Closed percutaneous pleural biopsy. A lost art in the new era.

Objective: To assess the association between size and number of biopsy specimens obtained by percutaneous closed pleural biopsy, with overall diagnostic yield in general, and histopathological evidence of tuberculosis pleurisy, in particular.

Methods: One hundred and forty-three patients, with a high index of clinically having tuberculous pleurisy, were referred to the respiratory division of Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital in Kuwait during a 9-year period (January 1999 to December 2007). All subjects with exudative lymphocytic predominant effusion underwent percutaneous closed pleural biopsy, looking for tuberculous granulomas.

Infliximab treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease.

Objective: To review the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, efficacy, safety, and pharmacoeconomic impact of infliximab in the treatment of Crohn's disease (CD) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Data Sources: MEDLINE and Pre-MEDLINE (1966-June 2002) and manufacturer prescribing literature were employed to find English-language articles on infliximab. Additional studies and abstracts were identified from the bibliographies of reviewed literature and conference proceedings.