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BACKGROUND: Many national and international guidelines have been established for venous thromboembolic disease (VTE). Homogeneous management practices could be expected in the different European countries. To verify this hypothesis, we compared practices in France, Italy and Spain. METHOD: We used data from the international RIETE registry to compare VTE management between France, Italy and Spain. RESULTS: From 2001 January to 2011 January, patients were consecutively included in France (n=1548), Italy (n=2083) and Spain (29,824). All patients received anticoagulant treatment. Low molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) was the most frequently used drug as initial therapy in all three countries, but unfractionated heparin (UFH) was more frequently used in France and Italy than in Spain. In France, the proportion of patients receiving LMWH was lower than the proportion of patients with active cancer (cancer 22.5 %, long-term treatment with LMWH 17.4 %). A vena cava filter was significantly more frequently used in France (5.5 % in France, 3.2 % in Italy and 2 % in Spain, P<0.0001). High bleeding risk because of surgery with recent thromboembolic disease was the most frequent indication in France and Italy for vena cava filter placement (36.4 %, and 31.3 %, respectively). CONCLUSION: Despite the publication of national and international guidelines, VTE management differs among the three major European countries included in the RIETE registry, France, Italy and Spain.

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We report the case of an asthmatic man in whom a solitary pulmonary nodule was discovered after an episode of self-limited hemoptysis. Infection was suspected after initial response to empirical antibiotic therapy, and the pathogen was later identified to be a rare mycobacterium. The pulmonary nodule resolved without surgery after oral quinolone therapy. Mycobacterium fortuitum should be added to the list of possible causes of solitary pulmonary nodule in Spain.

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Comunicamos el caso de un paciente asmático en el que se descubrió un nódulo pulmonar solitario tras presentar un episodio de hemoptisis autolimitada. La naturaleza infecciosa del proceso se sospechó tras la respuesta inicial a un tratamiento antimicrobiano empírico y su agente causal, una micobacteria infrecuente, se identificó con posterioridad tras recibir los resultados de los cultivos de esputo. El tratamiento con una quinolona por vía oral condujo a la resolución del nódulo pulmonar sin requerir cirugía. Mycobacterium fortuitum debe añadirse a las posibles causas de nódulo pulmonar solitario también en nuestro país. (AU)

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To describe the clinical and radiologic signs, evolution and response to treatment of patients diagnosed of tracheobronchial granular cell tumors (GCT) in our practice. Retrospective computerized review of all bronchoscopic procedures performed in our hospital from January 1974 through November 1996. Patients with GCT were identified and their case histories reviewed. Eight male patients with 9 GCT were identified. Mean age was 55 years. Only one was symptomatic (hemoptysis) and only one had radiologic signs (solitary pulmonary node). Six patients were diagnosed of tumors in other organs. With the exception of one GCT located in the trachea, all were found in the right bronchial system. Endoscopy revealed mucosal abnormalities in six patients and nodes in three. Treatment was conservative in four patients, endoscopic in three (2 mechanical endoscopic resections and one laser Nd-YAG resection in a patient with two tumors), and surgical in one. Disease evolution as treated was favorable during the observation period. Tracheobronchial GCT are rare tumors. Most patients were between 50 and 70 years old, were often asymptomatic and had few radiologic manifestations. They suffered accompanying neoplasia in other organs. GCT were located in central and segmentary bronchial and nodes or abnormal mucosa could be seen endoscopically. Treatment was conservative, endoscopic or surgical, depending on tumor size and patient characteristics.

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We conducted a retrospective analysis of the epidemiological, etiological, clinical and radiological characteristics, and mainly of those related to the diagnosis and treatment, of all the patients with radiological criteria of solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN) studied in our environment during a period of six years (1984-1989). The incidence of SPN was 3.1% (123/3953). Among the 117 cases of filiated etiology, 83 (71%) were malignant and 34 (29%), benign thoracotomy was used as diagnostic method in 11 (32%) benign cases and in 8 (9.6%) malignant cases. Due to several causes, only 31 out of the 75 (41.3%) malignant nodules diagnosed prior to the thoracotomy underwent resection surgery. According to the selection criteria applied in our medium, a high number of the SPN were malignant; in most of these cases, the diagnosis was established without the need of thoracotomy and in less that half of them, curative surgery was attempted.

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To check the possible existence of long-term pulmonary functional sequelae in patients with pneumonia due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae, 17 patients who showed evident spirometric disorders during the recovery from the acute phase of a pneumonia due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae were studied. In the acute phase of the disease, 7 patients showed a ventilatory restriction, 6 of them had an obstructive pattern while in four patients a mixed pattern was observed. After a latency period, which mean length was 39 months, it was seen that there was a return to normal values of the spirometric conventional parameters initially altered in all cases. However 5 patients (33%) who did not smoke, showed a significant decrease on the maximum flows at low volume. These results suggest that in a high percentage of adult patients, as has been previously described in children, pneumonia due to M. pneumoniae could leave as a sequelae the persistent affectation of small airway.

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With the aim of testing the cost-effectiveness of diagnostic fiberbronchoscopy in pleural effusions, the results obtained in a study of 46 patients in whom pleural effusion was the only indication for this diagnostic technique was analyzed. Patients were divided into two groups based on whether they presented pleural effusion of unkown ethiology (group A) or non-localized primary metastatic effusion (group B). Two out of 28 patients in group A, and 5 out of 18 in group B were diagnosed by means of fiberbronchoscopy. It is concluded that given the good tolerance and low morbidity of this exam, the diagnostic cost-effectiveness justifies its performance in such situations. Possible modifications in the indications that could influence its utility are discussed.

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The objective of our study was to determine the safety of transbronchial biopsy (TBB) in nonhospitalized patients. The design was a prospective study of the consecutive cases from July 1987 until September 1988 in the setting of a university hospital of the third level with 1,800 beds. The patients were a consecutive sample of 169 patients who had 184 procedures of fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) with TBB performed. They suffered from different diseases: lung nodules or masses, diffuse interstitial disease, alveolar condensation, etc. An FOB with TBB was performed in immunocompetent outpatients, who were kept under observation for four hours and then had a chest roentgenogram taken afterwards. We contacted them again after 72 hours to rule out delayed complications. In three cases, more than 100 ml of blood were obtained during the FOB, without significant hemoptysis being recorded in those patients during the observation period; chest pain occurred in 15 patients during the TBB; pneumothorax occurred in two patients (1 percent), one of whom required admission to the hospital, without requiring chest tube drainage. Other complications are reported (bronchospasm, parenchymal hemorrhage, and pneumonia). In conclusion, we consider the TBB to be a technique with a low incidence of complications for outpatients, so therefore we do not believe that admission to the hospital is mandatory for this type of patient, although we do recommend a longer observation period.

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