were included. Of the 50 patients included in the study, obstruction of the superior vena cava was partial in two-thirds of the cases and complete in one-third. Pleural effusion was reported in two-thirds of the patients, pulmonary atelectasis in 16 (32%), and pulmonary embolism in five (10%). Computed tomography of the chest showed upper airway compression in 18 (36%) cases, while echocardiography revealed 22 (44%) pericardial effusions. The causes of SVCS were diagnosed one (0–3) day after ICU admission, using interventional radiology procedures in 70% of the cases. Thirty (60%) patients had hematological malignancies, and 20 (40%) had solid tumors. Fifteen (30%) patients required invasive mechanical ventilation, seven (14%) received vasopressors, and renal replacement therapy was implemented in three (6%). ICU, in-hospital, and 6-month mortality rates were 20, 26, and 48%, respectively. The cause of SVCS was the only factor independently associated with day 180 mortality by multivariate analysis. Patients with hematological malignancies had a lower mortality than those with solid tumors (27 versus 80%) (odds ratio 0.12, 95% confidence interval (0.02–0.60), p

The aim of this study was to develop and test multiclass predictive models for assessing the invasiveness of individual lung adenocarcinomas presenting as subsolid nodules on computed tomography (CT). 227 lung adenocarcinomas were included: 31 atypical adenomatous hyperplasia and adenocarcinomas in situ (class H1), 64 minimally invasive adenocarcinomas (class H2) and 132 invasive adenocarcinomas (class H3). Nodules were segmented, and geometric and CT attenuation features including functional principal component analysis features (FPC1 and FPC2) were extracted. After a feature selection step, two predictive models were built with ordinal regression: Model 1 based on volume (log) (logarithm of the nodule volume) and FPC1, and Model 2 based on volume (log) and Q.875 (CT attenuation value at the 87.5% percentile). Using the 200-repeats Monte-Carlo cross-validation method, these models provided a multiclass classification of invasiveness with discriminative power AUCs of 0.83 to 0.87 and predicted the class probabilities with less than a 10% average error. The predictive modelling approach adopted in this paper provides a detailed insight on how the value of the main predictors contribute to the probability of nodule invasiveness and underlines the role of nodule CT attenuation features in the nodule invasiveness classification.

Background Pneumothorax may recur during pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis (PLCH) patients’ follow-up and its management is not standardised. The factors associated with pneumothorax recurrence are unknown. Methods In this retrospective study, PLCH patients who experienced a pneumothorax and were followed for at least 6 months after the first episode were eligible. The objectives were to describe the treatment of the initial episode and pneumothorax recurrences during follow-up. We also searched for factors associated with pneumothorax recurrence and evaluated the effect on lung function outcome. Time to recurrence was estimated by the Kaplan Meier method and the cumulative hazard of recurrence handling all recurrent events was estimated. Univariate Cox models and Andersen-Gill counting process were used for statistical analyses. Results Fourty-three patients (median age 26.5 years [interquartile range (IQR), 22.9–35.4]; 26 men, 39 current smokers) were included and followed for median time of 49 months. Chest tube drainage was the main management of the initial pneumothorax, which resolved in 70% of cases. Pneumothorax recurred in 23 (53%) patients, and overall 96 pneumothoraces were observed during the study period. In the subgroup of patients who experienced pneumothorax recurrence, the median number of episodes per patient was 3 [IQR, 2–4]. All but one recurrence occurred within 2 years after the first episode. Thoracic surgery neither delayed the time of occurrence of the first ipsilateral recurrence nor reduced the overall number of recurrences during the study period, although the rate of recurrence was lower after thoracotomy than following video-assisted thoracic surgery (p = 0.03). At the time of the first pneumothorax, the presence of air trapping on lung function testing was associated with increased risk of recurrence (hazard ratio = 5.08; 95% confidence interval [1.18, 21.8]; p = 0.03). Pneumothorax recurrence did not predict subsequent lung function decline (p = 0.058). Conclusions Our results show that pneumothorax recurrences occur during an “active” phase of PLCH. In this observational study, the time of occurrence of the first ipsilateral recurrence and the overall number of pneumothorax recurrences were similar after conservative and thoracic surgical treatments. Further studies are needed to determine the best management to reduce the risk of pneumothorax recurrence in PLCH patients.

Background Tumor spread through air spaces (STAS), a significant prognostic indicator, has been described recently as a pattern of invasion in pulmonary carcinomas. However, questions remain regarding preoperative identification of STAS and whether it represents an in vivo phenomenon versus an ex vivo artifact. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 67 paired preoperative bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) or bronchial washing (BW) cytology specimens with the subsequent lung adenocarcinoma surgical resection specimen to determine whether preoperative cytology could predict STAS. Other clinical, radiologic, and pathologic features of the resected lesions were also correlated with preoperative bronchial cytology results. Results Positive bronchial cytology was observed in 28 cases (41.8%), 24 of which had STAS (85.7%); however, negative BAL/BW cytology was observed in 39 cases (58.2%), 29 of which had STAS (74.4%) (x2 = 1.27, P = .26, not significant). High-STAS burden was observed in 44 cases (83.0%), 21 (47.7%) with negative BAL/BW and 23 (52.3%) with positive BAL/BW. Low-STAS burden was observed in 9 cases (17.0%), 8 (88.9%) with negative BAL/BW and only 1 (11.1%) with positive BAL/BW (x2 = 5.11, P = .024, significant). For tumors with STAS, a statistically significant difference was identified in the maximal STAS distance from the main tumor edge between BAL/BW-positive and BAL/BW-negative groups (P = .007). Of the remaining clinicopathologic and radiologic features, only visceral pleural invasion was significantly associated with BAL/BW positivity. Conclusion Presurgical bronchial cytology alone cannot adequately predict tumor STAS; however, it may provide useful information regarding the extent and overall burden of STAS on the subsequent resection specimen.

Lower-respiratory-tract (LRT) amyloidosis has rarely been investigated. Our study presents characteristics, outcomes and survival of LRT amyloidosis. This multicenter retrospective study, from 1995 to 2017, included 73 patients with amyloidosis and LRT involvement. Respiratory patterns were: tracheobronchial (n = 17), nodular (n = 10), interstitial (n = 14) or composite (several respiratory involvements, n = 32). Interstitial and composite patterns were associated with multi-organ amyloidosis (n = 37, 80%) while tracheobronchial and nodular patterns were associated with organ-limited amyloidosis (n = 21, 78%). Amyloid light chain (AL) amyloidosis was diagnosed in 43 patients (59%), mainly of lambda type (n = 33, 77%). Smokers' proportion was higher in tracheobronchial (71%) and nodular (90%) patterns than in interstitial (14%) and composite (34%) patterns. The B-cell neoplasms involved 15 patients (21%), solid neoplasms 8 (11%), connective tissue diseases 8 (11%) and multiple myeloma 6 (8%). The B-cell and solid neoplasms were most prevalent in nodular pattern. Median follow-up was 4.4 years (2.2-8.9). Twenty-four patients died, mostly from respiratory infection. Survival at 1, 5, 10 years was respectively 88%, 70% and 54% for multi-organ amyloidosis, 96%, 89% and 69% for organ-limited amyloidosis (P = .125). Tracheobronchial and nodular patterns survival was better than in other respiratory patterns (P = .039). Death risk factors (multivariate analysis) were: cardiac localization (hazard-ratio [HR] 4.3 [95% confidence interval 1.6-11.5]; P = .004), age (HR 2.1 [1.2-3.7]; P = .008) and dyspnea at diagnosis (HR 4.0 [1.3-12.3]; P = .014). Various LRT amyloidosis patterns depend on smoking habits, organ-limited or multi-organ extension and comorbidities. They are associated with a different survival, which is also predicted by age, cardiac localization and dyspnea at presentation.

Background: Pneumothorax (PNO) is a salient complication of PLCH, which management is not standardized. The factors associated with PNO recurrence are poorly understood. Objectives: To determine PNO outcome after thoracic surgery and search for factors associated with the risk of recurrence. Methods: All PLCH patients ≥18 years with ≥1PNO between 11/2003 and 12/2015 of the database of the National Registry for histiocytoses and followed ≥6 months were retrospectively studied. Kaplan Meier method and univariate Cox models were used for statistical analyses. Results: Among the 43 patients included (39 smokers), 53% presented at least 1 PNO recurrence during a 49 months median time (53 additional episodes, 75% ipsilateral, all within 2 years). Thoracic surgery did not modify the risk of PNO recurrence, as compared to conservative treatment (p=0.96). However, the rate of recurrences was lower after thoracotomy (TCT), as compared to video-assisted thoracoscopy (VATS) (p=0.03). In the univariate analyses, lung function air trapping at diagnosis was associated with increased hazard of PNO recurrence (p=0.03). Patients whose LCH lesion harboured the BRAFV600E mutation had a lower rate of ipsilateral recurrences (p=0.019). When incorporating all ipsilateral recurrences, VATS was associated with increased hazard of subsequent recurrence (p=0.05). Conclusions: Surgery did not decrease the risk of PNO recurrence in PLCH. Thus, no particular treatment can be recommended for the first PNO in PLCH patients. In case of recurrence, TCT which appears more effective than VATS to prevent subsequent recurrence, should be privileged. The reduced risk of PNO recurrence associated with the presence of BRAFV600E mutation needs to be confirmed.

To the editor: Langerhans cell sarcoma (LCS) is a rare histiocytic neoplasm with overt malignant cytological features and an aggressive clinical course.[1][1] Disseminated LCS carries a poor prognosis.[1][1] We report a case of a metastatic BRAF V600E -mutated LCS that dramatically improved after

To investigate the diagnostic value of ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy (US-CNB) in suspected cases of lymph node metastasis from cutaneous melanoma. All patients with cutaneous melanoma followed in Saint-Louis Hospital between 2006 and 2010 who underwent US-CNB for suspicion of melanoma lymph node metastasis were reviewed retrospectively. Histopathological results of US-CNB samples were classified as melanoma, other malignancy, suspicious, inadequate, or benign. The diagnostic accuracy of US-CNB was assessed by comparison with two reference standards: histopathological examination of the radical lymph node dissection or, when this was not available, clinical and radiological follow-up. The data from 72 US-CNB were analyzed. Forty-four melanomas, 22 benign, three other malignancies, three inadequate samples, and no inconclusive specimens were diagnosed. Seventy-one US-CNB results were confirmed (98.6%). US-CNB achieved high sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value (respectively, 97.9, 100, and 100%). No adverse events were reported after the procedure. US-CNB provided a mean tissue volume of 16.7 mm per lymphadenopathy. US-CNB has diagnostic value similar to that of fine-needle aspiration cytology. It represents a reliable alternative method in melanoma lymph node metastasis to avoid surgery in patients who will not benefit from it. US-CNB provides relatively large samples of tissue suitable for comprehensive genomic analyses currently needed for research and personalized care of melanoma patients.

PURPOSE Mediastinal masses of various origins can be encountered on imaging in symptomatic or asymptomatic patients. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic yield and complication rate of computed tomography (CT)-guided mediastinal core needle biopsies in a large population of patients presenting with mediastinal masses and to identify the factors that could influence these results. MATERIALS AND METHODS In total, 293 consecutive CT-guided mediastinal biopsies, performed in 285 patients with equivocal masses at a single center from 2006 to 2011, were included. Lesion characteristics, technical biopsy parameters, final diagnoses, diagnostic yields (number of biopsies that yielded a complete diagnosis divided by the total number of biopsies), and complication rates were recorded. RESULTS Malignant diagnoses, including lymphoproliferative disorders (N=151, 53%) and lung cancers (N=54, 19%), were established in 233 cases (82%). Benign lesions were found in 52 procedures (18%), including sarcoidosis (N=19, 7%) and infections (N=17, 6%). The overall diagnostic yield was 87% and was lower for lymphoma residual masses (57%) than for initial diagnosis or relapses of known disease (90%). Complications occurred in 21 patients (7%), but only 2 patients (0.7%) required hospitalization for >12 hours. Neither the diagnostic yield nor the complication rate was influenced by the target characteristics or by technical parameters. CONCLUSIONS CT-guided core needle biopsy of equivocal mediastinal masses is a minimally invasive procedure that is effective and safe, even in cases of small targets or targets in challenging locations.

Epidemiological data on late-onset noninfectious pulmonary complications (LONIPCs) following allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) are derived exclusively from retrospective studies and are conflicting. We aimed to evaluate prospectively the incidence, risk factors and outcomes for LONIPCs.All consecutive patients scheduled to receive allogeneic HSCT between 2006 and 2008 at a university teaching hospital in France were screened for inclusion in the study. Eligible patients were those surviving at day 100. Among 243 screened patients, 198 patients were included in the analysis. The median (interquartile range) follow-up was 72.3 (15.2–88.5) months. 55 LONIPCs were diagnosed in 43 patients. Bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (n=22) and interstitial lung disease (n=12) were the most common LONIPCs. At 36 months after inclusion, the estimated cumulative incidence of LONIPCs was 19.8% (95% CI 14.2–25.3%). The estimated median survival after the diagnosis of LONIPCs was 78.5 months (95% CI 20.0–not reached). Based on a multivariate Cox model, a history of chest irradiation anytime prior to HSCT, a history of pneumonia within 100 days post-HSCT and a low mean forced expiratory flow at 25–75% of forced vital capacity at day 100 were associated with the development of LONIPCs.Our data provide clues to identify patients at high risk of developing LONIPCs. These patients should be targeted for close monitoring to provide earlier LONIPC treatment or prophylactic treatment.

International audience; Background - An important objective on diagnosis of patients with Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is to determine the extent of disease. However, whether systematic extrathoracic investigation is needed in adult patients with clinically isolated pulmonary LCH (PLCH) has not been evaluated. Methods - In this prospective, multicentre study, 54 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed clinically isolated PLCH were systematically evaluated at inclusion by bone imaging and blood laboratory testing to search for subclinical extrapulmonary LCH involvement. The patients were followed over a 2-year period. At each visit, they were asked about the presence of extrapulmonary manifestations of LCH. Results - In the absence of bone symptoms, the skeletal X-ray survey results were normal for all but two patients who had a localised bone lesion consistent with possible LCH involvement, that remained unchanged over 2 years of follow-up. Whole-body bone scintigraphy did not add information to the plain radiography findings for the detection of asymptomatic bone involvement in isolated PLCH. Conversely, it showed nonspecific focal bone uptake in 18% of the patients, mainly corresponding to post-traumatic or degenerative abnormalities unrelated to LCH. Mild leucocytosis due to neutrophilia was observed in 22% of the patients and was not related to their smoking habits. Three patients had mild isolated lymphocytosis without haematological disease, whereas two patients had mild lymphopaenia. A mild inflammatory biological syndrome was observed in a minority of patients without infection or constitutional symptoms and was not associated with progressive disease. A substantial proportion (24.5%) of the patients had abnormal biological liver test results, including elevated liver enzymes and/or cholestasis, which were not linked to LCH involvement in this cohort. Conclusions - Obtaining a thorough history and performing comprehensive physical examination are essential for staging patients diagnosed with PLCH. In the absence of symptoms or signs suggestive of extrapulmonary LCH involvement, the systematic performing of recommended bone imaging does not appear informative. Although the observed blood laboratory abnormalities were not specifically related to LCH, performing these tests in the diagnostic workup for PLCH is useful because some of these alterations may impact patient management. Trial registration - ClinicalTrials.gov: No. NCT01225601; URL: www.clinicaltrials.gov.

Background and Purpose— The extent of diffusion lesion on pretreatment imaging is a risk factor for poor outcome and hemorrhagic transformation after thrombolysis, and volumes of 70 to 100 mL have been advocated as cut-offs. However, estimating diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) lesion volume (Vol DWI ) in the acute setting may be cumbersome. We aimed to determine whether the DWI-Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (DWI-ASPECTS) can substitute for Vol DWI . Methods— DWI-ASPECTS and Vol DWI were measured retrospectively on pretreatment MRI (median onset-to-MRI delay=122 minutes) in 330 consecutively treated patients with middle cerebral artery stroke. Results— DWI-ASPECTS and Vol DWI were strongly correlated (ρ=−0.82), but each DWI-ASPECTS point corresponded to a wide range of Vol DWI . All patients with DWI-ASPECTS ≥7 (n=207) had Vol DWI DWI >100 mL. However, intermediate DWI-ASPECTS (4–6; n=89) corresponded to highly variable Vol DWI (median, 66 mL; interquartile range, 40–98). Conclusions— Although each DWI-ASPECTS point corresponds to a wide range of volumes, DWI-ASPECTS DWI >100 or

Joint Bone Spine - In Press.Proof corrected by the author Available online since vendredi 19 septembre 2014