Kounis syndrome after patent blue dye injection for sentinel lymph node biopsy

Sentinel Lymph Node Mapping: Current Applications and Future Perspectives in Gynecology Malignant Tumors

The sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) is a group of lymph nodes initially involved in the metastatic spread of cancer cells. SLN mapping refers to intraoperative localization and biopsy of SLNs with specific tracers to assess lymph node metastases. It is widely used in a variety of tumor surgeries for its high sensitivity and high negative predictive value. In the evaluation of the status of lymph node metastases in gynecological malignancies, it has received increasingly more attention due to its minor invasiveness, few complications, and high diagnosis rate. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines provide an excellent introduction to the indications and methods of SLN techniques in vulvar, cervical, and endometrial cancers, but they provide little explanation about some specific issues. In this review, we summarize different dyes and injection methods and discuss the indications of application and the clinical trials of SLN mapping in gynecological malignant tumors, aiming to provide a reference for the rational application of sentinel techniques in gynecology malignant tumors before relevant guidelines are updated.

Techniques for sentinel node biopsy in breast cancer

INTRODUCTION

Sentinel node biopsy (SNB) is the standard of care in women with breast cancer (BC) and clinically non suspicious axillary lymph nodes (LNs), due to its high negative predictive value (NPV) in the assessment of nodal status. SNB has significantly reduced complications related to the axillary lymph node dissection, such as lymphedema and upper limb dysfunction.

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION

The gold standard technique for SNB is the blue dye (BD) and technetium labelled nanocolloid (Tc-99m) double technique. However, nuclear medicine is not available in all Institutions and several new tracers and devices have been proposed, such as indocyanine green (ICG) and superparamagnetic iron oxides (SPIO). All these techniques show an accuracy and detection rate not inferior to that of the standard technique, with different specific pros and cons. The choice of how to perform a SNB primarily depends on the surgeon's confidence with the procedure, the availability of nuclear medicine and the economic resources of the Institutions. In this setting, new tracers, hybrid tracers and imaging techniques are being evaluated in order to improve the detection rate of sentinel lymph nodes (SNs) and minimize the number of unnecessary axillary surgeries through an accurate preoperative assessment of nodal status and to guide new minimally invasive diagnostic procedures of SNs. In particular, the contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is an active field of research but cannot be recommended for clinical use at this time.

EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS

The ICG fluorescence technique was superior in terms of DR, as well as having the lowest FNR. The DR descending order was SPIO, Tc, dual modality (Tc/BD), CEUS and BD.

CONCLUSIONS

This paper is a narrative review of the most common SNB techniques in BC with a focus on recent innovations.

Catheter-induced anaphylaxis and determination of the causative catheter in a patient undergoing neuroendovascular surgery: a case report

BACKGROUND

Anaphylaxis caused by a catheter itself used for endovascular surgery is rare, and a method for detection of a causative catheter has not been established. We report a case of catheter-induced anaphylaxis in which the causative catheter was successfully detected.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 47-year-old male underwent neuroendovascular surgery. During surgery, blood pressure suddenly dropped and the level of tryptase indicated the occurrence of anaphylaxis. There were 24 candidate agents for the cause of anaphylaxis including 8 catheters. We performed the basophil activation test by directly mixing the catheter with blood. One catheter coated with a hyaluronic acid product showed a positive reaction, and we confirmed the result by a modified skin test using an elution solution of the catheter. Later, we successfully completed the neuroendovascular surgery without the catheter.

CONCLUSIONS

The methods used in this case can be useful for the detection of the causative agent in catheter-induced anaphylaxis.

Epirubicin-induced Kounis syndrome

Background

Kounis syndrome is an acute coronary syndrome that appears in the setting of anaphylactic reaction or hypersensitivity. Many drugs and environmental exposures have been identified as potential offenders, and diagnosis and treatment can be challenging.

Case presentation

A 62-year-old man with recurrent bladder cancer underwent an intra-iliac artery epirubicin injection. After the injection, he developed chest pain and a systemic allergic reaction, with electrocardiographic alterations and elevated troponin-I levels. Emergent coronary angiography showed right coronary artery spasm and no stenosis of the other coronary arteries. This reaction was considered compatible with an allergic coronary vasospasm. A diagnosis of Kounis syndrome was made.

Conclusions

Kounis syndrome is common, but a prompt diagnosis is often not possible. This case is the first to suggest that an intraarterial epirubicin injection could potentially be one of its triggers. All physicians should be aware of the pathophysiology of this condition to better recognize it and start appropriate treatment; this will prevent aggravation of the vasospastic cardiac attacks and yield a better outcome.