ObjectiveTo evaluate the role of rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) in the diagnosis of lung space-occupying lesions.MethodsFrom June 1, 2017 to December 30, 2017, transbronchial biopsies were performed in patients with lung space-occupying lesions on chest CT, and biopsies were taken for ROSE and subsequent routine pathological examination. ROSE interpretation was performed by a pulmonologist who had been trained in cytopathology for 3 months. The interpretation was correlated with the follow-up routine pathological examination. The contemporary cases with lung space-occupying lesions who underwent transbronchial biopsies without ROSE were retrospectively reviewed. The quality assessment of biopsy specimens recorded in pathological reports were compared between cases with and without ROSE.ResultsA total of 101 patients underwent transbronchial biopsies in parallel with ROSE. The interpretation results of the pulmonologist were compared with the follow-up routine pathology, which showed that the consistency rate of malignant lesions was 84.1% and the consistency rate of benign lesions was 93.8%. Consistency test showed good agreement between the ROSE conducted by the pulmonologist and the routine pathological examination by pathologists (κ=0.66, P<0.01). The quality assessment of biopsy specimens showed that there was no significant difference on rate of satisfied biopsy specimens between cases with and without ROSE (98.0%vs 94.5%, P=0.14).ConclusionsThe use of ROSE combining with bronchoscopy allows good preliminary assessment of lung space-occupying lesions. Pulmonologists trained in short-term formal cytopathology are fully capable of performing ROSE, thereby obviating the need for cytopathologists to participate in on-site evaluation.
Objective To investigate the clinical features of interstitial lung disease (ILD) complicated with severe Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP). Methods The patients with interstitial lung disease complicated with severe Pneumocystis pneumonia who were admitted to the Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (RICU) of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital from September 2017 to June 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Laboratory examinations, imaging features, complications and mortality data were used to analyze the clinical characteristics and prognosis of these patients. Results A total of 17 patients admitted to the RICU were finally enrolled in this study. 16 of the 17 patients had a history of corticoids therapy, and none of the 17 patients had received prophylaxis before the onset of PCP; 58.8% (10/17) of them were ILD secondary to connective tissue disease, and 41.2% (7/17) were idiopathic ILD; all patients were tested positive for P. jirovecii with polymerase chain reaction and/or next-generation metagenomic sequencing in sputum, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid or serum; all patients developed respiratory failure (oxygenation index: 146.8±66.4 mm Hg) after onset; within 24 hours of admission, the pneumonia severity index score was 91.9±20.1 and the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation Ⅱ score was 16.1±3.0; imaging findings showed diffuse ground-glass opacity in both lungs on the basis of the original ILD; all patients were treated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) and corticoids, 52.9% (9/17) patients were treated with TMP-SMX + caspofungin + clindamycin; 70.6% (12/17) patients were treated with mechanical ventilation; 76.5% (13/17) patients during hospitalization complicated bacterial infection, 9 cases (52.9%) had viral infection. The 28-day mortality was 64.7% (11/17), and the 90-day mortality was 82.4% (14/17), as of telephone follow-up (July 2022) the overall mortality was 88.2% (15/17). Conclusions ILD patients with severe PCP are progressing rapidly. The clinical manifestations are severe which are the same as acute exacerbation of ILD, with poor prognosis.
Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics of interstitial pneumonia patients with positive anti-signal recognition particle antibody (SRP-IP), and compare those with interstitial pneumonia patients with positive anti-Jo-1 antibody (Jo1-IP). Methods Clinical data of SRP-IP patients admitted to Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of Drum Tower Hospital affiliated to Nanjing University Medical School from May 2017 to May 2021, including clinical manifestations, laboratory examinations, pulmonary function tests and radiographic types, were retrospectively analyzed. The results were compared with those of Jo1-IP patients admitted during the same period. Results The SRP-IP patients were older than Jo1-IP patients (P=0.044). There were no significant differences in clinical manifestations or pulmonary function tests results between the two groups. The proportion of SRP-IP patients combined with positive anti-EJ antibody (P<0.001) or perinuclear anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (P=0.028) was significantly higher than that of Jo1-IP patients, while the proportion of SRP-IP patients combined positive anti-Ro-52 antibody was significantly lower than that of Jo1-IP patients (P=0.009). The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) of SRP-IP patients was faster than that of Jo1-IP patients (P=0.026). The serum IgM level (P=0.039) and peripheral NK cell counts (P=0.013) of SRP-IP patients were significantly lower than those of Jo1-IP patients. The most common chest CT findings in SRP-IP patients were organizing pneumonia and the proportion of usual interstitial pneumonia in SRP-IP patients was higher than that of Jo1-IP patients (P=0.032). The levels of creatine kinase (P=0.010), creatine kinase myocardial brand (P=0.025) and alanine aminotransferase (P=0.045) in interstitial pneumonia patients with high titer (++~+++) SRP antibody were higher than those in interstitial pneumonia patients with low titer (+) SRP antibody. SRP-IP and Jo1-IP patients were mainly treated with glucocorticoids combined with or without immunosuppressants, and there was no significant difference in the choice of treatment between the two groups. The proportion of patients with Jo1-IP evaluated as improved was significantly higher than that of patients with SRP-IP (p=0.005), while the proportion of patients with SRP-IP evaluated as stable was significantly higher than that of patients with Jo1-IP (P=0.035). The mortality of SRP-IP patients within 3 months was significantly higher than that of Jo1-IP patients (P=0.028). Conclusion Compared with Jo1-IP patients, SRP-IP patients are older, have faster ESR, are more likely to be combined with other autoantibodies, have lower serum IgM level and peripheral blood NK cell count, have more UIP imaging manifestations, and have a worse short-term prognosis.
Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of glucocorticoids (GC) monotherapy and GC combined with tacrolimus (TAC) therapy in patients with anti-synthetase syndrome-associated interstitial lung disease (ASS-ILD). Methods Through retrospective analysis and propensity score matching (PSM) analysis, the 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) and related side effects of ASS-ILD patients in TAC+GC group and GC monotherapy group were compared. Predictors associated with PFS were analyzed with COX. Results The 2-year PFS rate of TAC+GC group was better than that of GC group [P=0.0163; hazard ratio (HR) 0.347]; Univariate and multivariate analysis of the COX regression model for 2-year PFS in the two groups suggested that creatine kinase level (P=0.0019, HR 1.002) and initial treatment selection [(TAC+GC) vs. GC, P=0.0197, HR 0.207] were independent predictors of PFS; PSM analysis showed that the 2-year PFS rate of TAC+GC group (54.5%) was higher than that of GC group (18.2%) (P=0.0157, HR 0.275). In terms of adverse effect, there was no significant increase in GC+TAC group compared with GC group. Conclusion Compared with GC monotherapy, initial TAC+GC treatment significantly prolonged PFS in ASS-ILD patients and did not increase the incidence of drug-related complications.