Higher risk of lung cancer in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A prospective, matched, controlled study.

To assess the risk of lung cancer in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, we matched, on the basis of age, sex, occupation, and smoking history, 113 persons ("cases") who had a forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) of 70% or less of predicted normal with 113 control persons who had an FEV1 of 85% or more. All persons were observed from 1973-74 through 1984 for a diagnosis of lung cancer, death from lung cancer, and death from any cause. At entry, subjects had an age range of 45 to 59 years; men numbered 186 and women 40.

Survival in adult respiratory distress syndrome caused by blastomycosis infection.

A 32-year-old man with diabetes had rapid development of acute respiratory failure and severe hypoxemia. Radiologic and hemodynamic evaluation confirmed the clinical diagnosis of adult respiratory distress syndrome, and open-lung biopsy disclosed blastomycosis as the etiologic agent. The survival of this patient, after amphotericin therapy, to our knowledge is the first reported recovery from substantiated adult respiratory distress syndrome secondary to blastomycosis.