1997 Volume 71 Issue 1 Pages 34-38
Bronchopulmonary infection affects the prognosis of lung cancer patients. Thus, we investigated the relationship between the prognosis of bronchopulmonary infectious diseases and their causative bacteria isolated by transtracheal aspiration (TTA) in lung cancer patients.
In the present study, we determined which factor is more predisposing for the outcome of bronchopulmonary infections, the type of causative bacteria or the host nutritional status. A total of 107 lung cancer patients, which consisted of 105 males and 5 females (mean age 67.3±8.0), were included in this study. The study was conducted from 1981 to 1994. They were classified into the survival group and the deceased group.
Causative agents of infection were compared between these 2 groups. S. p n eum o n iae, α-Streptococcus sp., M. catarrhalis, and Neisseria sp. were predominant in organisms isolated from TTA-specimens of lung cancer patients with bronchopulmonary infections, regardless of prognosis.
Nutritional status, as determined by serum levels of cholinesterase, albumin, and cholesterol, was poor in the deceased group than in the survival group.
These results indicate that the outcome of bronchopulmonary infections in lung cancer patients are affected mainly by the nutritional status of the host.
