ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Objective: to comparatively analyze overall survival (OS) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with affected lymph nodes (pN1) of the lung root after surgical and combination treatment with postoperative radiotherapy (PORT).
Subjects and methods. OS was studied in 310 patients with grade 2-3 NSCLC. (pT1a-4N1M0): in 101 patients after lobectomy/bilobectomy, pulmonectomy with ipsilateral mediastinal lymphadenectomy and in 209 patients after combination treatment with the similar surgical volume and hypofractionated PORT (a single focal dose (SFD) of 3 Gy; 5 fractions per week, a cumulative focal dose (CFD) of 36-39 Gy (43.2-46.8 Gy-eq)) or classical fractionation (SFD2 Gy, 5 fractions per week, CFD44 Gy). An analysis was carried out in the groups of patients younger and older than 60 years with central or peripheral cancer, squamous cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma, with different tumor grading according to the T criterion (T1-4).
Results. PORT in radically operated patients with NSCLC increased 5- and 10-year OS rates only in central squamous cell lung cancer (56.1% and 39.5% vs.25.4% and 4.3%, p = 0.002). This group receiving combination therapy showed a statistically significant increasing trend in 5-year OS rates for both pT1-2 tumors (57.5% vs. 21.3%, respectively, p = 0.013) and pT3-4 tumors (53.9% versus 26.0%; p = 0.044), so did patients younger than 61 years (65.5% vs.29.4%, p = 0.008) and those over 60 years old (47.5% vs.21.3%, p = 0.047). Patients with peripheral squamous cell carcinoma or lung adenocarcinoma at any site exhibited no statistically significant increase in OS after PORT. In general, the 5- and 10-year OS rates in the compared groups were statistically significantly higher in the PORT group (47.9% and 28.9% vs. 27.1% and 11.4, p = 0.006). None of the analyzed subgroups showed a decrease in OS after PORT.
Conclusion. In patients with pN1 NSCLC who had radical surgery via lobectomy/bilobectomy or pulmonectomy with ipsilateral mediastinal lymphadenectomy, PORT can be recommended only for those with central squamous cell carcinoma, regardless of tumor size and age group. In other subgroups of patients with pN1 NSCLC, PORT can only be performed within the scientific protocols. The expediency of PORT after bilateral mediastinal lymph node dissection needs to be investigated.
Objective: to characterize the relationship between the subtype and volume of pulmonary emphysema on the indicators of lung ventilation and gas exchange functions.
Material and methods. The data of radiation and functional studies were analyzed in 50 patients. The inclusion criteria were chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema, which had been diagnosed by computed tomography (CT) and confirmed by two radiologists; comprehensive pulmonary function studies, including spirometry and body plethysmography, were performed; diffusion capacity was measured using a single-breath method, involving inhalation of carbon monoxide, and a breath hold. Patients with primary pulmonary emphysema, any history of pulmonary surgery, and emphysema concurrent with other lung X-ray syndromes (consolidation, cavity) were excluded. CT was performed with a 1-mm thick slice and standard scanning parameters on Toshiba tomographs (Japan). Pulmonary function was tested using a MasterScreen Body Diffusion expert diagnostic unit (VIASYS Healthcare, Germany) in accordance with the criteria for correct pulmonary functional tests proposed by a joint group of experts from the American Thoracic Society and the European Respiratory Society. Volumetric analysis of emphysema was performed using the Lung Volume Analysis software package (Toshiba, Japan). In the study, there was a predominance of male patients (n = 42 (84%)), mainly in the 61-70 age group.
Results. The isolated type of emphysema was rare: centrilobular and paraseptal emphysemas were seen in 3 (6%) and 2 (4%) patients, respectively. The mixed type of emphysema was detected in 90% of cases; 33 (66%) patients having a predominant centrilobular component constituted a large proportion. It was determined that as the volume of emphysema increased, the patency of the airways worsened, the static pulmonary volumes increased, the lungs were hyperinflated, pulmonary gas exchange worsened, the bronchial resistance slightly increased during calm breathing. No statistically significant results were found from the point of view of correlations between the volume of emphysema and other parameters of pulmonary function.
Conclusion. An increase in the volume of emphysema deteriorates pulmonary function; the greatest contribution to the overall picture is made by the patients with a mixed type of emphysema with a predominance of the centrilobular component.
Objective: to determine whether liver computed tomography (CT) perfusion imaging can assess hemodynamics in patients with fibrosis and cirrhosis as a result of chronic viral hepatitis C (CVHC).
Subjects and methods. The prospective study conducted at the Department of Radiation Diagnosis, M.F. Vladimirsky Moscow Regional Research and Clinical Institute, enrolled 61 patients with liver fibrosis and cirrhosis as a result of CVHC, of whom 26 patients had received antiviral therapy (AVT) and achieved a sustained virological response (SVR) at 24 weeks after the end of treatment. All the patients underwent liver CT perfusion imaging on a 256-slice Philips ICT computed tomography scanner (Netherlands). The parameters of arterial, portal, general perfusion and hepatic perfusion index were measured in each patient in his/her liver segments III, VII, and VIII, by calculating the slope of a curve.
Results. The values of perfusion parameters in patients who had undergone AVT and attained SVR and who had received no specific treatment were compared with those in the fibrosis, compensated, subcompensated, and decompensated liver cirrhosis groups. In the liver fibrosis group, the patients who had achieved SVR after AVT had higher portal and total perfusion values than those who had received no specific treatment (p = 0.001 and p = 0.002; respectively). In the same group, the liver perfusion index was higher in the patients who had not undergone AVT than in the treated patients (p = 0.028). The values of total perfusion were statistically significantly higher in patients with compensated liver cirrhosis who had attained SVR after AVT than in the untreated patients (p = 0.008). In the decompensated liver cirrhosis group, portal perfusion after specific treatment was higher than in the non-AVT group (p = 0.012). The subcompensated liver cirrhosis group showed no statistically significant differences when comparing the values of liver perfusion parameters depending on the availability of treatment.
Conclusion. Liver CT perfusion imaging cannot give an idea of how the hemodynamics of liver tissue changes in the presence of fibrosis and cirrhosis in patients with CVHC after AVT.
Objective: to define the role of transcranial electrical stimulation in the assessment of the microvascular bed by contrast-free magnetic resonance (MR) perfusion imaging in patients with chronic cerebral ischemia.
Material and methods. Examinations were made in 37 people aged 65-70 years who were diagnosed with chronic cerebral ischemia. The patients were divided into two groups: with and without cognitive impairment (CI). The investigation algorithm involved brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (Toshiba Vantage Titan, 1.5 T), transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) using a TETOS computer hardware diagnostics (Research and Production Firm “BIOSS”) and repeated brain MRI in the arterial spin labelling (ASL) perfusion mode. ASL perfusion data were used to assess cerebral blood flow in the regions of interest before and after TES.
Results. Contrast-free MR perfusion imaging revealed relative hyperperfusion within the cortex of the frontal and parietal lobes concurrent with hypoperfusion of the subcortical nuclei and cerebral white matter in patients with CI, which suggests that enhanced cortical blood flow is ineffective and shunting blood flow forms. TES caused a statistically significant change in cerebral perfusion in the non-CI group of patients with chronic cerebral ischemia. After TES by ASL perfusion imaging, the patients without CI showed a diffuse increase in cerebral blood flow (p = 0.002), whereas the group of apparently healthy volunteers exhibited this increase in blood flow.
Conclusion. Cerebral perfusion indices before and after TES in patients of all the examined groups define its role as a complementary tool to assess the compensatory capabilities of the microvascular bed by contrast-free MR perfusion imaging in chronic cerebral ischemia.
Objective: to assess the percentage of mesh “titanium silk” implant shrinkage after inguinal hernia repair surgery in the late postoperative period using multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT).
Material and methods. The comparative assessment of the long-term results of treatment in 90 patients with inguinal hernias was performed using MSCT. In 36 (40%) patients of Group 1 the titanium implant was used in Lichtenstein hernia repair surgery. In Group 2, 54 (60%) patients were operated by laparoscopic hernia repair surgery. On day 3 and 3 months after surgery every patient underwent MSCT with subsequent determination of the implant square.
Results. The percent of mesh “titanium silk” implant shrinkage 3 months after surgery according to MSCT was 4.4% in Lichtenstein hernia repair group, and 8.3% in laparoscopic hernia repair group. According to Kruskal-Wallis test, there were no statistic differences of this indicator between two groups (p = 0,185).
Conclusion. The analysis of long-term results of inguinal hernia repair surgery with titanium mesh implants using MSCT showed that implant square significantly decreases 3 months after surgery. There were no significant differences in implants shrinkage regarding the type of surgery. MSCT is an effective method for evaluating the size of mesh titanium implants after hernia repair surgery.
CASE REPORTS
Prosthetic infection is the most common complication after aortic replacement with a synthetic vascular prosthesis or a valved conduit (VC); in this case, aortic valve (AV) rupture occurs in 0.1-1.3% of patients. The cause of valve rupture is not only infective endocarditis; ascending aortic aneurysm and obvious calcification of the native AV are also known risk factors. The paper describes a clinical case of a 49-year-old patient examined and treated in Petrovsky Russian Scientific Center of Surgery. Eighteen years after primary surgical intervention for aortic stenosis, AV reprosthesis and ascending aorta VC replacement were performed according to the Bentall - De Bono procedure modified by Kouchoukos. In 2021, computed tomographic aortography has revealed that in the presence of infective endocarditis, there is aortic prosthetic rupture to form a paraprosthetic fistula and a pseudoaneurysm cavity. The results of instrumental studies are comparable with intraoperative data. The clinical case is of interest due to the rare occurrence of complications and to the significant role of multislice computed tomography during examination and postoperative monitoring.
The timely diagnosis of postoperative consequences through identification of intracranial foreign bodies enables prevention of complications and improvement in quality of life. The paper considers two clinical cases after surgical interventions to remove subdural and intracerebral hematomas of different ages. Computed tomography (CT) was performed on a 64-slice Somatom Perspective apparatus (Siemens, Germany) applying a reformative slice thickness of less than 0.6 mm. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was carried out using a Magnetom Essenza 1.5 T system (Siemens, Germany). When wording the CT and MRT findings, it was suggested that each of the patients had an intracranial foreign body in the presence of postoperative changes. The CT and MRI findings were fully correlated with intraoperative data on the location, number, shape, and size of foreign bodies. The neuroimaging techniques are highly informative in identifying intracranial foreign bodies and are especially important for chronically critically ill patients because of the lack of productive contact with them due to speech problems and cognitive impairment. They assist in making a correct diagnosis and playing a leading role in neurosurgical practice, allowing the detection of an abnormality, the optimal planning of patient management tactics, and the prevention of possible complications.
ISSN 2619-0478 (Online)