Does Phantom Tumor Really Exist?!

Localized interlobar effusion in congestive heart failure (known as phantom tumor or vanishing tumor of the lung) is an uncommon entity. We report a case of a 61-year-old man who presented to the Emergency Departament with a two week history of dyspnoea, palpitations, dry cough and intermitent anterior chest pain. A posteroanterior chest radiography showed a nodular mass in the medium third of the right hemithorax suggestive of a pulmonary tumor.

[Pulmonary fibrosis induced by amiodarone--a pitfall of antiarrhytmic treatment].

Cardiac arrhythmia are one of the major causes of cardiovascular and general morbi-mortality. This is the reason for a very quick and well-guided approach. One of the most used drug for this purpose is amiodarone, due to its high therapeutic potency and despite its risk for adverse effects.

[Thromboembolic chronic pulmonary hypertension--a fake primary pulmonary hypertension--case report].

Chronic pulmonary hypertension (CPHT) is on the third place of causes leading to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients over fifty. Two of the rare causes of CPHT (< or = 7%) are: chronic thromboembolic hypertension and primary one; these two diseases resemble in many situations and, consequently, the diagnosis is frequently difficult (especially when risk factors for recurrent pulmonary thromboembolism are not present). Our case presentation is just such a situation; only pulmonary perfusion scintigraphy allowed us to make the right diagnosis--chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension--in an "apparently clear" primary pulmonary hypertension.

[Treatment of pulmonary hypertension in COPD: is there hope for the better?].

The aim of this study is to prove for a well tolerated medication (clinical and financial) a supplementary effect in improvement prognosis of patients with pulmonary hypertension secondary to COPD, already treated with classical pneumology drugs. Three pts. groups were selected: the first received only classical pneumology treatment, the second with supplementary therapy by IECA and Ca-blockers, the third with supplementary therapy with IECA and nebivolol; the follow-up protocol included clinical and paraclinical status (blood gases, spirometry, ECG, echocardiography, 6 minute walk test) over 3 months.