Idiopathic bronchocentric granulomatosis in an asthmatic adolescent.

Bronchocentric granulomatosis in asthmatic patients has been generally considered to be associated with allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis and represent a histopathologic manifestation of fungal hypersensitivity. Here we report a case of an idiopathic bronchocentric granulomatosis in a 17-year-old man with a history of asthma. He was admitted to the hospital with a fever and cough, and a chest CT scan showed peribronchial consolidation in the pulmonary parenchyma, which was unresponsive to antibiotic therapy.

Procalcitonin-guided antibiotic therapy in aspiration pneumonia and an assessment of the continuation of oral intake.

Background: Procalcitonin-guided antibiotic therapy for community-acquired pneumonia is effective and safe. However, the usefulness of procalcitonin for aspiration pneumonia and its nutrition-related outcomes are unknown.

Methods: We conducted a noninferiority randomized controlled study in patients with aspiration pneumonia who were admitted to our hospital between September 2010 and January 2012.

Intrathoracic administration of OK-432 elevates the serum procalcitonin levels.

Objective: The intrathoracic administration of OK-432, a lyophilized preparation of the heat- and penicillin-treated Su-strain of type 3, group A Streptococcus pyogenes, is performed in Japan for pleurodesis of malignant pleural effusion or pneumothorax. Persistent fever is often observed after pleurodesis. To elucidate whether procalcitonin (PCT) is useful for distinguishing between the side effects of OK-432 and infection, we measured the serum PCT levels before and after pleurodesis.

Chyloptysis after ligation of the thoracic duct.

Chyloptysis is a very rare clinical finding. We describe a 44-year-old man who presented with cough and milky-white sputum. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy revealed white sputum, which originated from the right B(6) bronchus.

[Retrospective analysis of pemetrexed plus cisplatin chemotherapy for elderly advanced non-small-cell lung cancer].

Background: The efficacy of pemetrexed(PEM)plus cisplatin(CDDP)therapy for chemotherapy-naive non-squamous cell lung cancer has been reported, but the effectiveness of such a regimen for elderly patients is unknown.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine the efficacy and toxicity of CDDP plus PEM therapy for elderly patients, retrospectively.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of six patients 75 years old or older with non-squamous lung cancer, who underwent CDDP plus PEM therapy from June 2009 to May 2010.

[A case of gastric cancer with bilateral chylothorax].

The patient, a 77 year-old woman, visited our hospital with chief complaints of coughing and dyspnea. Chest radiography revealed bilateral pleural effusion especially on the right side, and she was admitted to our hospital to undergo a more thorough examination. The pleural effusion was identified as chyle.

[A case of Wegener's granulomatosis with orbital inflammatory pseudotumor].

An 80-year-old woman, who had been received steroid therapy to treat diffuse alveolar hemorrhage from July, 2007, was admitted because of fever, eye pain and exophthalmos on 23 July, 2008. Myeloperoxidase antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (MPO-ANCA) was positive, but pulmonary involvement did not recur. 67Ga scintigraphy revealed intense uptake in bilateral orbital walls and Gd-enhanced MRI indicated orbital inflammatory pseudotumor and hypertrophic pachymeningitis.

[A case of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis presenting with peripheral ground-glass opacitiy].

A 65-year-old asymptomatic nonsmoker woman was found to have bilateral ground glass opacities in subpleural areas. The bronchoalveolar lavage fluid had a light-milky appearance and transbronchial lung biopsy revealed alveolar filling with PAS-positive acellular material. The patient was given a diagnosis of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP).

[A case of multicentric Castleman's disease with metachronous pulmonary and nephric (renal) involvement].

A 52-year-old woman was referred to our hospital due to cough and sputum in January, 1996. Chest CT scans showed multiple hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy and laboratory tests revealed anemia, strong inflammatory reaction, polyclonal hyperimmunoglobulinemia, and an elevated interleukin-6 level. Video-assisted thoracoscopic lung biopsy revealed lymphocytic and plasmacytic infiltration around the bronchovascular band, suggesting a diagnosis of Castleman's disease, and so we began to administer steroids.

[A fatal case of pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacteriosis with reactive AA amyloidosis].

We report a very rare fatal case of reactive AA amyloidosis following pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacteriosis (PNTM). A 61-year-old woman with a history of PNTM since 1992, whose treatment was difficult because of liver dysfunction and drug eruption caused by antibiotics, had been hospitalized due to recurrent pulmonary bacterial infection. She complained of leg edema in January, 2000, and nephrotic syndrome was diagnosed in February.

Macroscopic and histological findings in the healing process of inhalation injury.

Although many investigators reported the diagnostic and therapeutic value of bronchoscopy in the early stage of inhalation injury, few findings in the late stage of inhalation injury have been reported. We investigated histopathological changes of in trachea and bronchi after inhalation injury. Five survivors with inhalation injury underwent bronchoscopic examinations combined with biopsies from the early stage to the late stage.

[A case of Ortner syndrome caused by primary pulmonary hypertension].

Left vocal cord palsy is a rare complication of pulmonary hypertension (also known as Ortner syndrome). Here we report a case of a patient with Ortner syndrome caused by primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH). The patient was a 28-year-old woman, who complained of persistent hoarseness and dyspnea on effort.

Effects of hemoglobin on pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance in patients with chronic emphysema.

Background: The increase in viscosity caused by secondary polycythemia is thought to be one of the major causes of pulmonary hypertension secondary to chronic emphysema. However, very few clinical studies considered the relation between pulmonary hypertension and polycythemia in the case of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to elucidate the relative contribution of an increase in hemoglobin level (Hb) to mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR).

Characterization of chitinases excreted by Bacillus cereus CH.

Bacillus cereus CH was shown to excrete chitinases into the culture supernatant when cultivated in a medium containing 0.2% colloidal chitin, whereas the removal of colloidal chitin resulted in a low activity. After concentration of the culture supernatant by precipitation with ammonium sulfate, the induced chitinases were purified by sequential chromatography.

[Investigation of pulmonary hemodynamics and chest X-ray findings in hypercapnic patients with pulmonary tuberculosis sequelae].

We investigated pulmonary hemodynamics and chest X-ray findings to explore pathophysiological significance of chronic hypercapnia in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis sequelae. One hundred and seven patients underwent examinations of blood gases and right cardiac catheterization. The patients were divided into two groups, according to arterial carbon dioxide tension under room air breathing (PaCO2).

[Investigation of pulmonary hemodynamics and chest X-ray findings in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis sequelae and obstructive ventilatory impairment].

We investigated pulmonary hemodynamics and chest X-ray findings to explore significance of obstructive ventilatory impairment in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis sequelae. One hundred and two patients underwent examinations of blood gases, spirometry, and right cardiac catheterization. The patients were divided into two groups, according to forced expiratory volume in one second as the percentage of forced vital capacity (FVC), which was expressed as FEV1%.

[A case of Bence-Jones protein-lambda positive multiple myeloma complicated by abnormal plasma cells in pleural effusion].

A 53-year-old woman was admitted to this institution with chest pain and dyspnea. Chest roentgenogram showed pleural effusion and multiple tumor shadows, bilaterally which represented extrapleural signs. Numerous atypical plasma cells were found in the pleural effusion.

[A case of pneumoconiosis (welder's lung) suspected to be lung cancer].

A 60-year-old man, employed as a welder for 25 years, was admitted with an abnormal shadow on chest X-ray. An ill-defined and solitary mass shadow 3 cm in diameter was subsequently detected in the left upper lung field. The mass shadow exhibited high attenuation on chest CT scan.

[Allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis caused by Schizophyllum commune].

In December 1989, a 72-year-old woman was hospitalized with atelectasis in the left lower lobe. The atelectasis resolved after bronchoscopic removal of impacted mucous plugs. Histopathological examination showed pulmonary mycosis.

[Invasive amebiasis at an institution for the mentally retarded in Shizuoka Prefecture].

Amebiasis caused by Entamoeba histolytica at an institution for mentally retarded in Shizuoka Prefecture is reported. Five of the 50 patients showed E. histolytica cysts in their stools and 4 were positive serologically.

[Varicella pneumonia with multiple nodular shadows after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in chronic myeloid leukemia].

A 30-year-female with chronic myelogenous leukemia received allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT). On day 104, low-grade fever, cough, and general malaise developed, resulting in hospitalization 10 days later. Chest X ray revealed diffuse infitrates, suggesting cytomegalovirus interstitial pneumonia.

[An autopsy case of lung cancer metastasizing to renal cell cancer and rectal villous adenoma].

A 67-year-old woman with bloody stool was admitted to our hospital. Chest radiograph on admission showed a tumor shadow in the right lower lung field. Lung adenocarcinoma of right S6 and villous adenoma of the rectum were detected.

[The relationship between pulmonary hemodynamics and chest X-ray findings in patients with sequelae of pulmonary tuberculosis].

For better understanding of pathophysiological aspects of tuberculosis sequelae, we investigated the relationship between pulmonary hemodynamics and chest X-ray findings. One hundred and seven patients with sequelae of pulmonary tuberculosis were examined by the right cardiac catheterization, and pulmonary hemodynamic values were measured and calculated. Chest X-ray findings were defined and classified into the following five items.

[Computed tomographic appearances of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis].

We evaluated longitudinal changes in chest CT images in six cases (5 males and one female, age: 35-57 yr) of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis treated with bronchopulmonary lavage. Chest CT images on admission showed a mixed pattern of air-space consolidation and reticular or reticulonodular shadows in most cases and showed a peripheral clear zone in all cases. These shadows gradually diminished after bronchopulmonary lavage.