Clinical characteristics and pathogenic analysis of lower respiratory tract infections in advanced lung cancer patients with different treatment modalities

Abstract

Objective

To clarify the clinical characteristics and pathogenic analysis after lower respiratory tract infection in patients with advanced lung cancer under different treatments.

Methods

A retrospective analysis was adopted to collect 94 cases of patients with advanced lung cancer combined with lower respiratory tract infection from January 1, 2018 to December 1, 2020. Seventy-four cases were male and 20 cases were female. According to the different treatments, the patients were divided into 43 cases in the chemotherapy group and 51 cases in the chemoradiotherapy group. The pathogenic and serological indexes were compared between the two groups to provide ideas for the application of antibiotics.

Results

In the comparison of general clinical data, the chemotherapy group had a shorter hospital stay than the chemoradiotherapy group and a higher body mass index level than the chemoradiotherapy group (p < 0.05). In the comparison of serological indicators, procalcitonin, high-sensitive C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and neutrophil percentage were lower in the chemotherapy group, and the lymphocyte was higher than that in the chemoradiotherapy group (p < 0.05). There was no difference in hemoglobin, albumin, creatinine, and alanine transaminase between the two groups (p > 0.05). In the comparison of pathogenicity, the chemotherapy group was more likely to have combined viral infections, while the chemoradiotherapy group was more likely to have Gram-negative bacterial infections (p < 0.05). There was no difference between the two groups in terms of fungal infections (p > 0.05). Besides, the chemoradiotherapy group was more likely to have combined infections (p > 0.05).

Conclusion

Patients with advanced lung cancer treated with chemoradiotherapy have a relatively poor prognosis after developing lower respiratory tract infections and are more likely to have mixed infections. Antibiotics need to be applied as early as possible. The common pathogens should be covered. Antiviral and antifungal drugs can be added as appropriate, and drug sensitivity tests should be completed as early as possible.