Naoki Yamamoto

BACKGROUND: Infectious complications after endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial biopsy with a guide sheath (EBUS-GS-TBB) are serious in that they may delay or change scheduled subsequent therapy. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for infection after EBUS-GS-TBB. RESEARCH QUESTION: What are the risk factors for infection after EBUS-GS-TBB? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 1,045 consecutive patients who had undergone EBUS-GS-TBB for peripheral lung lesions between January 2013 and December 2017 at Fujita Health University Hospital. We evaluated the following risk factors for infectious complications after EBUS-GS-TBB: relevant patient characteristics (age and comorbidities), lesion size, CT scan features of target lesion (intratumoral low-density areas [LDAs] and cavitation), stenosis of responsible bronchus observed by bronchoscopy, and laboratory data before EBUS-GS-TBB (WBC count and C-reactive protein concentration). RESULTS: Forty-seven of the study patients developed infectious complications (24 with pneumonia, 14 with intratumoral infection, three with lung abscess, three with pleuritis, and three with empyema), among whom the complication caused a delay in cancer treatment in 13 patients, cancellation of cancer treatment in seven patients, and death in three patients. Multivariate analysis showed that cavitation (P = .007), intratumoral LDAs (P < .001), and stenosis of responsible bronchus observed by bronchoscopy (P < .001) were significantly associated with infectious complications after EBUS-GS-TBB. Prophylactic antibiotics had been administered to 13 patients in the infection group. Propensity matched analysis could not show significant benefit of prophylactic antibiotics in preventing post-EBUS-GS-TBB infections. INTERPRETATION: Cavitation, LDAs for CT scan features of target lesions, and stenosis of responsible bronchus observed by bronchoscopy are risk factors of post-EBUS-GS-TBB infection. In the cohort, prophylactic antibiotics failed to prevent infectious complications.

BACKGROUND: Myeloperoxidase anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-related nephritis (MPO-ANCA nephritis) is occasionally accompanied by lung abnormalities such as pulmonary fibrosis. However, the clinical features of pulmonary fibrosis in patients with MPO-ANCA nephritis have not been well documented. This study was performed to compare the prognosis of a usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern of lung fibrosis in patients with MPO-ANCA nephritis with the prognosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 126 patients with MPO-ANCA nephritis and identified 31 with a UIP pattern of lung fibrosis on high-resolution or thin-slice computed tomography (CT). We compared the characteristics and prognosis of these patients with those of 32 patients with IPF. In 18 patients from both groups, we assessed and compared the decline in lung volume over time using three-dimensional (3D) CT images reconstructed from thin-section CT data. RESULTS: The numbers of male and female patients were nearly equal among patients with MPO-ANCA nephritis exhibiting a UIP pattern; in contrast, significant male dominancy was observed among patients with IPF (p = 0.0021). Significantly fewer smokers were present among the patients with MPO-ANCA nephritis with a UIP pattern than among those with IPF (p = 0.0062). There was no significant difference in the median survival time between patients with MPO-ANCA nephritis with a UIP pattern (50.8 months) and IPF (55.8 months; p = 0.65). All patients with IPF in this cohort received antifibrotic therapy (pirfenidone or nintedanib). Almost half of the deaths that occurred in patients with MPO-ANCA nephritis with a UIP pattern were caused by non-respiratory-related events, whereas most deaths in patients with IPF were caused by respiratory failure such as acute exacerbation. In the 3D CT lung volume analyses, the rate of decline in lung volume was equivalent in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: MPO-ANCA nephritis with a UIP pattern on CT may have an unfavorable prognosis equivalent to that of IPF with a UIP pattern treated with antifibrotic agents.