Histogram-based analysis in progressive pulmonary fibrosis: relationships between pulmonary functional tests and HRCT indexes.

Objectives: To investigate relationships between histogram-based high-resolution CT (HRCT) indexes and pulmonary function tests (PFTs) in interstitial lung diseases.

Methods: Forty-nine patients having baseline and 1-year HRCT examinations and PFTs were investigated. Histogram-based HRCT indexes were calculated; strength of associations with PFTs was investigated using Pearson correlation.

Clinical and Radiological Features of Interstitial Lung Diseases Associated with Polymyositis and Dermatomyositis.

Polymyositis and dermatomyositis are autoimmune idiopathic systemic inflammatory diseases, characterized by various degrees of muscle inflammation and typical cutaneous lesions-the latter found in dermatomyositis. The underlying pathogenesis is characterized by a high level of uncertainty, and recent studies suggest diseases may have different immunopathological mechanisms. In polymyositis, components of the cellular immune system are involved, whereas in dermatomyositis, the pathogenesis is mainly mediated by the humoral immune response.

Clinical and radiological features of lung disorders related to connective-tissue diseases: a pictorial essay.

Connective tissue diseases (CTDs) include a spectrum of disorders that affect the connective tissue of the human body; they include autoimmune disorders characterized by immune-mediated chronic inflammation and the development of fibrosis. Lung involvement can be misdiagnosed, since pulmonary alterations preceded osteo-articular manifestations only in 20% of cases and they have no clear clinical findings in the early phases. All pulmonary structures may be interested: pulmonary interstitium, airways, pleura and respiratory muscles.

Cavitated pulmonary nodules in a female patient with breast cancer: Keep in mind ' infections.

Serratia species are gram-negative bacteria, which could be isolated from soil, water, plants, animals and air. They are responsible for a heterogeneous spectrum of diseases, affecting the central nervous system, the urinary tract, the respiratory tract and the bloodstream. Pulmonary involvement is rare and typically occurs in immunocompromised patients; radiological appearances include haemorrhagic bronchopneumonia, even with the development of pulmonary abscesses and cavitated parenchymal lesions, or diffuse alveolar damage.

Cryptogenic Organizing Pneumonia: Evolution of Morphological Patterns Assessed by HRCT.

To evaluate the radiological findings in patients with cryptogenic organizing pneumonia (COP) before steroid treatment and their behavior after therapy, we retrospectively evaluated a total of 22 patients with a diagnosis of COP made by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), biopsy or clinical/radiological features, and the patients were followed between 2014 and 2018 at the hospital; the demographic data, symptoms, radiologic findings, diagnostic methods and treatment plans of patients were collected from patients' hospital records. At least two CT scans of 22 patients (16 female and six men) were evaluated, the first one before starting steroid therapy and the others after therapy. At baseline CT scans, the most common radiological finding was the presence of consolidations (18/22 patients, 81.

Thoracic outlet syndrome: a rare case with bilateral cervical ribs and bilateral anterior scalene hypertrophy.

Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is a rare neurovascular disorder generally caused by the presence of a cervical rib or hypertrophic scalene anterior muscle that can compress the brachial plexus and/or subclavian vessels. In the vascular form, the symptoms are caused by the compression of the artery and/or the subclavian vein. In the first case, the compression is caused by the cervical rib and leads to hypo-perfusion with cooling and cyanosis of the upper limb, while in the second case, the compression is caused by the anterior scalene muscle and leads to congestion, cyanosis, swelling and pain in the higher limb.