The contribution of CT-guided transthoracic lung biopsy to the diagnosis of organising pneumonia.

Background: Organising pneumonia is a pulmonary disease with variable clinical and radiological features and with many differential diagnoses. Diagnosis is based on histology obtained by either transbronchial or surgical lung biopsy but these techniques have several disadvantages. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic yield of CT-guided transthoracic lung biopsy in organising pneumonia and to compare it to the usual diagnostic tools.

[Bronchial involvement in hypersensitivity pneumonitis].

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis is a respiratory disease resulting from the inhalation of antigens to which the exposed subject has been previously sensitized. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis is characterized by a diffuse and predominantly mononuclear cell inflammation of the alveolar regions that involves the small airways in most cases. It explains the presence of mosaic attenuation and expiratory air trapping at HRCT Scan.

[The contribution of CT-guided transthoracic lung biopsy to the diagnosis of organizing pneumonia].

Background: Organizing pneumonia is a pulmonary disease with variable clinical and radiological features and with many differential diagnoses. Diagnosis is based on histology obtained by either transbronchial or surgical lung biopsy but these techniques have several disadvantages. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic yield of CT-guided transthoracic lung biopsy in organizing pneumonia and to compare it to the usual diagnostic tools.

[Treatments of the martial deficiencies: preparations available in France].

The financial advantage of the oral treatments of iron is minimised by their low bioavailibility (10 to 20%) and the fact that instructions for oral treatments are often badly followed by the patient (eg: tablets taken too far away from meals inducing frequent digestive problems). In France, since Maltofer (hydroxic ferric polymaltose) has been discontinued, Venofer (complex hydroxide ferric saccharose) is the only alternative intraveinous treatment with a cost which is now ten times higher than it was before. In foreign countries, other specialised products for intraveinous treatments (notably with a base of dextran iron with low molecular weight) have shown similar efficiency and are as safe to use as the complex hydroxide ferric saccharose.