BACKGROUND: Pleural effusion in cirrhotic patients (hepatic hydrothorax) may result from migration of ascitic fluid across defects in the diaphragm. Biochemical analysis of ascitic and pleural fluid provides only indirect information about the nature and origin of the effusion. The present study was performed in order to demonstrate the presence/absence ...

BACKGROUND: Transthoracic endoscopic sympathectomy (TES) has been already a standard method for the treatment of primary hyperhidrosis. There are rare reports about possibly encountered problems during TES. Therefore, we present our experience in treating palmar and axillary hyperhidrosis and discuss the resoluble methods of potential problems during and after TES. ...

Aim of this study is the review of our experience in 82 patients treated by pericardial drainage for cardiac tamponade, to assess the efficacy and safety of different techniques and the related indications. The causes of pericardial effusion were: malignancy in 8 patients (9.7%), post-cardiac surgery in 12 (14.6%), while ...

Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (SRS) has been shown to reveal sarcoidosis sites. The aim of this study was to prospectively compare SRS and gallium scintigraphy in the evaluation of pulmonary and extrapulmonary involvement in patients with proven sarcoidosis. METHODS: Eighteen patients with biopsy-proven sarcoidosis were included. Nine were or recently had ...

Evaluation of diagnostic possibilities of high definition computerized tomography was performed on the material of 38 patients with recognized silicosis of small opacities on the bases of long lasting exposition, clinical and radiographic picture. Special usefulness of HRCT was shown in revealing early, scanty, radiographically imperceptible nodular changes. The presence ...

Pericardioscopy enables endoscopic inspection and aimed biopsy of the parietal and visceral pericardium. To elucidate possible technical modifications contributing to the feasibility, diagnostic value and safety of the procedure, pericardioscopy with an Olympus HYF-1T flexible endoscope was performed in 32 patients (53.1% males, mean age 46.2 +/- 13.1 years) with ...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the pericardial involvement in patients with malignant mesothelioma caused by exposure to different minerals. METHODOLOGY: Forty-two patients (mean age of 52 +/- 12 years) with malignant mesothelioma were examined with transthoracic echocardiography. Thirty-three (78.9%) patients had a history of environmental ...

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity and the activities of its ADA1 and ADA2 isoenzymes in pleural effusions and also sera with different aetiological origins. METHODOLOGY: The pleural effusions of 87 patients were examined. The patients were separated into four groups: transudates, parapneumonic, malignant, and tuberculous effusions. ...

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK: The causes of sarcoidosis are unknown. Propionibacterium acnes has been isolated from sarcoid lesions, and many genomes of P. acnes or P. granulosum have been detected in all biopsy samples tested from Japanese patients with sarcoidosis. We searched for protein antigens from propionibacteria that ...

Cardiac involvement is the major determinant of morbidity and mortality in patients with sarcoidosis, but clinical evaluation of the disease activity is occasionally difficult in cardiac sarcoidosis. The present study examined whether serum levels of interleukin-10 (IL-10) could reflect the disease activity of patients with cardiac sarcoidosis. Serum IL-10 levels ...

Induction of pleurodesis offers benefit for patients with metastatic tumors and symptomatic malignant pleural effusions, but the best method for achieving this is still unknown. In this prospective, randomized comparison of two well-established pleurodesis procedures, 36 patients with malignant pleural effusions, expanded lungs after drainage, and expected survival of > ...

In patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis, air trapping as evidenced by expiratory high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) is not specific for a given stage of disease. Air trapping can occur at the level of the secondary lobule, as well as in distributions suggesting sublobular, subsegmental, and segmental involvement. While air trapping can ...

OBJECTIVE: As soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) is a marker of T-lymphocyte activation, we sought to determine whether its measurement in pleural fluid is diagnostically useful in tuberculous pleurisy. DESIGN: We compared the concentrations of sIL-2R in pleural samples of 23 patients with tuberculous pleurisy and 109 patients with non-tuberculous effusions ...

BACKGROUND: This study describes the pleural fluid characteristics of patients who develop symptomatic pleural effusions after coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). METHODS: Post-CABG patients who underwent a therapeutic thoracentesis for a symptomatic pleural effusion were included unless another explanation for the pleural effusion was present. RESULTS: During the study, ...

The objective of this research was to analyze why patients with tuberculosis (TB) die and to evaluate whether there are factors contributing to their fatal outcome that could be corrected. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted of the patients with active TB or its sequelae admitted to the TB ward ...

Interest in childhood sarcoidosis prompted the formation of an international registry in 1991. Over the next 5 years, 53 patients were registered by 23 physicians from 14 countries. All the patients had definite histologic evidence of sarcoidosis: noncaseating granulomas of the skin (31), synovium (15), liver (10), lymph node (eight), ...

This review summarizes current strategies in the treatment of patients with pleural effusion. To determine whether a patient has a transudative or exudative pleural effusion, Light's criteria should be applied to measure the concentrations of protein and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in the pleural fluid and serum. If the effusion is ...

OBJECTIVES: Tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) is a key cytokine involved in granuloma formation of sarcoidosis. Since soluble TNF receptors (sTNF-R) are known to inhibit TNF effects, we were interested in whether they are elevated in the serum of sarcoidosis patients. METHODS: We determined serum levels of sTNF-R I (55 ...

OBJECTIVES: To review retrospectively our experience with peripheral blood eosinophilia (PBE) in sarcoidosis and to analyze histologically lung biopsy specimens for the presence of lung tissue eosinophils. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We reviewed 140 cases of sarcoidosis diagnosed between May 1975 and January 1998. Ninety-five patients (66.3% women; 70.5% African American; ...

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY: The frequency and clinical picture of sarcoidosis are different in Finland and Hokkaido, Japan. The aim of this study was to compare the normalisation rate of chest radiographic changes in patients with biopsy-proven sarcoidosis. METHOD: The chest radiographs of 437 Finnish and 457 Japanese ...

BACKGROUND: In decompensated chronic heart failure, there is controversy regarding the incidence and amount of pericardial fluid. Moreover, the relation of pericardial effusion to pleural effusion has not yet been clarified. The current study examined the incidence and amount of pericardial effusion in patients with decompensated chronic heart failure as ...

OBJECTIVE: To study the outcome of pneumothorax managed in a university-affiliated metropolitan medical center. DESIGN: A retrospective review. SETTING: Busy metropolitan medical center. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Records of 1,199 patients with pneumothorax were reviewed and analyzed. RESULTS: Primary spontaneous pneumothorax occurred in 218 patients, secondary spontaneous pneumothorax occurred in 505, ...

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To determine the relationship between D dimer (DD) status and markers of disease activity in patients with sarcoidosis. DESIGN: Prospective, observational analysis. SETTING: Pulmonary clinic of a tertiary care, university-affiliated hospital. PATIENTS: Consecutive individuals with newly diagnosed sarcoidosis. INTERVENTION: Determination of serum DD. Measurements and results: The study ...

BACKGROUND: The presence of pericardial calcification on a plain radiograph strongly suggests constrictive pericarditis in patients with heart failure. However, calcific constrictive pericarditis is considered rare in the United States since tuberculosis incidence has decreased, and doubt has therefore been raised about the importance of this radiologic finding in modern ...

OBJECTIVES: Tonsils are uncommonly affected by granulomatous inflammation, often with an obscure cause. This study attempts to elucidate the nature of tonsillar granulomatous inflammation. DESIGN: Retrospective clinicopathologic review. METHODS: Twenty-two cases of tonsillar granulomas diagnosed between 1940 and 1999 were retrieved from the files of the Armed Forces Institute of ...

OBJECTIVE: To compare cases of tuberculosis (TB) diagnosed among aboriginal persons with a random sample of nonaboriginal persons diagnosed with TB, and evaluate the trends in rates of disease between both groups during the same period. DESIGN: A case-control study. SETTING: A provincial TB control program. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All ...

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Routine use of diagnostic radioisotope bone scanning in patients with sarcoidosis has not previously been evaluated. The aim of this study was to assess whether routine radioisotope bone scanning might be of value in the detection of osseous lesions in sarcoidosis. METHODS: 63 consecutive Caucasian patients (32 ...

Tuberculosis and malignancy are two common causes of exudative pleural effusions. In this retrospective study of 52 patients with tuberculous pleural effusions and 32 patients with malignant effusions, the median age of patients with malignant effusions (68.5 years) was older than that of patients with tuberculous effusions (34.5 years) (p ...

This study assessed the impact of malignant mesothelioma on the frequencies of sister chromatid exchange (SCE) in the pleural effusion cells. Ten patients with mesothelioma and 20 control subjects were included in the study. The control subjects were the patients with tuberculosis pleurisy, and the remaining 10 subjects of control ...

BACKGROUND: Various factors such as serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (sACE) activity, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid lymphocyte percent, CD4/CD8 ratio, and shadows on chest radiograph have been identified as indexes of disease activity in patients with sarcoidosis. However, it remains to be confirmed whether these factors can predict clinical outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To ...

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To determine the predictive accuracy of pH for identifying patients with malignant pleural effusions who will fail pleurodesis. DESIGN: Analysis of published and unpublished individual patient-level data retrieved from a MEDLINE search and correspondence with primary investigators. STUDY SELECTION: Studies that reported pleural fluid pH values and outcomes ...

Erythema nodosum (EN) is a cutaneous reaction consisting of inflammatory, tender nodular lesions and is associated with a wide variety of disease processes. The aim of our study was to investigate the frequency of different aetiologies of EN. One hundred and thirty-two EN patients were investigated in a prospective study ...

The incidence of tuberculosis was found to be 5.8% (16/274) in 274 kidney graft recipients in our centre between 1986 and 1998. The kidney recipients were evaluated retrospectively. A total of 51 recipients received isoniazid prophylaxis for 6 months. The prevalence of tuberculosis was found similar (6% vs. 8.8%, p ...

BACKGROUND: A large idiopathic chronic pericardial effusion can be defined as a collection of pericardial fluid that persists for more than three months and has no apparent cause. We conducted a prospective study of the natural history and treatment of this disorder. METHODS: Between 1977 and 1992, we prospectively evaluated ...

STUDY OBJECTIVES: The decrease in incidence of tuberculosis, along with the increase in invasive cardiovascular procedures, may have changed the frequency of causes of bloody pericardial effusion associated with cardiac tamponade, although this is not yet recognized by medical textbooks. We analyzed the causes of bloody pericardial effusion in the ...

A 67-year-old female patient with biopsy proven AL systemic amyloidosis developed rapidly progressive dyspnea. Chest roentgenogram and CT scan revealed a large right pleural effusion in addition to nodular lesions with bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy. The patient's serum showed IgG lambda type monoclonal gammopathy and she also had Bence Jones proteinuria. ...

We performed a combined retrospective and prospective study on the utility of obtaining radiographs in patients with trigger finger. Ninety-three patients with a total of 110 involved fingers were reviewed. The average age of the patients was 52 years, and 61% had involvement of their dominant hand. There were 54 ...

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Airway obstruction (AO) in sarcoidosis is reported to be associated with respiratory symptoms, increased morbidity, and an increased mortality risk. Because AO in sarcoidosis may result from several causes, the therapeutic benefit of corticosteroids is difficult to determine. The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic ...

This prospective study evaluated 382 pediatric patients with peripheral lymphadenopathy (LA) presenting at the Pediatric Oncology and Hematology Departments of Social Security Children's Hospital and Gazi University Medical Faculty Hospital. The ages of the patients ranged between 2 months and 16 years (median 7 years); 72% of the patients were ...

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the differences in the clinical, radiologic, and laboratory features of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in older patients, as compared to younger patients. DESIGN: A meta-analysis (the Schmidt-Hunter method) of published works found in MEDLINE and other sources was performed. A total of 12 studies were collected, and ...

PURPOSE: We sought to assess the yield of chest roentgenography for the detection of pneumothorax among hospitalized patients with pleural effusion who have undergone diagnostic or therapeutic thoracentesis. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We performed a prospective study of 506 thoracentesis procedures in 370 patients. After the procedure, each operator filled out ...

PURPOSE: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been successful in the treatment of critically ill children; however, its use has been accompanied by a broad range of complications. The authors describe the presentation, clinical course, treatment, and outcome of 4 patients on ECMO in whom pericardial tamponade developed caused by a ...

Over the past 3 years we have treated 4 patients with nasolacrimal duct obstruction secondary to sarcoidosis. These patients have had mixed outcomes following endonasal laser-assisted dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR). A literature search from 1966 to the present yielded a further 11 cases of patients thought to have sarcoid who underwent DCR. ...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to assess the frequency of various sternal wire abnormalities on chest radiographs of patients with sternal dehiscence and to determine the role of radiography in detecting or confirming this complication. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used our computerized hospital information system to identify all ...

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical features, the results of noninvasive tests and biopsies, and the outcome of patients with Löfgren's syndrome. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Patients diagnosed as having Löfgren's syndrome at a university hospital in Barcelona, Spain, from 1974 to 1996, were prospectively followed. Löfgren's syndrome was defined as the ...

Constrictive pericarditis is a complication of tuberculous pericarditis that necessitates surgical intervention. In this study, we sought to identify echocardiographic features that could predict the development of constrictive pericarditis from acute or subacute pericarditis. From January 1988 through May 1998, all patients with a discharge diagnosis of tuberculous pericarditis were ...

STUDY OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship of the pleural fluid vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) level with the diagnostic category and with the pleural fluid characteristics in a group of 70 patients. DESIGN: The VEGF levels of consecutive patients undergoing therapeutic thoracentesis were determined ...

PURPOSE: To report conjunctival deposits as an initial manifestation of sarcoidosis. METHODS: Case reports. RESULTS: Two patients with bilateral bulbar conjunctival white deposits underwent conjunctival biopsy. The biopsy specimens showed noncaseating granulomas with prominent Schaumann bodies. Serum angiotensin-converting enzyme levels were increased in both patients. The first patient had abnormal ...

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK: To review a general hospital's experience with sarcoidosis and the clinical pattern of the disease among the Saudis. METHODS: Retrospective file review was carried out of all patients with proven diagnosis of sarcoidosis in a general hospital in Western Saudi Arabia over a period ...

AIM: To evaluate the usefulness of expiratory lateral decubitus views in the radiological diagnosis of small pleural effusions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients referred for abdominal sonography for various reasons were examined for ultrasonographic features of pleural effusion. From November 1994 until May 1996, 36 patients were found to have pleural ...