Background: Transthoracic ultrasound (US) is an important instrument to identify pleural effusions and safely conduct invasive procedures. It also allows systematic scanning of the pleural surface, though its value remains uncertain for differentiation between malignant (MPE) and nonmalignant pleural effusion (non-MPE) in routine clinical practice. Objectives: To evaluate the utility of US features to predict malignancy in undiagnosed pleural effusions in a real-life clinical setting. Methods: The US features of 154 consecutive patients with a pleural effusion were prospectively assessed. Anonymous images were recorded by an operator blinded to the clinical and radiological results. The US findings were classified by independent reviewers and compared to the final diagnosis. Results: A total of 133 patients were included (age 67 ± 16 years; BMI 25.1 ± 4.6; 54.1% females). The final diagnosis was MPE in 66 cases and non-MPE in 67 cases. US had an overall sensitivity of 80.3%, a specificity of 83.6%, and positive and negative predictive values of 82.8 and 81.2%, respectively, for the detection of malignancy. US accuracy was 81.9%. The presence of pleural/diaphragmatic nodules, pleural/diaphragmatic thickness >10 mm, and a swirling sign was significantly different between both groups (p < 0.001). Lung air bronchogram sign and a septated US pattern were more common in non-MPE patients (p < 0.01). The existence of nodularity and the absence of air bronchograms were more likely to indicate malignancy (OR 29.0, 95% CI 7.65-110.08 and OR 10.4, 95% CI 1.65-65.752, respectively). Conclusions: In the presence of an undiagnosed pleural effusion, US morphological characteristics can aid in differentiating MPE from non-MPE. Pleural/diaphragmatic nodularity was the most relevant feature although no finding was pathognomonic of MPE.

BackgroundLung cancer diagnosis is usually achieved through a set of bronchoscopic techniques or computed tomography guided-transthoracic needle aspiration (CT-TTNA). However these procedures have a variable diagnostic yield and some patients remain without a definite diagnosis despite being submitted to an extensive workup. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and cost of linear endobronchial (EBUS) and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) guided fine needle aspiration (FNA), performed with one echoendoscope, for the diagnosis of suspicious lung cancer lesions after failure of conventional procedures.MethodsOne hundred and twenty three patients with an undiagnosed but suspected malignant lung lesion (paratracheal, parabronchial, paraesophageal) or with a peripheral lesion and positron emission tomography positive mediastinal lymph nodes who had undergone at least one diagnostic flexible bronchoscopy or CT-TTNA attempt were submitted to EBUS and EUS-FNA. Patients with endobronchial lesions were excluded.ResultsOf the 123 patients, 88 had a pulmonary nodule/mass and 35 were selected based on mediastinal PET positive lymph nodes. Two patients were excluded because an endobronchial mass was detected at the time of the procedure. The target lesion could be visualized in 121 cases and FNA was performed in 118 cases. A definitive diagnosis was obtained in 106 cases (87.6%). Eighty-eight patients (72.7%) had non-small cell lung cancer, 15 (12.4%) had small cell lung cancer and metastatic disease was found in 3 patients (2.5%). The remaining 15 negative cases were subsequently diagnosed by surgical procedures. Twelve patients (9.9%) had a malignant tumor and in 3 (2.5%) a benign lesion was found. The overall sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of EBUS and EUS-FNA to diagnose malignancy were 89.8%, 100%, 100% and 20.0% respectively. The diagnostic accuracy was 90.1% in a population with 97.5% prevalence of cancer. The ultrasonographic approach avoided expensive surgical procedures and significantly reduced costs (p < 0.001).ConclusionsLinear EBUS and EUS-FNA are able to improve the diagnostic yield of suspicious lung cancer lesions after non-diagnostic conventional techniques. These techniques, performed with one scope, can be offered to patients with accessible lesions as an intermediate step for diagnosis since they may avoid more invasive procedures and hence reduce costs.

Academic motivation has been associated with important outcomes in different education contexts. The goal of the current study was to explore the psychometric properties of the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) based on the assumptions of the Rating Scale Model (RSM) to provide an effective instrument in assessing academic motivation in Portuguese students. The sample comprised 360 Portuguese university students that were assessed with the AMS adapted for online data collection. The results showed that the original version of the AMS with sevencategory response scale might not work properly with Portuguese university students. Different alternatives were tested by collapsing anchors in the endpoints and midpoint of the original response scale. This analysis revealed that the most suitable solution relies on a five-category response system with midpoint anchors collapsed. This final solution showed good overall fit according to the guidelines proposed for the RSM.

No abstract