Etiology and outcome of community-acquired lung abscess.

Background: Anaerobes are the first and Streptococcus species the second most common cause of community-acquired lung abscess (CALA) in the West. The etiologic pathogens of this disease have changed in Taiwan, with Klebsiella pneumoniae being reported as the most common cause of CALA.

Objective: To determine the etiologies of community-acquired lung abscess.

[Severe complications and their outcomes in 65 patients with Legionella pneumonia].

The aim of the current study was to investigate the lethal complications of Legionella pneumonia. Severe complications and their outcomes in 65 patients with Legionella pneumonia were studied. All patients who eventually had a fatal outcome or who had severe complications received antimicrobial agents active against Legionella on the admission day.

[Nemaline myopathy detected with respiratory failure and right ventricular heart failure].

We describe the case of a 40-year-old woman who was admitted for dyspnea and pitting edema of the lower extremities. Severe type II respiratory failure and right ventricular heart failure were present. Non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) improved the symptoms and blood gas values.

[Case of pneumonia caused by beta-lactamase-producing and amoxicillin/clavulanate resistant strains of H. influenzae].

An 80-year-old woman presenting with fever and cough was given a diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia. She was hospitalized and treated with ampicillin/sulbactam (ABPC/SBT) and clarithromycin (CAM). Gram stain images and sputum culture results led us to believe that the causative agent was Haemophilus influenzae.

[Case of hot tub lung with confirmation of exacerbation following jet bath use].

A 49-year-old woman presented with exertional dyspnea. Chest CT revealed patchy areas of ground-glass attenuation and ill-defined centrilobular nodules scattered in both lungs. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid showed lymphocytosis.

[Lung cancer associated with rheumatoid arthritis and usual interstitial pneumonia].

Unlabelled: To assess the effects of usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) and smoking in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients regarding lung cancer risk, we studied 86 RA patients (14 patients with lung cancer, 58 patients with UIP (RA/ UIP), and 14 patients with both). Among the 28 RA patients with lung cancer, 14 patients (50%) had UIP. Compared to the lung cancer patients without UIP, the proportion of smokers (92.

Development of sarcoidosis during etanercept therapy.

This report describes a 65-year-old woman who developed granulomatous lesions consistent with sarcoidosis during etanercept therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. Hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy and multiple nodules in both lung fields developed 21 months after administration of etanercept. Noncaseating epithelioid cell granulomas consistent with sarcoidosis were detected in a lung biopsy specimen and in the parietal pleura obtained via thoracotomy.

[Clinical features of mixed infections in patients with Streptococcus pneumoniae pneumonia].

We retrospectively analyzed the severity, the mortality and the initial antimicrobial therapy in 195 patients with Streptococcus pneumoniae pneumonia (SPP). Of these, 59 (30.3%) patients had mixed pneumonia.

Desquamative interstitial pneumonia with a remarkable increase in the number of BAL eosinophils.

A 57-year old man with desquamative interstitial pneumonia (DIP) showed a marked increase in eosinophils in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. The patient was referred to our hospital for abnormal shadows on his chest X-ray with no symptoms in May 2007. Computed tomography (CT) showed patchy, peripheral predominate ground-glass opacity.

[A case of rheumatoid arthritis complicated with methotrexate-induced pneumonitis and pneumocystis pneumonia].

A 62-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis was given 4 mg/body methotrexate (MTX) every week and 5 mg prednisolone every day. She developed a severe cough starting in the evening after starting taking MTX and after a fever of 38 degrees and dyspnea appeared the patient was hospitalized. On admission, chest CT findings showed diffuse ground glass attenuation.

Pulmonary Schizophyllum commune infection developing mucoid impaction of the bronchi.

A 54-year-old woman was admitted for cough, sputum, and an abnormal chest X-ray shadow. Bronchoscopy showed mucoid impaction of the bronchi (MIB). Histopathologic evidence of mucous plugs was consistent with one component of allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis.

[Pulmonary infections in patients with rheumatoid arthritis].

We studied 149 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients (mean age 68.0 years; 68 men, 81 women) with pulmonary infections. The mean age at the onset of RA and the duration of RA was 57.

[Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in a patient with hyper-IgE syndrome].

A 15-year-old girl with abnormal findings detected on a medical check-up chest x-ray film was admitted to our center. High-resolution computed tomography, performed upon hospitalization, demonstrated panlobular nodular darkening in left lung fields, and an expanding, blended, map-like darkening near the pleura. Since a Grocott stain-positive cyst was confirmed histopathologically by transbronchial lung biopsy, the patient was given a diagnosis of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.

[Etiology and outcome of community-acquired pneumonia in relation to age and severity in hospitalized adult patients].

The aim of this study was to determine the etiology and outcome of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in relation to age and severity in hospitalized patients. Overall, 652 consecutive patients with CAP were studied retrospectively during a 4-year period from 2002. Severity of pneumonia was classified according to the guidelines of the Japanese Respiratory Society (JRS 2005) and American Thoracic Society (ATS 2001).

[Clinical features and outcome in 84 patients with influenza pneumonia].

We examined the clinical features, illness types of pneumonia, efficacy of neuraminidase inhibitors and outcome in patients with influenza pneumonia. Eighty-four patients with influenza pneumonia, in whom the diagnosis was confirmed by serology or rapid diagnostic tests, were studied. Because neuraminidase inhibitors were given prior to the onset of pneumonia in some patients with secondary bacterial pneumonia, we examined the efficacy of neuraminidase inhibitors in patients other than the secondary bacterial pneumonia group.

[Clinical study of 90 cases of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia].

We investigated 90 patients with Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) pneumonia. Forty-four patients were men, 46 were women and the mean age was 43.

[Community-acquired pneumonia with rhabdomyolysis].

We assessed the frequency and etiology of rhabdomyolysis in patients with community-acquired pneumonia. In 594 patients with community-acquired pneumonia whose serum CPK were measured, 25 patients (2.4%) were found to have rhabdomyolysis.

[Pulmonary tuberculosis with cerebellar lesion in a patient after anti-TNF-alpha (infliximab) treatment for rheumatoid arthritis].

We report a case of pulmonary tuberculosis in a 51-year-old Japanese woman, who received treatment with infliximab for active rheumatoid arthritis. She had cough and sputum after the second infusion of the drug, small nodular lesions of right lung field and left lower lobe on her chest CT and a small nodular lesion of right cerebellar lobe on her cranial MRI were identified. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was cultured from her sputum.

[Polymicrobial infections in patients with Legionella pneumonia].

We assessed the frequency and clinical significance of polymicrobial infections in 31 patients with sporadic community-acquired Legionella pneumonia. Twenty-six patients were men, 5 were women and mean age was 61 years. Eighteen patients were smokers, 6 patients were chronic alcoholics and 23 had underlying diseases.

[Imaging diagnosis for intralobar pulmonary sequestration by subclassification of CT findings in bronchoalveolar structures].

We examined the chest CT findings in 12 cases of intralobar pulmonary sequestration. We classified 4 subtypes by evaluating bronchial and alveolar structures, thus: type A (3 cases), mild cylindrical dilatation of the bronchial structure and hyperlucent alveolar structure; type B (3 cases), marked cylindrical dilatation of the bronchial structure and hyperlucent alveolar structure; type C (2 cases), multicystic dilatation of the bronchial structure and alveolar structure without hyperlucency; and type D (4 cases), multicystic dilatation of the bronchial structure and absence of any alveolar structure. All 77 cases (present and previously reported cases) with CT-documented intralobar pulmonary sequestration could be classified into 4 subtypes: type A 9%, type B 34%, type C 19%, and type D 38%.

[Churg-Strauss syndrome with alveolar hemorrhage].

A 35 year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of cough, wheezing, and paresthesia of the right upper extremity. He demonstrated marked eosinophilia, bronchial asthma, and mononeuritis multiplex. We diagnosed Churg-Strauss syndrome.

[A case of pneumonitis induced by Bofu-tsusho-san].

We encountered a patient in whom Bofu-tsusho-san (Chinese herbal drug) had induced pneumonitis. A 65-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of cough, fever, and dyspnea about one month after treatment with Bofu-tsusho-san. BALF showed an increase in the total cell number and the percentage of lymphocytes.

[Legionella pneumonia: report of 25 community-acquired cases].

We assessed clinical, laboratory and radiologic findings in 25 patients (21 men and 4 women; mean age 60.1 years) with Legionella pneumonia. The diagnosis was confirmed from the isolation of Legionella pneumophila in respiratory samples(nine cases), or by a fourfold increase or decrease in antibody titers in the paired serum samples (16 cases).