The relationships of serum prealbumin levels with parameters that indicate severity of disease and emphysema pattern in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Objective: Malnutrition, which is a complication frequently observed in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and negatively affects prognosis, has become a parameter that must be monitored. Even though various methods are applied to assess malnutrition, biochemical parameters, especially serum prealbumin levels, are useful.

Materials And Methods: The relationships between serum prealbumin levels, which we used as an indicator of malnutrition, with the severity of disease and the parameters predicting emphysema in stable COPD patients with no additional health problems were determined in this prospective study.

Poland syndrome: rare presentation in two cases.

Poland syndrome was first described in 1840 by Alfred Poland while still a medical student and the other components of the syndrome were described at London Guy's Hospital following the dissection of a cadaver's hand, which had hypoplasia and syndactyly. The incidence of Poland syndrome has been reported to be 1 in 30,000 live births. In the present case report, two Poland syndrome patients with ipsilateral hypomastia and a reduction in the axillary/pectoral hairs diagnosed during adulthood are presented; one patient was affected on the left side and had widespread cafe au lait spots, and the other patient had respiratory dysfunction due to multiple rib anomalies.

Silicosis due to Denim Sandblasting in Young People: MDCT Findings.

Objective: Occupational lung disease due to silica dust is one of the most common work-related injuries. In denim sandblasting, workers are exposed to silica that may cause immediate mortality, especially in young people. The aim of this study was to assess the multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) findings of silicosis in denim sandblasters and to better define the role of MDCT in the early detection of silicosis.