BACKGROUND: Pleural effusion (PE) is a rare complication of advanced liver cirrhosis, which may lead to an operation when uncontrolled. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the modality of the occurrence of pleural effusion and to describe its surgical management. METHODS: We studied 21 patients who were referred ...

1. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of a hyaluronate-based gel (HAbg) on the prevention of pleural thickening and adhesion in tuberculous pleural effusions (TPE). 2. Fifty-two patients who had accumulated a medium or large volume of tuberculous thoracic fluid, fluid being bound by fibre ...

OBJECTIVE: In southeast Asia, pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is the most frequently presumed diagnosis for haemoptysis. This study was designed to assess the causes of haemoptysis, the diagnostic yield of causes in different diagnostic modalities and the distribution of older patients. METHODS: All patients presenting to the University of Malaya Medical ...

Luminol-amplified chemiluminescence was generated by alveolar macrophages, harvested from the bronchoalveolar lavages of 16 patients with different radiological stages of non-invasive (asymptomatic) sarcoidosis. None of the patients received any steroid therapy during this study. The mean duration of the disease in these patients was 8 months, with a duration time ...

GOALS: To analyze the pleural fluid factors that might cause spontaneous bacterial empyema (SBEM) in patients with cirrhotic hydrothorax. BACKGROUND: Pathogenic mechanism of SBEM of cirrhotic patients is probably similar to that of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, but local factors affecting pleural fluid have not been studied. STUDY: Determination of C3, ...

The management of sarcoidosis includes several crucial decisions. Not all patients with sarcoidosis need treatment. At least a third of patients will never be treated. It is unclear whether asymptomatic patients ever need therapy, even if they have extensive lung disease. One reason that clinicians are reluctant to start therapy ...

A 55-year-old man presented with a 3-week history of dry cough and left pleuritic chest pain with a new exudative pleural effusion. Sixteen years earlier, he was diagnosed with sarcoidosis presenting with hilar lymphadenopathy, erythema nodosum, mildly disturbed liver function tests and noncaseating granulomata on liver biopsy, with no evidence ...

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most frequent causative agent of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP); however, an etiologic diagnosis by traditional techniques can be accomplished in only a small percentage of patients with CAP. Pleural fluid is present in approximately 40% of patients with CAP; therefore, we hypothesized that detection of ...

Ophthalmic involvement in sarcoidosis may cause significant sight-threatening illness for patients. Studies of patients with histologically proven sarcoidosis have found 25 to 50% of patients to have ocular manifestations. The frequency in which eye disease is seen and the course that it takes vary with age, race, and geography. This ...

Hydropericardium is a known cause of pericardial effusion related to severely expanded extracellular fluid volume. Nephrotic patients have expanded extracellular fluid volume but obviously may have other causes for pericardial effusion. We tested the hypothesis that pericardial effusion is related to inflammation and not to hydropericardium in patients with nephrotic ...

OBJECTIVE: Pleural fluid parameters that predict a diagnostic closed pleural needle biopsy were investigated. DESIGN: A retrospective analysis. SETTING: The Institute of Pulmonology, Hadassah University Hospital. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-four patients who underwent closed pleural needle biopsies were included in this study. Pleural fluid values of protein, glucose, lactate dehydrogenase ...

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of interstitial collagenases, members of the family of matrix metalloproteinases, in the development of pulmonary fibrosis. The activity, levels and molecular forms of collagenases (matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-1, -8 and -13), gelatinase B (MM P-9) and its main endogenous inhibitor, tissue ...

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the prevalence of pathologic chest radiographs in infants presenting with a first episode of wheezing during respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) seasons and to compare demographics and clinical variables between patients with benign and pathologic chest radiographs. METHODS: We conducted a descriptive study of infants presenting to the ...

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Purulent pericarditis is a rapidly fatal disease if left untreated. This article describes our experience with diagnosis and management of 18 patients seen over a 10-year period. METHODS: Eighteen children with purulent pericarditis were treated in our clinics between 1990 and 2000. Ten patients were boys and 8 were ...

The late-presenting congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) represents a considerable diagnostic challenge. This study was undertaken to define various patterns of delayed presentation and to analyze pitfalls in the diagnosis and treatment of these patients. Thirty-three children with CDH were treated between 1993 and 2000; 15 of these (45.5%) who were ...

OBJECTIVES: To assess, in a young population (age 6-19) managed by a restrictive attitude to radiography and operative intervention, prevalence of patients with posterior caries and/or fillings, probabilities of new proximal dentine lesions given different caries experience, correlation between radiographic intervals and caries experience, and prevalence of endodontic treatment. METHODS: ...

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To describe the population of patients with sarcoidosis listed for orthotopic lung transplantation (OLT) in the United States, and to determine outcomes for these subjects relative to persons awaiting OLT for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of the United Network for Organ Sharing transplant database over ...

BACKGROUND: Sarcoidosis occurs most often between 20 and 40 years of age, but also presents in children and older adults. Newly diagnosed sarcoidosis in older patients has received little attention. In order to characterize sarcoidosis in older patients, the clinical, radiographic and laboratory features of sarcoidosis presenting in patients aged ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the value of the induced sputum technique in diagnosing sarcoidosis as the cause of uveitis. DESIGN: Comparative case series. PARTICIPANTS: Seventeen patients with uveitis. Two control groups were used. The first included 10 patients with sarcoid without uveitis; the second included 5 healthy volunteers. TESTING: Sputum was ...

Two patients with rheumatoid arthritis and empyematous pleural effusion were treated with repeated drainage and intrapleural corticosteroids. One patient with active joint disease improved within 3 months without sequelae, probably because of the systemic therapy. The other patient, with non-active joint disease, had persistent pleural effusion which resulted in pleural ...

Investigation of lung clearance of 99mTc-labelled diethylene triamine penta-acetic acid (DTPA) in smoking sarcoid patients has been impeded by difficulties to differ between pathology of clearance kinetics caused by sarcoidosis and by smoking. This study explores the kinetics of lung clearance of 99mTc-DTPA in 15 current smokers with intrathoracic sarcoidosis. ...

In the present study, sera were examined using Fasciola-IHA, F-ELISA and Schistosoma-IHA. The sero-positive schistosomal patients were subjected to rectal snip, while the sero-positive fascioliasis ones were examined radiologically by plain chest X-ray and abdominal ultrasonography. Both F-IHA and F-ELISA gave 100% sensitivity. The specificity of both testes were 90.4% ...

OBJECTIVES: To measure the radiological diagnostic yield on screening panoramic radiographs taken of new adult patients and to identify selection criteria for panoramic radiography of new adult patients. DESIGN: Survey of 1,817 consecutive panoramic radiographs taken as 'routine' on new patients with statistical analysis of clinical and radiological findings. SETTING: ...

A clinical analysis of 6 patients with pathologically confirmed tonsillar tuberculosis was carried out retrospectively. The subjects comprised three men and three women, ranging in age from 20 to 74 years. All of the patients presented with a sore throat and 5 had lymphadenopathy. Ulcerations, masses and white patches characterized ...

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To clarify the clinical significance of pleural effusion in the clinical course of acute aortic dissection (AAD). DESIGN: Retrospective clinical series. SETTING: A university hospital. PATIENTS: Fifty-five patients strongly suspected of having AAD because of severe chest or back pain. Patients with obvious ischemic heart disease, lung disease, ...

BACKGROUND: Myocardial infarction-associated pericarditis is a common cause of chest pain following MI, its frequency depending on how it is defined. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the incidence of acute pericarditis and pericardial effusion in the acute phase of ST-elevation MI treated with thrombolytic therapy. METHODS: The study group comprised 159 consecutive ...

Lateral epicondylitis is one of the most commonly diagnosed elbow disorders, but the role of radiographs in clinical evaluation is unclear. The purpose of this study was to review a consecutive series of 294 radiographs in patients diagnosed with lateral epicondylitis to determine whether radiographic findings had an impact on ...

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To characterize the biochemical and cytologic constituents of pleural effusions secondary to pulmonary embolism. DESIGN: A descriptive clinical study. SETTING: A community teaching hospital with 750 beds, which acts as a tertiary referral center for several subspecialties. PATIENTS AND INTERVENTIONS: Patients with pleural effusions secondary to pulmonary embolism ...

OBJECTIVE: The treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia with all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) sometimes results in a syndrome characterized by fever, respiratory distress, weight gain, pleural and pericardial effusion, and pulmonary infiltrates. We report the radiologic features of ATRA syndrome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: During the past 5 years, 69 patients with acute ...

INTRODUCTION: Patients with radiological features suggestive of active pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) from areas with a high prevalence of the disease have a high clinical likelihood of PTB regardless of the bacteriological findings. It is the established practice in many countries to initiate therapy in such patients. Our study aimed to ...

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of routine thoracentesis on diagnostic assessment and therapeutic measures in patients with clinically documented pleural effusions. DESIGN AND SETTING: Prospective, 1-year, three-center study in medical ICU (MICU) patients with physical and radiographic evidence of pleural effusion. PATIENTS: Of 1,351 patients admitted to three MICUs ...

The estimated annual incidence of malignant pleural effusions in the United States is 150,000 cases. Patients most commonly present with dyspnea, initially on exertion and later at rest. Chemical pleurodesis is the most common modality of therapy for patients with recurrent, symptomatic, malignant pleural effusion. Talc is the most successful ...

To determine the diagnostic impact of daily bedside chest radiography in comparison with digital luminescence technique (DLR; storage phosphor radiography) and conventional film screen radiography, a prospective randomized study was completed in 210 mechanically ventilated patients with a total of 420 analysed radiographs. The patients were allocated to two groups: ...

A retrospective analysis of clinical data of 71 patients with constrictive pericarditis (CP) diagnosed by echo-Doppler technique (mean age, 49+/-17) was done. In 27 patients (38%), the etiology was unknown, and the three most frequent identifiable causes were tuberculosis (23/71, 32%), cardiac surgery (8/71, 11%), and mediastinal irradiation (6/71, 9%). ...

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK: ECG abnormalities are more common in patients with sarcoidosis than in controls. The incidence of cardiac sarcoid granulomas in the Japanese population has been found to be higher than that seen in Caucasians. We compared the prevalence of ECG abnormalities in Japanese and Swedish ...

Sarcoidosis is a systemic disease that usually has a pulmonary presentation. Extrapulmonary presentation of the disease is often unrecognized because the clinical signs ( eg, peripheral lymph nodes) and more important symptoms ( eg, renal stones or uveitis) do not usually indicate systemic disease. In three different long-term studies of ...

OBJECTIVES: The study group comprised a collective of 1,605 patients with malignant mesotheliomas and with lung tissue available for lung dust analyses. METHOD: Clinical features, occupational histories, expositions and individual data were evaluated, and the asbestos bodies concentrations (asbestos bodies/cm3 lung tissue or g wet tissue) were determined. RESULTS: Mesotheliomas ...

SETTING: The public health sector of Bangladesh. OBJECTIVE: To assess gender differences in access to tuberculosis diagnosis and in tuberculosis treatment outcome in Bangladesh. METHODS: Information on the age and sex of a sample of patients in 1997 was collected from out-patient registers and tuberculosis laboratory and treatment registers in ...

The clinical profile of one hundred and six biopsy proved patients with sarcoidosis is reported from New Delhi. The disease occurred more frequently in males (68 of the 106; 64%) in their fifth decade. Dry cough (83%), exertional dyspnoea (61%), fever (56%) and joint pains (44%) were frequent symptoms. Hepatomegaly ...

BACKGROUND: Approximately 21% of patients with advanced malignancies have cardiac or pericardial involvement with tumor. Controversy exists regarding the optimal approach to the pericardial space when hemodynamic compromise due to effusions occurs. METHODS: A six-year retrospective review of 59 cancer patients with pericardial effusions. RESULTS: Thirty-six patients had subxiphoid pericardial ...

BACKGROUND: Since the clinical features of sarcoidosis and tuberculosis may mimic each other, and that differentiation is not easy on clinical grounds, a histologic diagnosis may be mandatory in countries where the prevalence of tuberculosis is high or in populations with large numbers of immigrants from those countries. Previous studies ...

This study assessed the extent to which laboratory methods recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were used in tuberculosis testing of patients in California in 1998. While recommended methods were used for most patients, there was room for improvement by hospital and independent non-health maintenance organization laboratories.

The development of pleural effusions in ESRD patients is a relatively common occurrence. Uremia, currently a rare cause of effusion, can lead to the development of hemorrhagic pleural fluid collections in patients who are underdialyzed. Uremic pleural effusions should be considered when common etiologies of effusions such as volume overload, ...

The expression of angiogenic factors may represent useful markers for diagnosis and prediction of disease outcome. Basic fibroblast growth factor (b-FGF) is a potent angiogenic factor which promotes in vitro growth of endothelial cells and in vivo vessel formation. We investigated the expression of b-FGF in patients affected with malignant ...

Ten patients were enrolled in this study to evaluate the therapeutic value of percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy in patients with symptomatic pericardial effusion secondary to malignant diseases. Four patients had breast cancer; 2 had lung cancer; 1 had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; and 3 had malignant pleural mesothelioma, which is commonly seen in ...

BACKGROUND: Ascites can occur after hepatic diseases causing dyspnea, coughing and pain. When associated with pleural effusion it can also increase respiratory distress. In a bibliographic survey hydrothorax has been observed in up to 20% of the patients and the kind of treatment is still being discussed. OBJECTIVE: This case ...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the presence of foreign material in the granulomatous cutaneous lesions of patients with systemic sarcoidosis. DESIGN AND SETTING: Observational study reevaluating histological specimens at a university referral hospital. PATIENTS: Sixty-five patients diagnosed as having sarcoidosis who developed granulomatous cutaneous involvement. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: To detect the presence ...

BACKGROUND: More than 85% of patients develop pleural effusions after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Although the majority resolve spontaneously, post-CABG effusions can persist. The cause of these persistent effusions is unknown, and the histology of the pleural changes has seldom been reported. OBJECTIVES: To describe the patient characteristics and ...

OBJECTIVES: To review our experience with thoracoscopy and talc poudrage during the previous 15 years with regards to efficacy, side effects, morbidity, and mortality. METHODS: Six hundred fourteen consecutive patients (58.6% female; mean age, 54.5 years) underwent thoracoscopy with talc poudrage from August 1983 to May 1999. Of these, 457 ...

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF WORK: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) appears to be an important cytokine in the inflammation of sarcoidosis. Infliximab is a chimeric monoclonal antibody which specifically inhibits TNF-alpha. We investigated the efficacy of infliximab for the therapy of chronic, resistant sarcoidosis. METHODS: Patients with persistent symptomatic sarcoidosis despite ...