Treating empyema thoracis using video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and open decortication procedures: a systematic review and meta-analysis by meta-mums tool

Comparing the efficacy of video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) vs intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy in children with pleural empyema

PURPOSE

To compare the effects of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) and fibrinolytic injection into the pleural space in children with empyema.

METHODS

This randomized clinical trial included 51 children with empyema, who were divided into two groups. In the first group (25 patients), VATS was performed, while in the second group (26 patients), 0.1 mg/kg of Reteplase was injected into the pleural space for 3 days. The length of hospitalization, pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) stay, duration of fever and dyspnea, duration of antibiotic administration, duration of chest tube presence, and the need for reoperation were compared between the groups.

RESULTS

In the Reteplase injection and VATS groups, the mean duration of hospitalization was 21.1 ± 7.5 and 12.3 ± 6 days (P < 0.001), respectively, and the length of PICU stay was 7.8 ± 3.8 and 1.9 ± 2.3 days (P < 0.001), respectively. The duration of antibiotic administration was significantly longer in the Reteplase group. The chest tubes were present for a longer duration in the Reteplase group, and the duration of fever was also significantly longer.

CONCLUSION

VATS surgery in children with empyema is associated with more favorable clinical outcomes compared to fibrinolytic therapy with Reteplase.

A meta-analysis of systematic reviews and meta-analyses to evaluate the psychological consequences of COVID-19

BACKGROUND

Several meta-analysis studies have been reported in the literature on the incidence of psychopathological conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. This investigation aims to compile and analyze the findings of previously published meta-analysis research, as shown by the present meta-analysis of previous meta-analysis studies.

METHODS

The PubMed and Scopus databases were searched from 1 January 2019 to 30 May 2022. The procedure was carried out according to the PRISMA flow chart and the qualities of the identified studies were analyzed using AMSTAR 2. Heterogeneities and risk of bias were assessed using the Meta-MUMS tool. The corresponding results, forest and funnel plots of the psychological consequences of COVID-19 were synthesized.

RESULTS

Eleven meta-analysis studies were included. Random-effects meta-analysis of anxiety and depression showed (ER = 0.318 p-value < 0.001, ER = 0.295 p-value < 0.001) high heterogeneities (I2 = 99.70%, I2 = 99.75) between studies. Random-effects meta-analyses of sleep difficulties and insomnia were shown (ER = 0.347 p-value < 0.001, ER = 0.265, p-value < 0.001) along with heterogeneities (I2 = 99.89, I2 = 99.64). According to the random meta-analysis of post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSS) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (ER = 0.246, p-value = 0.001, ER = 0.223 p-value < 0.001) with heterogeneities (I2 = 99.75, I2 = 99.17). Random-effects meta-analyses of somatic and fear symptoms have been shown (ER = 0.16 p-value < 0.001, ER = 0.41, p-value = 0.089) with high heterogeneities (I2 = 99.62, I2 = 98.63). Random-effects meta-analysis of obsessive-compulsive symptoms and distress (ER = 0.297 p-value = 0.103; ER = 0.428, p-value = 0.013) with high heterogeneity, as I2 = 99.38%. Subgroup analysis of all symptoms and Egger's tests for detecting publication bias were also assessed.

CONCLUSION

The data from the current meta-analysis showed different psychological disorders of COVID-19 during the pandemic. Clinicians should be aware of the prevalence with which COVID-19-infected patients experience emotional distress, anxiety, fatigue, and PTSD. About half of the included systematic reviews (SRs)/meta-analyses (MAs) suffered from poorer methodological quality and increased risk of bias, reducing confidence in the findings. There must be more SRs/MAs and high-quality clinical trials conducted to confirm these findings.

Minimally invasive intrathoracic negative-pressure therapy and flexible thoracoscopy (FlexVATS) for patients with pleural empyema

To determine whether a new surgical method using a flexible endoscope (FlexVATS) to perform sparing debridement and apply negative-pressure therapy without extensive decortication may be an alternative treatment option for empyema. Surgical treatment of pleural empyema is associated with considerable postoperative complications and mortality rates, and alternative treatment options are being explored to improve patient outcomes. This was a prospective case series. Seventeen consecutive patients treated with FlexVATS between February 2021 and August 2022 were included in the study. Only patients for whom FlexVATS was the first therapeutic intervention for pleural empyema were included. Treatment success, defined as infection resolution, was the primary endpoint of the study. The secondary endpoints were length of hospital stay, 90-day mortality, and empyema cavity volume reduction. Patients who had previously been treated for pleural empyema by either drainage or surgery were excluded. The trial was performed as a single-centre study at a tertiary medical centre in Germany. In total, 17 patients with pleural empyema were included in the study. The median (IQR) duration of vacuum treatment was 15 days (8-35 days). Twelve of the 17 (71%) patients were successfully treated, and a significant reduction in the empyema cavity volume was observed. 41% of the dressing changes were performed outside the operating room. Compared with a historic cohort of conventionally treated patients (decortication via VATS or thoracotomy), the 90-day mortality rates tended to be lower without reaching statistical significance. Three patients (18%) died in hospital during treatment. No negative pressure-therapy-related complications were observed. FlexVATS therapy is a promising alternative therapy for both healthy and debilitated patients with pleural empyema. Larger randomised trials are required to validate this treatment option.

ERS/ESTS statement on the management of pleural infection in adults

Pleural infection is a common condition encountered by respiratory physicians and thoracic surgeons alike. The European Respiratory Society (ERS) and European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS) established a multidisciplinary collaboration of clinicians with expertise in managing pleural infection with the aim of producing a comprehensive review of the scientific literature. Six areas of interest were identified: 1) epidemiology of pleural infection, 2) optimal antibiotic strategy, 3) diagnostic parameters for chest tube drainage, 4) status of intrapleural therapies, 5) role of surgery and 6) current place of outcome prediction in management. The literature revealed that recently updated epidemiological data continue to show an overall upwards trend in incidence, but there is an urgent need for a more comprehensive characterisation of the burden of pleural infection in specific populations such as immunocompromised hosts. There is a sparsity of regular analyses and documentation of microbiological patterns at a local level to inform geographical variation, and ongoing research efforts are needed to improve antibiotic stewardship. The evidence remains in favour of a small-bore chest tube optimally placed under image guidance as an appropriate initial intervention for most cases of pleural infection. With a growing body of data suggesting delays to treatment are key contributors to poor outcomes, this suggests that earlier consideration of combination intrapleural enzyme therapy (IET) with concurrent surgical consultation should remain a priority. Since publication of the MIST-2 study, there has been considerable data supporting safety and efficacy of IET, but further studies are needed to optimise dosing using individualised biomarkers of treatment failure. Pending further prospective evaluation, the MIST-2 regimen remains the most evidence based. Several studies have externally validated the RAPID score, but it requires incorporating into prospective intervention studies prior to adopting into clinical practice.

Which Surgery for Stage II-III Empyema Patients? Observational Single-Center Cohort Study of 719 Consecutive Patients

OBJECTIVE

Recent guidelines support the use of thoracoscopic surgery in stage II-III empyema; however, there is still debate regarding the best surgical approach. The aim of our study is to compare postoperative outcomes of VATS and open surgical approaches for the treatment of post-pneumonic empyema.

METHODS

Observational cohort study on prospectively collected cases of post-pneumonic empyema surgically treated in a single center (2000-2020). Patients were divided into an open group (OT, posterolateral muscle sparing thoracotomy) and VATS group (VT, 2 or 3 port ± utility incision). The primary outcome of the study was empyema resolution, assessed by the recurrence rate. Secondary outcomes were mortality, complications, pain and return to daily life. All patients were followed up at 1, 3 and 6 months after surgery in the outpatient clinic with a chest radiograph/CT scan.

RESULTS

In total, 719 consecutive patients were surgically treated for stage II-III empyema, with 644 belonging to the VT group and 75 to the OT group. All patients had a clinical history of pneumonia lasting no more than 6 months before surgery, and 553 (76.9%) had stage II empyema. Operative time was 92.7 ± 6.8 min for the OT group and 112.2 ± 7.4 for the VT group. The conversion rate was 8.4% (46/545) for stage II and 19.2% (19/99) for stage III. Twelve patients (1.86%) in the VT group and four patients (5.3%) in the OT group underwent additional surgery for bleeding. Postoperative mortality was 1.25% (9/719): 5.3% (4/75) in OT and 0.77% (5/644) in VT. Postoperative stay was 10 ± 6.5 days in OT and 8 ± 2.4 in VT. Overall morbidity was 14.7% (106/719): 21.3% (16/75) in OT and 13.9% (90/644) in VT. In VT, six patients (0.93%) showed recurrent empyema: five were treated with chest drainage and one with additional open surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that the VATS approach, showing a 99% success rate, shorter length of stay and lower postoperative morbidity, should be considered the treatment of choice for thoracic empyema.

Nonmalignant Pleural Effusions

Although the potential causes of nonmalignant pleural effusions are many, the management of a few, including complicated pleural infections and refractory heart failure and hepatic hydrothoraces, can be challenging and requires the assistance of interventional pulmonologists. A pragmatic approach to complicated parapneumonic effusions or empyemas is the insertion of a small-bore chest tube (e.g., 14-16 Fr) through which fibrinolytics (e.g., urokinase and alteplase) and DNase are administered in combination. Therapeutic thoracenteses are usually reserved for small to moderate effusions that are expected to be completely aspirated at a single time, whereas video-assisted thoracic surgery should be considered after failure of intrapleural enzyme therapy. Refractory cardiac and liver-induced pleural effusions portend a poor prognosis. In cases of heart failure-related effusions, therapeutic thoracentesis is the first-line palliative therapy. However, if it is frequently needed, an indwelling pleural catheter (IPC) is recommended. In patients with hepatic hydrothorax, repeated therapeutic thoracenteses are commonly performed while a multidisciplinary decision on the most appropriate definitive management is taken. The percutaneous creation of a portosystemic shunt may be used as a bridge to liver transplantation or as a potential definitive therapy in nontransplant candidates. In general, an IPC should be avoided because of the high risk of complications, particularly infections, that may jeopardize candidacy for liver transplantation. Even so, in noncandidates for liver transplant or surgical correction of diaphragmatic defects, IPC is a therapeutic option as valid as serial thoracenteses.

Assessment of Intraoperative Microbiological Culture in Patients with Empyema: Comparison with Preoperative Microbiological Culture

Purpose: Assessing microbiological culture results is essential in the diagnosis of empyema and appropriate antibiotic selection; however, the guidelines for the management of empyema do not mention assessing microbiological culture intraoperatively. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that intraoperative microbiological culture may improve the management of empyema.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 47 patients who underwent surgery for stage II/III empyema from January 2011 to May 2019. We compared the positivity of microbiological culture assessed preoperatively at empyema diagnosis versus intraoperatively. We further investigated the clinical characteristics and postoperative outcomes of patients whose intraoperative microbiological culture results were positive.

Results: The positive rates of preoperative and intraoperative microbiological cultures were 27.7% (13/47) and 36.2% (17/47), respectively. Among 34 patients who were culture-negative preoperatively, eight patients (23.5%) were culture-positive intraoperatively. Intraoperative positive culture was significantly associated with a shorter duration of preoperative antibiotic treatment (p = 0.002). There was no significant difference between intraoperative culture-positive and -negative results regarding postoperative complications.

Conclusions: Intraoperative microbiological culture may help detect bacteria in patients whose microbiological culture results were negative at empyema diagnosis. Assessing microbiological culture should be recommended intraoperatively as well as preoperatively, for the appropriate management of empyema.

Comparative Global Epidemiological Investigation of SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV Diseases Using Meta-MUMS Tool Through Incidence, Mortality, and Recovery Rates

COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus that was reported by the world health organization in late December 2019. As an unexplained respiratory disease epidemic, which is similar to respiratory syndrome coronavirus SARS-CoV, it rapidly spread all over the world. The study aims to compare several parameters of COVID-19 and SARS-CoV infectious diseases in terms of incidence, mortality, and recovery rates. The publicly available dataset Worldometer (extracted on April 5, 2020) confirmed by WHO report was available for meta-analysis purposes using the Meta-MUMS tool. And, the reported outcomes of the analysis used a random-effects model to evaluate the event rate, and risk ratios thorough subgroup analysis forest plots. Seventeen countries for COVID-19 and eight countries of SARS infections, including COVID-19 group n = 1124243, and SARS-CoV group n = 8346, were analyzed. In this meta-analysis, a random effect model of relations of incidence, mortality, and recovery rates of COVID-19 and SARS world infections were determined. The meta-analysis and forest plots of two viral world infections showed that the incidence rate of COVID-19 infection is more than SARS infections, while recovery and mortality event rates of SARS-CoV are more than COVID-19 infection. And subgroup analysis showed that the mortality and recovery rates were higher in both SARS-CoV wand COVID-19 in comparison to incidence and mortality rates, respectively. In conclusion, the meta-analysis approach on the abovementioned dataset revealed the epidemiological and statistical analyses for comparing COVID-19 and SARS-CoV outbreaks.

Serum vitamin D deficiency and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

This meta-analysis was performed to confirm the relationship of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and vitamin D.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

PubMed and CNKI databases were searched for relevant articles. Standard mean difference (SMD) along with 95% CI was used to compare vitamin D level between women with GDM and healthy subjects. The correlation coefficient between the vitamin D and homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) was analyzed.

RESULTS

The vitamin D level of GDM subjects was much lower than healthy subjects (SMD = -0.71, 95% CI: -0.91, -0.50). Vitamin D deficiency was associated with high risk of GDM (OR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.07-1.23). Vitamin D was negatively correlated with HOMA-IR (r = -0.62, 95% CI: -0.85, -0.39). The analysis showed no publication bias (Egger's: p = 0.197; Begg's: p = 0.786).

CONCLUSIONS

Vitamin D is closely associated with the onset of GDM.