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The design and implementation inconsistency of perioperative care programs limits their universalization, and it is where e-Health can standardize these processes. The objective of the study is to create a Smartphone App with a perioperative care program, implement it in a group of patients scheduled for a thoracic surgical procedure, and evaluates its use.A prospective and descriptive study. We created a Smartphone app (Fissios App) which contains 40 perioperative recommendations and 10 chest physical exercises. Patients were recommended to use it before and after surgery; to measure its use, we created and applied a questionnaire. A descriptive analysis of patient variables and questionnaire responses was performed and their association evaluated.One hundred four patients were included, 60.3% were men with a median age of 62 years (51-71), and 26.72% had completed high school. The 89.3% of patients highlighted the ease of downloading and setting up the app. More than 90% of patients positively assessed clarity in explaining chest physical exercises and perioperative recommendations. One hundred four (79.4%) patients highlighted the contribution of the use of the app during the preoperative period to face the postoperative period.We created a Smartphone app (Fissios App) with a perioperative care program and it was successfully implemented regardless of the age or educational level of patients. The tool clearly explains the information contained and the patients reported that its use before surgery helped them to face the postoperative period, with an appropriate level of physical demand and time of use.

To study the impact of neoadjuvant therapies on postoperative complications and mortality among non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients subjected to anatomic lung resection and included in the Spanish cohort of the video-assisted thoracic surgery (GE-VATS) multicenter database.The study included a total of 3085 patients from 33 centers between December 2016 and March 2018. We performed a comparative analysis of the complications and mortality in patients who received neoadjuvant therapies (n = 263) versus those who did not (n = 2822). A propensity score-matched analysis was used to adjust for potential confounders. Association between exposure in two groups and outcomes were estimated by logistic regression weighted by inverse of probability of receiving the treatment that actually received.In the unadjusted analysis, the chemotherapy (CT) and chemoradiotherapy (CRT) group presented a higher frequency of ICU readmissions, reinterventions, empyema, cardiovascular complications, a greater frequency of atrial fibrillation, and an increased need for blood product transfusions. In the adjusted group, CT and CRT patients had a higher rate of cardiovascular complications (CT p = 0.002; OR 2.29; 95% CI 1.34-3.94 and CRT p = 0.001; OR 2.90; 95% CI 1.52-5-52), arrhythmias (CT p = 0.013; OR 2.23; 95% CI 1.18-4.20 and CRT p = 0.046; OR 2.22; 95% CI 1.01-4.90) and transfussions (CT p = 0.042; OR 2.95; 95% CI 1.04-8.35 and CRT p 0.001; OR 7.74; 95% CI 3.01-19-92).Based on our series, neoadjuvant CT and CRT were associated with a higher rate of cardiovascular complications, arrhythmias and transfussions in patients with NSCLC subjected to anatomic lung resection.

Objectives (a) to evaluate and compare the psychological treatment needs of patients with cancer and non-cancer, who are going to undergo scheduled thoracic surgery, and (b) evaluate and compare the diagnostic accuracy of the screening tests of psychological treatment needs for cancer and non-cancer patients. Method The need for psychological treatment was evaluated in a total of 169 patients prior to thoracic surgery, through a clinical interview. The screening tests used were: the physician's judgment (yes/no), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and, the single-item interview to assess depression “Do you feel depressed?” (DEPQ). Results The number of patients who needed psychological treatment in the total sample was 47 (27.81%), in non-cancer-patients: 22 (30.99%) and in cancer patients: 25 (25.51%). The participants with treatment needs were more often young women with primary education levels, with more fears and concerns regarding their disease. With respect to the screening tests, the HADS-T (cut-off point ≥13) obtained a sensitivity (SE) of 0.75 and Specificity (SP) of 0.81 in the total sample. In patients with cancer, the HADS total score (cut-off point ≥10) obtained an SE = 0.84 and SP = 0.80, and, in non-cancer patients, the HADS total score (cut-off point ≥13) showed an SE = 0.59 and SP = 0.84. The DEPQ and the physician's judgment did not achieve adequate levels of precision. Conclusions A high percentage of patients have psychological treatment needs before performing thoracic surgery, which are similar for cancer and non-cancer patients. Preoperative detection of patients who need psychological intervention is feasible with a simple screening test: HADS, which achieves greater precision in cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: The Spanish Customized Adjuvant Therapy (SCAT) trial assessed the role of individualized adjuvant therapy in clinical N0 incidental pN1 and/or N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) completely resected. We assessed surgical topics with an in-depth analysis of quality of lymphadenectomy based on International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) recommendations. METHODS: Patients with information about lymphadenectomy available were included (N=451). Prospectively collected data about tumor, type of resection, and postoperative morbidity and quality of lymph node dissection (LND) were retrospectively evaluated. Role of lymph node assessment on survival was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier curves, using regression models to identify prognostic factors. RESULTS: In 33.7%, 17.7% and 49.9% of cases, regions 7, 10 and 11 respectively were not assessed. In 21.1% of patients, less than three lymph node regions were biopsied, while in 19.6% of patients less than six lymph nodes were assessed. In 53,4% of patients only one N1 region was evaluated. From patients with positive N2, 8.9% had no N1 regions biopsied. Twenty-nine percent of patients with at least one N2 lymph node resected shown the highest region involved. Thirty-day postoperative mortality was unknown. Five-year overall survival (OS) was 61.7% (95% CI: 55.4–67.4%), 51.5% (95% CI: 39.2–62.4%) and 42.3% (95% CI: 32.1–52.2%) for patients with N1, N2 and N1+N2 disease, respectively (P

In this manuscript, we briefly report on the Spanish health care system and the current situation of Thoracic Surgery in the country. Our surgical speciality is approached in terms of national spread of thoracic units, education, technological development, and other relevant aspects. Thoracic Surgery national workforce is also reviewed and compared to sister specialities. Prospects and authors' recommendations for development are included. Total cost of public health care expenditure in Spain represents 9% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and the National Health System is included in the top ten more efficient systems in the World. Thoracic Surgery in Spain is an independent medical speciality. The access to training in accredited hospitals is uniformly regulated all around the country and represents the official and only route to certified medical specialization. 0.5 certified specialists in Thoracic Surgery per 100,000 habitants are working in the country, half of them being female in the age subset of 30-39. Currently, more than half of all anatomical resection in the country are performed via VATS. Seven centres are currently accredited by the Ministry of Health for lung transplantation, and the current rate of lung transplants is 7.1 per million of population. To note is the success of the non-heart-beating donors program developed in recent years. Three national professional and scientific societies are gathering most Spanish thoracic surgeons and promoting cooperative multidisciplinary studies on lung cancer and surgical techniques such are video-assisted and robotic lung resection. Implementing a national database of thoracic surgical procedures would be advisable to promote continuous clinical quality improvements.

OBJECTIVES There is a wide variety of predictive models of postoperative risk, although some of them are specific to thoracic surgery, none of them is widely used. The European Society for Thoracic Surgery has recently updated its models of cardiopulmonary morbidity (Eurolung 1) and 30-day mortality (Eurolung 2) after anatomic lung resection. The aim of our work is to carry out the external validation of both models in a multicentre national database. METHODS External validation of Eurolung 1 and Eurolung 2 was evaluated through calibration (calibration plot, Brier score and Hosmer–Lemeshow test) and discrimination [area under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC ROC)], on a national multicentre database of 2858 patients undergoing anatomic lung resection between 2016 and 2018. RESULTS For Eurolung 1, calibration plot showed suboptimal overlapping (slope = 0.921) and a Hosmer–Lemeshow test and Brier score of P = 0.353 and 0.104, respectively. In terms of discrimination, AUC ROC for Eurolung 1 was 0.653 (95% confidence interval, 0.623–0.684). In contrast, Eurolung 2 showed a good calibration (slope = 1.038) and a Hosmer–Lemeshow test and Brier score of P = 0.234 and 0.020, respectively. AUC ROC for Eurolung 2 was 0.760 (95% confidence interval, 0.701–0.819). CONCLUSIONS Thirty-day mortality score (Eurolung 2) seems to be transportable to other anatomic lung-resected patients. On the other hand, postoperative cardiopulmonary morbidity score (Eurolung 1) seems not to have sufficient generalizability for new patients.

Introduction The aim of the present study was to examine the diagnostic accuracy of screening tests in detecting cases requiring psychological intervention among patients referred for thoracic surgery. Methods Emotional distress was evaluated in 105 patients referred for thoracic surgery by means of a diagnostic psychological interview (criterion variable). The screening ability of the following methods was analyzed: the physician's opinion (Yes/No), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), single-item interview: “Are you depressed?” (Depression Question, ADEP) (1–5) and the single-item interview: “Are you anxious?” (Anxiety Question, ANXQ) (1–5). Results According to the clinical interview, 34% of the patients were clinical cases requiring psychological intervention. The total HADS (cut-off point of 10) showed a sensitivity=0.89, specificity=0.75 and AUC=0.883; the ADEP scale (>1) showed a sensitivity=0.79, specificity=0.74 and AUC=0.795; the ANXQ scale (>1) showed a sensitivity=0.78, specificity=0.41 and AUC=0.690; and the physician's opinion showed a sensitivity=0.47 and specificity=0.86. Conclusions A high percentage of patients referred for thoracic surgery required psychological intervention. The best instrument to identify those patients requiring psychological care, taking a psychological interview as the criterion variable, was the total HADS score. This test is brief, simple and well accepted by patients; it is easy to implement within a thoracic surgery service and has a good diagnostic accuracy.

Resumen Introduccion El objetivo del presente estudio es examinar la precision diagnostica de los test de cribado utilizados para detectar la necesidad de atencion psicologica en pacientes remitidos para cirugia toracica. Metodos Se evaluo la presencia de malestar emocional en un total de 105 pacientes remitidos para cirugia toracica por medio de la entrevista clinica psicologica (variable criterio). Los metodos de cribado utilizados fueron: el juicio del medico (si/no), la Escala Hospitalaria de Ansiedad y Depresion (HADS), la pregunta unica para evaluar depresion «?se siente usted deprimido?» (ADEP) (1-5) y la pregunta unica para medir ansiedad «?se siente ansioso?» (AANA) (1-5). Resultados De acuerdo con la entrevista entrevista clinica psicologica, el 34% de los pacientes fueron casos clinicos que requerian intervencion psicologica. La puntuacion total de la escala HADS (punto de corte 10) mostro una sensibilidad del 0,89, especificidad del 0,75 y un ABC de 0,883; la ADEP (punto de corte 1) mostro una sensibilidad del 0,79, especificidad del 0,74 y ABC del 0,795; la AANS (>1) obtuvo una sensibilidad del 0,78, especificidad del 0,41 y ABC de 0,69 y el juicio del medico mostro una sensibilidad del 0,47 y especificidad del 0,86. Conclusiones Un alto porcentaje de pacientes remitidos para cirugia toracica requirieron intervencion psicologica. El mejor instrumento para identificar a aquellos pacientes con necesidades psicologicas, tomando la entrevista psicologica como variable criterio, fue la puntuacion total del HADS. Este instrumento es simple y breve, bien aceptado por los pacientes, de facil aplicacion en un servicio de cirugia toracica y tiene buena capacidad diagnostica.

Simple Summary After the first wave of COVID-19, the Spanish Society of Thoracic Surgeons (SECT) surveyed its members to assess the impact of the pandemic on thoracic oncology surgery in one of the counties most affected by the virus. In May 2020, all SECT members were invited to complete a 40-item, multiple choice questionnaire by e-mail. The response rate was 19.0%. Surgical activity decreased by 95.7%, with 41.5% of centers performing surgery only in oncologic cases and 11.7% only in emergencies. More than half (56%) of multidisciplinary tumour board meetings (56%) were cancelled or conducted online. Standard protocols for early-stage disease were modified in 62.9% of centers. The results of this survey show that the COVID-19 pandemic severely limited thoracic oncology surgery activity. Here we describe and discuss the impact of the pandemic on thoracic surgery in Spain. Abstract After the first wave of COVID-19, the Spanish Society of Thoracic Surgeons (SECT) surveyed its members to assess the impact of the pandemic on thoracic oncology surgery in Spain. In May 2020, all SECT members were invited to complete an online, 40-item, multiple choice questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed by the SECT Scientific Committee and sent via email. The overall response rate was 19.2%. The respondents answered at least 91.5% of the items, with only one exception (a question about residents). Most respondents (89.3%) worked in public hospitals. The reported impact of the pandemic on routine clinical activity was considered extreme or severe by 75.5% of respondents (25.5% and 50%, respectively). Multidisciplinary tumour boards were held either with fewer members attending or through electronic platforms (44.6% and 35.9%, respectively). Surgical activity decreased by 95.7%, with 41.5% of centers performing surgery only on oncological patients and 11.7% only in emergencies. Nearly 60% of respondents reported modifying standard protocols for early-stage cancer and in the preoperative workup. Most centers (≈80%) reported using full personal protective equipment when operating on COVID-19 positive patients. The COVID-19 pandemic severely affected thoracic oncology surgery in Spain. The lack of common protocols led to a variable care delivery to lung cancer patients.

Resumen Introduccion El objetivo es obtener un modelo predictor de riesgo quirurgico en pacientes sometidos a resecciones pulmonares anatomicas a partir del registro del Grupo Espanol de Cirugia Toracica Videoasistida. Metodos Se recogen datos de 3.533 pacientes sometidos a reseccion pulmonar anatomica por cualquier diagnostico entre el 20 de diciembre de 2016 y el 20 de marzo de 2018. Definimos una variable resultado combinada: mortalidad o complicacion Clavien Dindo IV a 90 dias tras intervencion quirurgica. Se realizo analisis univariable y multivariable por regresion logistica. La validacion interna del modelo se llevo a cabo por tecnicas de remuestreo. Resultados La incidencia de la variable resultado fue del 4,29% (IC 95%: 3,6-4,9). Las variables que permanecen en el modelo logistico final fueron: edad, sexo, reseccion pulmonar oncologica previa, disnea (mMRC), neumonectomia derecha y DLCOppo. Los parametros de rendimiento del modelo, ajustados por remuestreo, fueron: C-statistic 0,712 (IC 95%: 0,648-0,750), Brier score 0,042 y Booststrap shrinkage 0,854. Conclusiones El modelo predictivo de riesgo obtenido a partir de la base de datos Grupo Espanol de Cirugia Toracica Videoasistida es un modelo sencillo, valido y fiable, y constituye una herramienta muy util a la hora de establecer el riesgo de un paciente que se va a someter a una reseccion pulmonar anatomica.

8501 Background: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is incurable in most patients with locally advanced stage IIIA disease. Previous results indicate that the use of neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy could increase the percentage of cured patients being a promising therapeutic option that has to be tested in randomized clinical trials. Methods: NADIM II (NCT03838159) is an open-label, randomized, two-arm, phase II, multi-center clinical trial. Patients with resectable clinical stage IIIA (per AJCC 7th ed) NSCLC, ECOG PS 0-1, and no known EGFR/ALK alterations were randomized to receive Nivolumab (NIVO) 360mg + Paclitaxel 200mg/m2 + Carboplatin AUC5 for 3 cycles every 21 days (+/- 3 days) as neoadjuvant treatment followed by surgery, or Paclitaxel 200mg/m2 + Carboplatin AUC5 for 3 cycles every 21 days (+/- 3 days) followed by surgery. Patients with R0 resection confirmed by pathological evaluation initiated adjuvant administration of NIVO within the 3rd to 8th week (+7 days) from surgery and for 6 months. The primary endpoint was pathological complete response (pCR) by blinded independent pathological review (BIPR) in the intent-to-treat population (ITT). pCR was defined as 0% viable tumor cells in resected lung and lymph nodes; patients who did not undergo surgery were classified as non-responders. Major pathological response (MPR; ≤ 10% viable tumor) per BIPR, overall response rate (ORR), toxicity profile, and potential predictive biomarkers are secondary endpoints. Results: Between February 8, 2019, and November 11, 2021, 90 patients were enrolled, of whom 87 patients were valid. Neoadjuvant NIVO + chemo significantly increased the pCR rate compared to chemo in the ITT (36.2% vs 6.8%; Relative Risk (RR) 5.25 [99% CI 1.32-20.87]; P = 0.0071). NIVO + chemo also improved MPR rates vs chemo in the ITT (52 % vs 14 %), as well as ORR (74 % vs 48%). Definitive surgery occurred for 91% of pts treated with NIVO + chemo and 69% with chemo; surgery was cancelled rarely due to AEs (1 pts/experimental arm) and due to disease progression in 1 and 4 pts in the experimental and control arm respectively. Grade 3-4-related AEs were reported in 24 % vs 10% in the NIVO + chemo vs chemo arms, respectively. In the ITT experimental arm, patients with pCR had higher PD-L1 TPS (median 70%, IQR 5-90%) compared to non-responders (median 0%, IQR 0-37.5%, P = 0.0035). AUC to predict pCR was 0.734 (95% CI 0.59-0.88; P = 0.005). The pCR rate rises across increasing categories of PD-L1 TPS ( < 1% 14.3%; 1-49% 41.7%; ≥50% 61.1%; P = 0.008). Conclusions: This study confirms the superiority of the chemo-immuno combination in patients with resectable stage IIIA NSCLC in terms of pCR, as well as the feasibility of surgery, with a moderate increase in grade 3-4 toxicity. Thus, this treatment should become the standard of care in these patients. Clinical trial information: NCT03838159.

Measuring predicted post-operative diffusion capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (ppoDLCO) is essential to determine patient operability and to stratify the risk of patients who are candidates for major lung cancer surgery. Studies that established surgical risk variables were based on open surgery series. The aim of our study was to analyze morbidity and mortality as a function of ppoDLCO and to compare its behavior in open and video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS).We compared 90-day mortality and morbidity in patients undergoing open surgery versus VATS as a function of decline in ppoDLCO. Propensity score matching (using age, ASA, arterial vascular disease, BMI, gender, stage, ppoDLCO, and ppoFEVOf 2,530 patients with lung cancer and ppoDLCO values, a sample of 1,624 (812 per group) was obtained after score matching. The relative risk of mortality associated with thoracotomy in patients with ppoDLCO 60 is 2.66 (p 0.02) compared to VATS. The risk of thoracotomy in terms of overall and cardiac and respiratory morbidity is higher than that of VATS for almost all ppoDLCO values.Major resection by VATS shows lower morbidity and mortality in patients with the same ppoDLCO. A steady rise in the risk of mortality begins to occur at higher ppoDLCO values in thoracotomy (∼60) than in VATS (∼45).

Introduction: Our study sought to know the current implementation of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for anatomical lung resections in Spain. We present our initial results and describe the auditing systems developed by the Spanish VATS Group (GEVATS). Methods: We conducted a prospective multicentre cohort study that included patients receiving anatomical lung resections between 12/20/2016 and 03/20/2018. The main quality controls consisted of determining the recruitment rate of each centre and the accuracy of the perioperative data collected based on six key variables. The implications of a low recruitment rate were analysed for "90-day mortality" and "Grade IIIb-V complications". Results: The series was composed of 3533 cases (1917 VATS; 54.3%) across 33 departments. The centres' median recruitment rate was 99% (25-75th:76-100%), with an overall recruitment rate of 83% and a data accuracy of 98%. We were unable to demonstrate a significant association between the recruitment rate and the risk of morbidity/mortality, but a trend was found in the unadjusted analysis for those centres with recruitment rates lower than 80% (centres with 95-100% rates as reference): grade IIIb-V OR= 0.61 (p = 0.081), 90-day mortality OR = 0.46 (p = 0.051). Conclusions: More than half of the anatomical lung resections in Spain are performed via VATS. According to our results, the centre's recruitment rate and its potential implications due to selection bias, should deserve further attention by the main voluntary multicentre studies of our speciality. The high representativeness as well as the reliability of the GEVATS data constitute a fundamental point of departure for this nationwide cohort. (C) 2020 SEPAR. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Resumen Introduccion Benchmarking hace referencia a la comparacion continuada de la eficiencia y la calidad entre productos y actividades con el objetivo fundamental de alcanzar la excelencia. Objetivo Analizar los resultados del benchmarking realizado en 2013 con la actividad asistencial de Cirugia Toracica en el ano 2012 en 17 servicios de Cirugia Toracica espanoles participantes. Metodos La fuente de informacion para el estudio ha sido el conjunto minimo basico de datos de hospitalizacion correspondiente al ano 2012. Los datos han sido proporcionados por los centros participantes, a partir de los informes de alta hospitalaria, sin intervencion de los responsables de los correspondientes servicios asistenciales. Los casos objeto del estudio han sido todas las altas de hospitalizacion registradas en los centros participantes. Los episodios incluidos han sido los de enfermedad quirurgica respiratoria (CDM4-Q) y los del servicio de Cirugia Toracica. La identificacion de estos casos se realizo usando los codigos de la novena edicion de la Clasificacion Internacional de Enfermedades, Modificacion Clinica. Para valorar las diferencias en gravedad y complejidad de los casos se ha utilizado la clasificacion de los grupos relacionados por el diagnostico refinados. Resultados Los diversos parametros generales estudiados (casuistica, estancia media, complicaciones, readmisiones, mortalidad y actividad) han tenido una gran variabilidad entre los participantes. El analisis concreto de intervenciones (lobectomia, neumonectomia, resecciones atipicas y neumotorax), tambien han oscilado considerablemente. Conclusiones Se observa, al igual que en ediciones previas, una considerable variabilidad entre los grupos participantes. Existen areas de mejora evidentes: estandarizacion de los procesos de admision, evitando ingresos urgentes y mejorando la estancia preoperatoria; agilizacion de las altas hospitalarias y mejora de los informes de alta, reflejando toda la actividad y las complicaciones habidas. Algunas unidades de Cirugia Toracica deben hacer una revision profunda de sus procesos porque pueden tener algunos parametros con una desviacion excesiva de la norma. Tambien deben mejorarse los procesos de codificacion de diagnosticos y comorbilidades.

Simple Summary In recent years there has been a trend towards an increase in the proportion of non-small cell lung cancer patients diagnosed with localized stage instead of advanced. However, 5-year survival rates continue to be low, even among patients diagnosed at early stages. In recent years major advances have been made in the treatment of advanced NSCLC, in large part due to the irruption of immunotherapy. PD-1 axis blocking-based immunotherapy is already a well-established standard of care treatment for patients with advances NSCLC, in frontline setting and in pretreated patients. Our greatest challenge now is to move the benefit of immunotherapy to patients with early-stage NSCLC so as to increase 5-year survival rate. The aim of this manuscript is to make a comprehensive review of available evidence, make a critical review of the results of published and ongoing studies, and analyze the role of biomarkers, main areas of controversy and future challenges. Abstract Despite numerous advances in targeted therapy and immunotherapy in the last decade, lung cancer continues to present the highest mortality rate of all cancers. Targeted therapy based on specific genomic alterations, together with PD-1 and CTLA-4 axis blocking-based immunotherapy, have significantly improved survival in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and both therapies are now well-established in this clinical setting. However, it is time for immunotherapy to be applied in patients with early-stage disease, which would be an important qualitative leap in the treatment of lung cancer patients with curative intent. Preliminary data from a multitude of studies are highly promising, but therapeutic decision-making should be guided by an understanding of the molecular features of the tumour and host. In the present review, we discuss the most recently published studies and ongoing clinical trials, controversies, future challenges and the role of biomarkers in the selection of best therapeutic options.

Introduction: Benchmarking entails continuous comparison of efficacy and quality among products and activities, with the primary objective of achieving excellence. Objective: To analyze the results of benchmarking performed in 2013 on clinical practices undertaken in 2012 in 17 Spanish thoracic surgery units. Methods: Study data were obtained from the basic minimum data set for hospitalization, registered in 2012. Data from hospital discharge reports were submitted by the participating groups, but staff from the corresponding departments did not intervene in data collection. Study cases all involved hospital discharges recorded in the participating sites. Episodes included were respiratory surgery (Major Diagnostic Category 04, Surgery), and those of the thoracic surgery unit. Cases were labelled using codes from the International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, Clinical Modification. The refined diagnosis-related groups classification was used to evaluate differences in severity and complexity of cases. Results: General parameters (number of cases, mean stay, complications, readmissions, mortality, and activity) varied widely among the participating groups. Specific interventions (lobectomy, pneumonectomy, atypical resections, and treatment of pneumothorax) also varied widely. Conclusions: As in previous editions, practices among participating groups varied considerably. Some areas for improvement emerge: admission processes need to be standardized to avoid urgent admissions and to improve pre-operative care; hospital discharges should be streamlined and discharge reports improved by including all procedures and complications. Some units have parameters which deviate excessively from the norm, and these sites need to review their processes in depth. Coding of diagnoses and comorbidities is another area where improvement is needed. (C) 2015 SEPAR. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Objetivo: En el presente articulo se describen los metodos y las conclusiones del primer estudio espanol de benchmarking en cirugia toracica. Los objetivos propuestos fueron: describir la casuistica de reseccion pulmonar desarrollada en 9 hospitales espanoles, comparar indicadores de calidad entre los 9 centros participantes e identificar y proponer areas de mejora comunes para los procesos de reseccion pulmonar. Metodos: Se utilizo como fuente de informacion el conjunto minimo basico de datos de los anos 2002 y 2003 de los procesos de lobectomia o neumonectomia. Los indicadores de resultados seleccionados fueron: mortalidad hospitalaria, morbilidad, estancia y readmisiones urgentes en los 30 dias siguientes al alta, ajustadas por complejidad de los casos. Una vez presentados los resultados entre los participantes, se identificaron las unidades con mejores resultados y se discutieron diversas propuestas de mejora. Resultados: Se ha estudiado un total de 1.666 procedimientos (1.276 lobectomias y 390 neumonectomias). Se detectaron diferencias en estancia media, mortalidad, tasa de readmisiones y morbilidad, que permitieron identificar unidades, de complejidad equiparable o superior, con baja mortalidad y estancia. Sin embargo, en estas unidades se apreciaron tasas de morbilidad y readmision mas elevadas. Conclusiones: Se propusieron medidas encaminadas a registrar todos los diagnosticos relevantes en los informes de alta, disminuir las estancias inadecuadas y estandarizar los procedimientos que permitiran en el futuro establecer criterios fiables para mejorar la calidad de los procesos de reseccion pulmonar.

Transhiatal herniation of the abdominal organs is a rare complication after esophagectomy. Surgical treatment is usually mandatory because of the high mortality associated with this condition. We present a case of colonic herniation that could contribute to failure of the esophagogastric anastomosis. Repair of both problems was performed through a right posterior thoracotomy.

Lung cancer accounts for the majority of cancer-related deaths worldwide. At present, platinum-based therapy represents the standard of care in fit stage II and IIIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients following surgical resection. In advanced disease, personalized chemotherapy and targeted biologic therapy based on histological and molecular tumor profiling have already shown promise in terms of optimizing treatment efficacy. While disease stage is associated with outcome and is commonly used to determine adjuvant treatment eligibility, it is known that a subset of patients with early stage disease experience shorter survival than others with the same clinicopathological characteristics. Improved methods for identifying these individuals, at or near the time of initial diagnosis, may inform the decision to pursue adjuvant therapy options. Among the numerous candidate molecular biomarkers, only few gene-expression profiling signatures provide clinically relevant information, while real-time quantitative polymerase-chain reaction (RT-qPCR) strategy involving relatively small numbers of genes offers a practical alternative with high cross-platform performance. mRNA and/or protein expression levels of excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1), ribonucleotide reductase M subunit 1 (RRM1) and breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1) are among the most promising potential biomarkers for early disease and their clinical utility is currently being evaluated in randomized phase II and III clinical trials. This review describes the most promising clinicopathological and molecular biomarkers with predictive and prognostic significance in lung cancer that have been identified through advanced research and which could influence adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemotherapy decisions for operable NSCLC in routine clinical practice.

Lung cancer is the most common malignant disease and the principal cause of oncology death in Western countries. Its poor prognosis due to the difficulty of early diagnosis, causal attributions related to personal tobacco consumption and resulting symptoms, not only from the progress of the disease but also from the side effects of treatment, can cause high emotional distress and a decreased quality of life. The purpose of this paper is to review first the psychological problems found in patients suffering from non-small lung cancer susceptible to surgery treatment, and secondly, provide information about the assessment procedures most frequently used in this group of patients in order to establish a screening protocol to detect patients at risk for emotional distress. Based on existing data we recommended to assess emotional distress, pain and quality of life from the time of diagnosis and through all the process with the following assessment tools: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, EORTC QLQ C30 and LC13, and Brief Pain Inventory. With the results of the screening measure we should refer patients experiencing to the Psycho- Ooncology Unit. El cáncer de pulmón es el tipo de enfermedad neoplásica más común y la causa más frecuente de muerte por causa oncológica en el mundo occidental. Su mal pronóstico debido a la dificultad de realizar un diagnóstico precoz, las atribuciones causales personales relacionadas con el consumo de tabaco y los síntomas derivados, no solo del progreso de la enfermedad sino también de los efectos secundarios del tratamiento, pueden provocar elevados síntomas de malestar emocional y una disminución de la calidad de vida. El propósito de este artículo es revisar en primer lugar la problemática psicológica encontrada en los pacientes afectados de cáncer de pulmón no microcítico susceptibles de intervención quirúrgica, y en segundo lugar, proporcionar información acerca de los procedimientos de evaluación más frecuentemente utilizados en este grupo de pacientes con el objetivo de poder establecer un protocolo de screening que permita detectar aquellos pacientes en riesgo de presentar malestar emocional. En base a los datos existentes se recomienda la evaluación de las variables malestar emocional, calidad de vida y dolor desde el momento del diagnóstico y a lo largo del proceso con los instrumentos de evaluación: Escala de Ansiedad y Depresión Hospitalaria, EORTC QLQ-C30 y LC13, y Cuestionario Breve del Dolor. Con los resultados del screening se debería derivar aquellos pacientes que presenten malestar a la unidad de Psicooncología.

In recent years platinum-based chemotherapy has become the standard of care for patients with good performance status after complete resection in stages IB-IIIA non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), although the benefit is mainly in stages II and IIIA.In a retrospective trial we evaluate the clinical efficacy and toxicity profile of a platinum- and taxanes-based adjuvant chemotherapy in completely resected IB-IIIA NSCLC. The primary end point was relapse- free survival (RFS); principal secondary end points were overall survival (OS) and safety of the regimen. Potential predictive factors of efficacy and clinical patterns of relapse were also analysed.From January 2003 to December 2006, 41 patients met the inclusion criteria and were evaluable. Median age at diagnosis was 68.1 years (CI 95% 54-72; range 45-78). Most patients were males (87.7%) and had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status score (PS) of 0-1 (87.8%), and 53.6% had adenocarcinomas. Pathological stages were as follow: 48.7% stage IB, 24.3% stage II and 26.8% stage IIIA. 75.6% of patients underwent a lobectomy and mediastinal lymphadenectomy and were treated with a combination of carboplatin AUC6 and paclitaxel 200 mg/m2 (85.36%) for 3 or 4 cycles. With a median follow-up of 18.2 months (range 5.1-46.5), 26 patients (63%) were free of disease and 32 of them were alive (78%). Median RFS was 12.1 months (CI 95% 9.8-14.9) and median OS had not been reached at the time of analysis. Patients with PSor =1 at diagnosis had a higher RFS [p=0.051 (CI 95% 0.90-0.96)]. Toxicity was generally mild and haematologic events were the most frequent. Non-haematologic toxic effects of chemotherapy were asthenia/ anorexia (12.2%), nausea/vomiting (12.2%) and peripheral neuropathy (17%), but severe toxic effects (grade 3 or greater) were uncommon (10%). We did not observe treatment-related deaths.Platinum-taxane-based adjuvant chemotherapy in IB-IIIA NSCLC following complete resection is feasible, well tolerated and can be delivered in most patients in the adjuvant setting. Ongoing molecular studies may have value in determining which patients will benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy.

Objective This article describes the methods and conclusions of the first Spanish benchmarking study of thoracic surgery. The proposed aims were to describe cases of lung resection in 9 Spanish hospitals, compare indicators of quality among the 9 participating centers, and identify and propose common areas where lung-resection processes could be improved. Methods Information was taken from the minimum basic data set for lobectomy and pneumonectomy processes performed in 2002 and 2003. The chosen outcome indicators were in-hospital mortality, morbidity, length of hospital stay, and emergency readmissions within 30 days of discharge, adjusted according to surgical complexity. Once the results had been analyzed, the participating centers with best outcomes were identified and a variety of proposed improvements were discussed. Results A total of 1666 procedures (1276 lobectomies and 390 pneumectomies) were studied. We found differences in mean length of stay, mortality, readmission rate, and morbidity that identified centers with lower mortality or shorter hospital stay for comparable or more complex surgical procedures. However, higher morbidity and readmission rates were found in these centers. Conclusions Measures were proposed to ensure that relevant diagnostic information is recorded on discharge. It was also proposed to reduce unnecessarily long hospital stays and to standardize the procedures. With such an approach, reliable criteria that improve the quality of lung-resection processes can be established in the future.