The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Aug 2014
Comparative StudyDifferentiating tuberculosis from sarcoidosis by sonographic characteristics of lymph nodes on endobronchial ultrasonography: a study of 165 patients.
The differential diagnosis of sarcoidosis and tuberculosis is difficult, especially in countries with a high tuberculosis burden. We hypothesized that sonographic features on endobronchial ultrasonography (EBUS) would help in differentiating tuberculosis from sarcoidosis. In this study, the endosonographic features of tuberculosis and sarcoidosis are compared. ⋯ Sonographic features of heterogeneous echotexture or coagulation necrosis in the lymph nodes on EBUS are fairly specific for tuberculosis. Along with a positive TST, these features strongly favor a diagnosis of tuberculosis over sarcoidosis.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Aug 2014
Blood transfusions are associated with urinary biomarkers of kidney injury in cardiac surgery.
Cardiac surgery is a major cause of acute kidney injury. In this setting, receipt of blood transfusions seems to be associated with a higher risk of acute kidney injury, as measured using serum creatinine values. We examined this association further by using urinary biomarkers of kidney injury. ⋯ Receipt of 2 or more packed red blood cell units during cardiac surgery is associated with a greater risk of acute kidney injury defined by serum creatinine and kidney injury biomarkers.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Aug 2014
Comparative StudyFewer complications result from a video-assisted approach to anatomic resection of clinical stage I lung cancer.
Anatomic resection is currently the standard of care for clinical stage I lung cancer, yet clinicians increasingly pursue nonsurgical, ablative therapies to avoid the morbidity of thoracotomy. The video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) approach is a minimally invasive alternative to thoracotomy yet the effect of VATS on the morbidity of patients undergoing lung cancer resection is not fully characterized. We evaluated complications following anatomic resection of clinical stage I lung cancer by VATS and thoracotomy to clarify the effect of the minimally invasive approach. ⋯ Anatomic resection of early stage lung cancer is performed with a low mortality rate, according to data from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons database. Perioperative complications are significantly less likely to occur when patients with stage I lung cancers undergo resection using the VATS approach. Further study is warranted to determine long-term effects of these differences in perioperative outcomes.