July 2015 Arizona Thoracic Society Notes

The July 2015 Arizona Thoracic Society meeting was held on Wednesday, July 23, 2015 at the Scottsdale Shea Hospital beginning at 6:30 PM. This was a dinner meeting with case presentations. There were 16 in attendance representing the pulmonary, critical care, sleep, and radiology communities.

It was decided to continue holding the meeting on the fourth Wednesday of the odd numbered months.

Lewis Wesselius relayed a request from the Mayo Clinic regarding a survey on how physicians in Arizona treat Valley Fever. There were no objections to using our mailing list to send out the survey.

Dr. Parides formed a committee to encourage younger clinicians to attend the Arizona Thoracic Society meetings.

Richard A. Robbins was chose as the Arizona Thoracic Society's nominee for clinician of the year.

There were 3 case presentations:

1. George Parides presented a 58-year-old woman with a past medical history of cavitating coccidioidomycosis in both upper lobes from which she had recovered. However, on thoracic CT scan she had traction bronchiectasis as well as narrowing of the inferior vena cava. It had been recommended that a vena cava filter be placed to prevent pulmonary embolism. She had no history of deep venous thrombosis. None in the audience knew of any data suggesting placement of a filter was indicated.
2. Lewis Wesselius presented a case of a 19-year-old man who presented with dyspnea and bilateral large pulmonary nodules. He had a history of smoking about 5 cigarettes per day and use of medical marijuana for sinusitis. Laboratory workup showed an elevated white blood cell count but a cANCA and cultures was negative. Bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage demonstrated alveolar hemorrhage. Open biopsy was consistent with pulmonary pyoderma gangrenosum. The patient was begun on corticosteroids and had resolution of both his symptoms and nodules.
3. Rick Robbins presented Drs. Ling and Boivin's case of a 40 year old man with a history of opioid abuse who was mechanically ventilated but failed an extubation trial (1). The videos of the diaphragm were presented along with a discussion of the diaphragm thickening fraction (DTF) assessed by ultrasound as a predictor for the success of extubation. DTF is calculated using the following formula: Thickness at end inspiration - Thickness at end expiration / Thickness at end expiration. Based on the study published by Ferarri and associates (2), they found that a DTF > 36% would provide a sensitivity of 0.82, a specificity of 0.88, a positive predictive value (PPV) of 0.92 and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 0.75.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned about 8 PM. The next meeting will be in Phoenix at Scottsdale Shea on Wednesday, September 28 at 6:30 PM.

Richard A. Robbins, MD

Editor, SWJPCC

References

1. Ling D, Boivin M. Ultrasound for critical care physicians: take a deep breath. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2015;11(1):38-41. [CrossRef]
2. Ferrari G, De Filippi G, Elia F, Panero F, Volpicelli G, Aprà F. Diaphragm ultrasound as a new index of discontinuation from mechanical ventilation. Crit Ultrasound J. 2014;6(1):8. [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Reference as: Robbins RA. July 2015 Arizona thoracic society notes. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2015;11(1):49-50. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13175/swjpcc098-15 PDF

September 2014 Arizona Thoracic Society Notes

The September 2014 Arizona Thoracic Society meeting was held on Wednesday, 9/24/14 at the Kiewit Auditorium on the University of Arizona Medical Center campus in Tucson beginning at 5:30 PM. This was a dinner meeting with case presentations. There were about 21 in attendance representing the pulmonary, critical care, sleep, pathology and radiology communities.

Four cases were presented:

1. Mohammad Dalabih presented a 22 year old hypoxic man with a history of asthma and abdominal pain. A bubble echocardiogram showed bubbles in the left ventricle within 3 heartbeats. Thoracic CT scan showed a pulmonary arteriovenous malformation (AVMs). The patient underwent coil embolization and improved. Dr. Dalabih reviewed the diagnosis and management of pulmonary AVMs (1). Aarthi Ganesh presented a 70 year old woman complaining of dyspnea on exertion. A chest x-ray showed complete opacification of the right hemithorax and a thoracic CT scan showed a large right pleural effusion with right lung atelectasis. After thoracentesis was nondiagnostic, she underwent video-assisted thorascopic surgery (VATS). Although she clinically appeared to have mesothelioma, histology was consistent with a pseudomesotheliomatous adenocarcinoma. She is currently undergoing treatment with platinum based agents.
2. Gordon Carr presented a 75 year old woman with dyspnea. Chest x-ray showed interstitial disease with a possible usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern on CT scan. Dr. Carr reviewed the initial evaluation and diagnosis of the interstitial lung disease (2). VATS showed a bronchocentric process with some fibrosis in the periphery most consistent with chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis. The likely source was thought to be mold in her indoor pool area.
3. James Knepler presented a 55 year old woman with breast cancer and bone metases receiving tamoxifen. She also had a history of multiple sclerosis and was receiving on interferon-beta 1a. A positron emission tomography (PET) scan showed increased uptake in several mediastinal lymph nodes. Endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) guided aspiration biopsy was non-diagnostic. Endobronchial biopsy showed granulomas. It was felt the most likely diagnosis was interferon-induced sarcoidosis. Several case reports have recently been published.

There being no further business the meeting was adjourned about 7:00 PM. The next meeting will be Phoenix on Wednesday, October 22, 6:30 PM at Scottsdale Shea Hospital.

Richard A. Robbins, MD

References

1. Gossage JR, Kanj G. Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations. A state of the art review. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1998;158(2):643-61. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
2. Selman M, Pardo A. Update in diffuse parenchymal lung disease 2012. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2013;187(9):920-5. [CrossRef] [PubMed] 

Reference as: Robbins RA. September 2014 Arizona Thoracic Society notes. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2014;9(3):191-2. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13175/swjpcc127-14 PDF

June 2014 Arizona Thoracic Society Notes

The June 2014 Arizona Thoracic Society meeting was held on Wednesday, 6/25/14 at the Bio5 building on the University of Arizona Medical Center campus in Tucson beginning at 5:30 PM. This was a dinner meeting with case presentations. There were about 33 in attendance representing the pulmonary, critical care, sleep, pathology and radiology communities.

Four cases were presented:

1. Eric Chase presented a 68 year old incarcerated man shortness of breath, chest pain and productive cough.  The patient was a  poor historian. He was supposed to be receiving morphine for back pain but this had been held. He also had a 45 pound weight loss over the past year. His PMH was positive for COPD, hypertension, congestive heart failure, chronic back pain and  hepatitis C. Past surgical history included a back operation and some sort of chest operation. On physical examination he was  tachypneic, tachycardic  and multiple scars over his neck, back and chest including a median sternotomy scan. Subcutaneous emphysema was present. Laboratory evaluation was most remarkable for a lactate of 4.6 mg/dL. Chest x-ray revealed subcutaneous and mediastinal air, LLL consolidation, and a left pleural effusion.  Thoracentesis of the pleural effusion showed a high amylase and a low pH. A chest tube was placed. Esophagram showed contrast draining through the left chest and chest tube. CT scan was consistent with a colonic interposition graft with a graft to pleural fistula. The patient was deemed to be a poor surgical candidate and a jejunostomy tube was placed.
2. Mohammad Dalabih presented a 72 year old woman with asthma who had no response to asthma medications. Spirometry was consistent with moderate restriction. A thoracic CT scan showed two small nodules along with mosaic attenuation. A lung wedge biopsy showed nonmalignant appearing cells with tumorlets and bronchitis. The cells were CD56 positive. A diagnosis of diffuse interstitial pulmonary neuroendocrine hyperplasia (DIPNECH). Dr. Dalabih reviewed DIPNECH which usually presents in middle aged women with symptoms of cough and dyspnea; obstructive abnormalities on pulmonary function testing; and radiographic imaging showing pulmonary nodules, ground-glass attenuation, and bronchiectasis. In general, the clinical course remains stable; however, progression to respiratory failure can occur. Long-term follow- up studies and the best treatment remains unknown. The April 2014 Pulmonary Case of the Month also presented a case of DIPNECH (1).
3. Mohammad Alzoubaidi presented the case of a 61 year old woman with right upper quadrant pain who was found to have a large liver lesion on abdominal CT scan. She suffered a cardiac arrest shortly after the CT scan and her hemoglobin decreased to 5.6 g/dL. Angiography revealed multiple pseudoaneursyms with the largest apparently bleeding. Coil embolization was performed but a couple of days later her shock recurred. A repeat angiogram showed enlargement of the known pseudoaneursyms and several new ones. She was begun on corticosteroids for a presumed vasculitis. Unfortunately, she continued to bleed and died. Autopsy was consistent with fibromuscular dysplasia.  Fibromuscular dysplasia is a non-atherosclerotic, non-inflammatory disease of the blood vessels resulting in constriction and dilatation (pseudoaneursyms) (2). The cause and best treatment are unknown.
4. John Bloom presented a 22 year old Somali man that grew up in India who came to the US about 15 months before presentation. He was relatively asymptomatic but was found to have supraclavicular adenopathy on a "wellness" physical examination. Biopsy of the lymph nodes was recommended but he refused. He presented about a month later with neck and back pain. Physical examination revealed by adenopathy and a fever of 38.2º C. His white blood cell count was 12,600 cells/µL. Thoracic CT showed a miliary pattern with vertebral destruction. Laminectomy with cord stabilization was performed. Biopsy was negative for acid fast bacilli but positive for GMS+ organisms consistent with coccidioidomycosis. A large cervical paraspinal abscess just below the skull was drained and a large mediastinal abscess was also seen on CT scan. Discussion ensued about whether drainage was appropriate for the mediastinal mass, but most thought not.  The case illustrates that Valley Fever is common and in most chest differential diagnosis in the Southwest.

There being no further business the meeting was adjourned about 6:45 PM. There will be no meeting in July. The next meeting in Phoenix will be a case presentation conference on August 27, 6:30 PM at Scottsdale Shea Hospital.

Richard A. Robbins, MD

References

1. Wesselius LJ. April 2014 pulmonary case of the month: DIP-what? Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2014;8(4):195-203. [CrossRef]
2. Slovut DP, Olin JW. Fibromuscular dysplasia. N Engl J Med. 2004;350(18):1862-71. [CrossRef] [PubMed] 

Reference as: Robbins RA. June 2014 Arizona thoracic society notes. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2014;8(6):356-7. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13175/swjpcc084-14 PDF

March 2014 Arizona Thoracic Society Notes

The March 2014 Arizona Thoracic Society meeting was a special meeting. In conjunction with the Valley Fever Center for Excellence and the Arizona Respiratory Center the Eighteenth Annual Farness Lecture was held in the Sonntag Pavilion at St. Joseph's Hospital at 6 PM on Friday, April 4, 2014. The guest speaker was Antonio "Tony" Catanzaro, MD from the University of California San Diego and current president of the Cocci Study Group. There were 57 in attendance representing the pulmonary, critical care, sleep, and infectious disease communities.

Dr. Antonio Catanzaro

After opening remarks by Arizona Thoracic Society president, Lewis Wesselius (a former fellow under Dr. Catanzaro at UCSD), John Galgiani, director of the Valley Fever Center for Excellence, gave a brief history of the Farness lecture before introducing Dr. Catanzaro. The lecture is named for Orin J. Farness, a Tucson physician, who was the first to report culture positive coccidioidomycosis (cocci or Valley Fever). The title of Dr. Catanzaro's talk was "Coccidioidomycosis, Why I Have Found It So Interesting". Dr. Catanzaro came to San Diego from Georgetown to study the immunology of sarcoidosis. Much to his surprise, he found little sarcoidosis in San Diego and was looking for a new direction. While attending the California Thoracic Society meeting, Tony met Dr. Hans Einstein from Bakersfield, California, the leading authority on Valley Fever. He persuaded Tony to attend the Cocci Study Group meeting, held in conjunction with the California Thoracic Society meeting. Dr. Catanzaro reviewed his investigations of Valley Fever including transfer factor, hypercalcemia associated with Valley Fever and treatment with ketoconoazole, fluconazole, itraconazole, and posaconazole (1-4). Prominently mentioned Hans Einstein from Bakersfield, John Galgiani from Tucson, Bernie Levine from Phoenix and J. Burr Ross also from Phoenix.

The Cocci Study Group meeting was held the following day, Saturday, April 5th at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Phoenix. The next meeting of the Arizona Thoracic Society is on Wednesday, April 23, 2014, 6:30 PM at Shea Hospital.

Richard A. Robbins, M.D.

References

1. Catanzaro A, Einstein H, Levine B, Ross JB, Schillaci R, Fierer J, Friedman PJ. Ketoconazole for treatment of disseminated coccidioidomycosis. Ann Intern Med. 1982 Apr;96(4):436-40. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
2. Catanzaro A, Galgiani JN, Levine BE, Sharkey-Mathis PK, Fierer J, Stevens DA, Chapman SW, Cloud G. Fluconazole in the treatment of chronic pulmonary and nonmeningeal disseminated coccidioidomycosis. NIAID Mycoses Study Group. Am J Med. 1995;98(3):249-56. [CrossRef]  [PubMed]
3. Galgiani JN, Catanzaro A, Cloud GA, Johnson RH, Williams PL, Mirels LF, Nassar F, Lutz JE, Stevens DA, Sharkey PK, Singh VR, Larsen RA, Delgado KL, Flanigan C, Rinaldi MG. Comparison of oral fluconazole and itraconazole for progressive, nonmeningeal coccidioidomycosis. A randomized, double-blind trial. Mycoses Study Group. Ann Intern Med. 2000;133(9):676-86. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
4. Catanzaro A, Cloud GA, Stevens DA, Levine BE, Williams PL, Johnson RH, Rendon A, Mirels LF, Lutz JE, Holloway M, Galgiani JN. Safety, tolerance, and efficacy of posaconazole therapy in patients with nonmeningeal disseminated or chronic pulmonary coccidioidomycosis. Clin Infect Dis. 2007;45(5):562-8. [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Reference as: Robbins RA. March 2014 Arizona thoracic society notes. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2014;8(4):223-4. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13175/swjpcc038-14 PDF

February 2014 Arizona Thoracic Society Notes

The February 2014 Arizona Thoracic Society was a dinner meeting sponsored by Select Specialty Hospital and held on Wednesday, 2/26/2014 at Shea Hospital beginning at 6:30 PM. There were 14 in attendance representing the pulmonary, critical care, sleep, and radiology communities.

Gerald Swartzberg was presented a plaque as the Arizona Thoracic Society clinician of the year by George Parides (Figure 1).

Figure 1. George Parides (left), Arizona Representative to the ATS Council of Chapter Representatives, presenting a plaque to Gerald Swartzberg (right), Arizona Thoracic Society Clinician of the Year.

A discussion was held about having a wine tasting in San Diego at the ATS International Conference. Peter Wagner (Slurping Around with PDW) has agreed to lead the conference. It was decided to extend invitations to the New Mexico, Colorado and California Thoracic Societies along with the Mayo Clinic.

A question was raised about guideline development. It was felt that we should review the Infectious Disease Society of America Valley Fever guidelines and determine if the Arizona Thoracic Society might have something to contribute.

Three cases were presented:

Lewis Wesselius from the Mayo Clinic Arizona presented a 19 year old man with shortness of breath and fever. He was seen in the Emergency Department and had a normal chest x-ray but returned 6 days later with a diffuse nodular pneumonia. Bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage revealed blood but all cultures with negative. He underwent video-assisted thorascopic lung (VATS) biopsy. Histologically the biopsy showed massive neutrophilic infiltration, hemorrhage, and small, angiocentric abscess formation. This was considered compatible with pyoderma gangrenosum of the lung (1). He had dramatic improvement with corticosteroids.

Elijah Poulos, a second year fellow at the Good Samaritan/VA program, presented a case of a non-resolving lung infiltrate in the left lower lobe after 6 weeks. CT scan showed a patchy, nodular consolidation with hazy borders. The patient was asymptomatic. Lung biopsy showed adenocarcinoma. He was referred to thoracic surgery for possible resection.  A discussion ensued reminding everyone that carcinoma is a consideration in non-resolving lung lesions and that adenocarcinoma is becoming more common (2).

Dr. Poulos also presented a 66 year old who is retired but a semi-retired handyman/farmer who had a persistent nonproductive cough. CT scan showed a diffuse increase in interstitial markings. Pulmonary function testing revealed restrictive lung disease. Bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage was unremarkable. He was treated with fluticasone nasal spray and improved. Most advised a VATS biopsy to establish a diagnosis.

Richard A. Robbins, M.D.

References

1. Kanoh S, Kobayashi H, Sato K, Motoyoshi K, Aida S. Tracheobronchial pulmonary disease associated with pyoderma gangrenosum. Mayo Clin Proc. 2009;84(6):555-7. [CrossRef] [PubMed] 
2. Lortet-Tieulent J, Soerjomataram I, Ferlay J, Rutherford M, Weiderpass E, Bray F. International trends in lung cancer incidence by histological subtype: Adenocarcinoma stabilizing in men but still increasing in women. Lung Cancer. 2014 Jan 25. pii: S0169-5002(14)00044-0. [PubMed]

Reference as: Robbins RA. February 2014 Arizona Thoracic Society notes. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2014;8(2):138-9. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13175/swjpcc026-14 PDF