Identifying malignant mesothelioma by a pathological survey using the São Paulo state hospital cancer registry, Brazil.

Objective: To review the pathological diagnosis of possible cases and/or hidden cases of malignant mesothelioma (MM) between 2000 and 2012 using the Hospital-Based Cancer Registry database in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.

Methods: Possible cases were retrieved by assessing the database. Inclusion criteria were being older than 30 years of age and having ICD-O-3 topography and morphology codes related to MM.

Clinical diagnosis of patients subjected to surgical lung biopsy with a probable usual interstitial pneumonia pattern on high-resolution computed tomography.

Background: Usual interstitial pneumonia can present with a probable pattern on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT), but the probability of identifying usual interstitial pneumonia by surgical lung biopsy in such cases remains controversial. We aimed to determine the final clinical diagnosis in patients with a probable usual interstitial pneumonia pattern on HRCT who were subjected to surgical lung biopsy.

Methods: HRCT images were assessed and categorized by three radiologists, and tissue slides were evaluated by two pathologists, all of whom were blinded to the clinical findings.

Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica.

Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica is a rare benign disease, of unknown cause, characterized by numerous sessile, cartilaginous, or bony submucosal nodules distributed throughout the anterolateral walls, projecting into the laryngotracheobronchial lumen. In general, tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica is diagnosed incidentally during bronchoscopy or autopsy and is not associated with a specific disease. We report the case of a male patient who was diagnosed with tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica via bronchoscopy and biopsy.

Pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis: report of two cases in Brazil.

Pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (PPFE) is a rare lung disease. It can be idiopathic or associated with any one of various conditions. To our knowledge, this is the first report of two cases of PPFE in Brazil.

A score for estimating survival in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis with rest SpO2>88.

Background: Prediction models for survival at baseline evaluation have been proposed in IPF but some are difficult to use. The aim of present study was to develop a new mortality risk scoring system for patients with IPF at initial evaluation.

Methods: One hundred twenty with definitive IPF were selected through a review of standardized medical records for interstitial lung diseases.

Delayed diagnosis of sarcoidosis is common in Brazil.

Objective: To determine the frequency of and the factors related to delayed diagnosis of sarcoidosis in Brazil.

Methods: We evaluated patients with a biopsy-proven diagnosis of sarcoidosis, using a questionnaire that addressed the following: time since symptom onset and since the first medical visit; and the number and specialty of the physicians visited. We divided the patients by the timeliness of the diagnosis-timely (< 6 months) and delayed (≥ 6 months)-comparing the two groups in terms of systemic and pulmonary symptoms; extrathoracic involvement; spirometric data; radiological staging; level of education; income; and tuberculosis (diagnosis and treatment).

Bronchiolitis associated with exposure to artificial butter flavoring in workers at a cookie factory in Brazil.

Objective: To report the cases of four patients with bronchiolitis caused by exposure to artificial butter flavoring at a cookie factory in Brazil.

Methods: We described the clinical, tomographic, and spirometric findings in the four patients, as well as the lung biopsy findings in one of the patients.

Results: All four patients were young male nonsmokers and developed persistent airflow obstruction (reduced FEV1/FVC ratio and FEV1 at 25-44% of predicted) after 1-3 years of exposure to diacetyl, without the use of personal protective equipment, at a cookie factory.

Highlights of the Brazilian Thoracic Association guidelines for interstitial lung diseases.

Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) are heterogeneous disorders, involving a large number of conditions, the approach to which continues to pose an enormous challenge for pulmonologists. The 2012 Brazilian Thoracic Association ILD Guidelines were established in order to provide Brazilian pulmonologists with an instrument that can facilitate the management of patients with ILDs, standardizing the criteria used for the diagnosis of different conditions and offering guidance on the best treatment in various situations. The objective of this article was to briefly describe the highlights of those guidelines.

Diffuse idiopathic pulmonary neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia accompanied by airflow obstruction.

Diffuse idiopathic pulmonary neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia with airflow obstruction is a rare form of lung injury. All of the reported cases have been diagnosed by surgical lung biopsy. Only three of the reported cases presented with diffuse interstitial lung opacities on HRCT scans.

Lung adenocarcinoma, dermatomyositis, and Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome: a rare combination.

The incidence of lung neoplasms is increasing in Brazil and in the world, probably as a result of the increase in smoking. Due to the greater number of cases, atypical presentations appear. We report the case of a 66-year-old hypertensive male smoker who presented progressive proximal muscular weakness and, in two months, evolved to dysphagia, dysphonia, and V-shaped skin lesions on the chest.