[A case of secondary pulmonary cryptococcosis presenting with multiple cystic shadows].

An 80-year-old woman with a history of rheumatoid arthritis and steroid diabetes had been given a diagnosis of multiple bilateral pulmonary cystic lesions 16 months previously, and these lesions were observed to gradually increase on follow-up. She presented with a fever of 38 degrees C, cough, and sputum for 2 weeks, and the pulmonary cystic lesions had enlarged, and therefore she was admitted. A chest X-ray film revealed multiple cystic lesions 4 cm in greatest dimension in both the left upper and middle lung fields, and chest computed tomography (CT) scans revealed that the lesions of the left S1+2 had niveau formation with a partially thickened wall.

[A case of pulmonary tuberculosis with multiple pneumatoceles in adult].

We describe a 32-year-old woman suspected of having pulmonary tuberculosis due to abnormal shadows found on her chest x-ray in a community health examination in September 2002. However, she consistently refused further examinations and treatment. In January 2005, she complained of a cough and sputum, by October she developed diarrhea, and by December a sore throat and fever.

Peripheral hemophagocytosis: An early indicator of advanced systemic inflammatory response syndrome/hemophagocytic syndrome.

Peripheral hemophagocytosis (PHP) is seen in patients with hemophagocytic syndrome (HPS), a clinical status in which activated macrophages play a role in its pathogenesis. The inflammatory state, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), is also associated with activated macrophages. However, the link between HPS and SIRS and the clinical implications of PHP remain to be determined.

[A case of rapidly progressing pulmonary aspergillosis presenting various forms of shadow].

A 66-year-old woman who had a history of bullous pemphigoid was admitted to our hospital with abnormal shadows on chest radiography. She was being treated with prednisolone, which suggested that she might be in an immunosuppressed state. The chest radiograph and CT scan disclosed an infiltrative opacity, rapidly progressive cavitation, subsequent mycetoma formation, and a nodular shadow with a clear margin.