Faculty Bibliography

Establishing a lung cancer screening (LCS) program is an important endeavor that delivers life-saving healthcare to an at-risk population. However, developing a comprehensive LCS program requires critical elements including obtaining institutional level buy-in, hiring necessary personnel, developing appropriate infrastructure and actively engaging primary care providers, subspecialty services, and radiology. The process required to connect such services to deliver an organized LCS program that reaches all eligible candidates must be individualized to each institution's needs and infrastructure. Here we provide detailed experiences from two successful LCS programs, one using a primary care provider-based service and the other using a consult-based service. In each case, we provide the pros and cons of each system. We propose that the decision to setup an ideal LCS program could include a hybrid design that combines aspects of each system.

Fluid accumulation in the form of pleural effusions and ascites may be attributed to a single etiology. Diagnosis depends on a thorough clinical history as well as fluid analysis. We present the case of a 60-year-old man with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) on dasatinib, recent right-sided ischemic stroke, alcohol-associated liver disease, cocaine and alcohol use disorders in early remission, and hypertension who presented with subacute-onset of bilateral pleural effusions and ascites. Pleural fluid analysis showed an exudative effusion, while ascitic fluid analysis showed a transudative collection. After an extensive workup, the bilateral effusions were attributed to dasatinib therapy, which was also suspected to play an unclear role in the worsening ascites. Although peripheral edema and pleural effusions are well-recognized and common side effects of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), this case represents the first description of a patient presenting with bilateral TKI-induced pleural effusions as well as concomitant ascites of unclear origin.

Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) have become an increasingly important component of the management of severe heart failure not only as bridge therapy to eventual orthotopic heart transplantation, but also as destination therapy. Timely diagnosis and management of device complications are of vital importance. Rarely, LVAD placement can result in cardiac recovery that may necessitate device removal. While there are reports of minimally invasive LVAD deactivation, there are currently no guidelines for device extraction or deactivation in the setting of cardiac recovery. This is a case of both cardiac recovery and pump thrombosis following LVAD implantation, managed with device inactivation and driveline excision.

A gentleman in his 60s with end-stage kidney disease status post kidney transplantation on prednisone and tacrolimus presented with generalised weakness for 7 days, associated with altered mental status. Investigations revealed pancytopenia, acute kidney injury, hypercalcaemia, decreased parathyroid hormone (PTH) and normal calcitriol levels. CT of the chest showed multifocal lung opacities suspicious for malignancy. Bronchoscopy with biopsy yielded no malignant cells, and bronchoalveolar lavage specimens grew Mycobacterium kansasii The patient was treated with bisphosphonates, calcitonin and antibiotics for non-tuberculous mycobacteria pulmonary infection, with improvement in serum calcium levels, and was discharged after 5 weeks of hospitalisation.The work-up for hypercalcaemia begins with PTH measurement, and low PTH levels are consistent with malignancy, immobilisation and granulomatous diseases. Hypercalcaemia in the lattermost is classically caused by overproduction of calcitriol by activated macrophages. However, there are case reports of mycobacterial infections with hypercalcaemia despite normal calcitriol levels, supporting the existence of an additional mechanism of hypercalcaemia in granulomatous infections.

BACKGROUND:Right ventricular failure (RVF) remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality after left ventricular assist device (LVAD). Atrial fibrillation (AF) is known for its deleterious effects on cardiac function and hemodynamics. The association of pre-operative AF with the risk of early post-LVAD RVF has not been well described. METHOD:statistic were calculated using the random-effects model. RESULTS:Six studies were included in the analysis. Post-operative RVF was reported in 5 studies (1,841 patients) and RVAD use was reported in 4 studies (1,355 patients). There is a non-significant trend toward a higher risk of post-operative RVF in the AF group (pooled OR=1.25, 95%CI=0.99-1.58). No significant association between AF and RVAD use is noted (pooled OR=1.17, 95%CI=0.82-1.66). CONCLUSIONS:Pre-operative AF is not significantly associated with higher risks of post-operative RVF and RVAD use after LVAD implantation, although the trend toward higher post-operative RVF is observed in patients with pre-operative AF. Additional research using a larger study population is warranted to better understand the association of pre-operative AF and the development of post-LVAD RVF.

A 68-year-old woman presented for left shoulder pain, decreased range of motion (ROM) and fever 7 days following COVID-19 vaccination. Investigations showed a tender left deltoid mass, decreased shoulder ROM and elevated inflammatory markers. MRI demonstrated a large glenohumeral effusion with synovitis, and arthrocentesis confirmed septic arthritis (SA). She required subtotal bursectomy. Intraoperative joint cultures grew Streptococcus gordonii She completed 6 weeks of antibiotics and is undergoing physical therapy for post-infectious adhesive capsulitis. SA is most commonly due to Staphylococcus aureus and β-haemolytic streptococci, and rarely due to viridans group streptococci including S. gordonii To avoid inadvertent injection into the glenohumeral joint, vaccination should be performed posteriorly and inferiorly into the deltoid musculature. Progressive pain, fever or decreased passive ROM following vaccination should raise concern for SA. Given its rarity, however, concern for secondary SA should not affect the general population's consideration for vaccination.

We report a correlation between trends of hemodynamic parameters including pulmonary artery pressures (PAP) and heart rate recorded by CardioMEMS device (St. Jude Medical, St. Paul, MN, USA) and presentation of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding in two patients with left ventricular assist devices. We observed a decline in PAP levels prior to symptom onset and reduction in hemoglobin level in both patients. Early recognition of hemodynamic changes by CardioMEMS device might help clinicians to detect the preclinical phase of GI bleeding and intervene before patients develop severe symptoms and associated morbidity. <Learning objective: Early recognition of changes in pulmonary artery pressures and heart rate by CardioMEMS device might help clinicians to detect the preclinical phase of gastrointestinal bleeding that is a common complication in left ventricular assist device patients and to intervene before patients develop severe symptoms and associated morbidity.>.