Browsing by Author "Pancas, R"
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- Diagnostic value of surgical lung biopsy: comparison with clinical and radiological diagnosisPublication . Coutinho, GF; Pancas, R; Magalhães, E; Bernardo, JE; Eugénio, L; Antunes, MJOBJECTIVE: To determine overall and disease-related accuracy of the clinical/imagiological evaluation for pulmonary infiltrates of unknown aetiology, compared with the pathological result of the surgical lung biopsy (SLB) and to evaluate the need for the latter in this setting. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of the experiences of SLB in 366 consecutive patients during the past 5 years. The presumptive diagnosis was based on clinical, imagiological and non-invasive or minimally invasive diagnostic procedures and compared with the gold standard of histological diagnosis by SLB. We considered five major pathological groups: diffuse parenchymal lung disease (DPLD), primitive neoplasms, metastases, infectious disease and other lesions. Patients with previous histological diagnosis were excluded. RESULTS: In 56.0% of patients (n=205) clinical evaluation reached a correct diagnosis, in 42.6% a new diagnosis was established (n=156) by the SLB, which was inconclusive in 1.4% (n=5). The pre-test probability for each disease was 85% for DPLD, 75% for infectious disease, 64% for primitive neoplasms and 60% for metastases. Overall sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values for the clinical/radiological diagnosis were 70%, 90%, 62% and 92%, respectively. For DPLD: 67%, 90%, 76% and 85%; primitive neoplasms: 47%, 90%, 46% and 90%; metastases: 99%, 79%, 60% and 99%; infectious disease 38%, 98%, 53% and 96%. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a high sensitivity and specificity of the clinical and imagiological diagnosis, the positive predictive value was low, particularly in the malignancy group. SLB should be performed in pulmonary infiltrates of unknown aetiology because the clinical/imagiological assessment missed and/or misdiagnosed an important number of patients.
- Intracardiac aorto-right atrial tunnelPublication . Pancas, R; Coutinho, GF; Antunes, MJ
- Long-term follow-up of elderly patients subjected to aortic valve replacement with mechanical prosthesesPublication . Coutinho, GF; Pancas, R; Antunes, PE; Antunes, MJWe propose to analyse the long-term follow-up in patients older than 65 years of age who received a mechanical valve in the aortic position, using death and prosthetic-related complications as endpoints. From April 1988 to December 1995, 144 consecutive patients 65-75 years of age (mean 67.7+/-2.5) were enrolled. Total duration of follow-up was 1663 patient-years (median 13.0 years) and was complete for 99% of the patients. Thirty-day mortality was 1.4% (n=2). At the end of the study, 77 patients (53.8%) were alive, with ages ranging from 77 to 91 years (mean 82.1+/-3.2 years). The overall 5-, 10- and 15-year actuarial survival was 87.4%+/-3.0, 67.7%+/-4.3 and 58.5%+/-4.5, respectively. Freedom from stroke was 93.3+/-3.1%, 84.6+/-3.3% and 71.7+/-4.5%, respectively, after identical periods. Freedom from major bleeding was 97.2+/-1.1%, 90.4+/-3.5% and 86.4+/-4.0%, respectively. Freedom from endocarditis was 95.7+/-2.3%, 95.0+/-2.1% and 94.4+/-2.5%, respectively, and freedom from reoperation was 98.0+/-1.2%, 97.6+/-1.3%, 96.9+/-2.4% and 96.4+/-2.6%, respectively. Freedom from major valve-related events was 87.7+/-2.6%, 73.9+/-3.4% and 61.5+/-4.6%, respectively. Nearly two-thirds of the patients were alive and free from major adverse valve-related events. Hence, we consider implantation of a mechanical prosthesis in elderly patients safe and appropriate, but the choice must be tailored for each specific patient