Parietal pleural changes in empyema: appearances at CT.

The parietal pleura bordering pleural space collections was analyzed with computed tomography (CT) in 35 patients with thoracic empyema, 30 patients with malignant effusion, and 20 patients with transudatory effusion. Enhancement of the parietal pleura was present in 96% of the 25 patients with empyema who underwent contrast material-enhanced examinations. Of the 35 patients with empyema, 86% showed thickening of the parietal pleura, 60% showed thickening of the extrapleural subcostal tissues, and 35% showed increased attenuation of the extrapleural fat.

Idiopathic bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia with peripheral infiltrates on chest roentgenogram.

We report five patients with chest roentgenograms showing peripheral infiltrates similar to that described for chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (CEP). While lung biopsy specimens (transbronchial and open in two and transbronchial only in three cases) revealed typical changes of bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP) as the predominant finding in all cases, two cases had changes consistent with a resolving CEP. We speculate that (1) it may be common for BOOP to present with peripheral infiltrates, (2) chest roentgenograms showing peripheral infiltrates are not diagnostic of any specific entity, (3) idiopathic BOOP may represent the evolution of untreated CEP, (4) a lung biopsy may be a more appropriate initial approach than the therapeutic trial of corticosteroids when peripheral infiltrates of unknown origin are present, and (5) transbronchial biopsy may be adequate to establish a working clinical diagnosis of BOOP.

Organ envelopment in lymphoma visualised by computed tomography.

In 12 patients computed tomography revealed an unusual pattern of lymphomatous growth resulting in envelopment or engulfment of an organ. The kidneys were involved in eight cases, and the mediastinum and pericardium, oesophagus, stomach and rectosigmoid colon, and psoas muscle in one case each. Ten patients had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and two had Hodgkin's disease; in every case, lymphomatous masses surrounded but did not destroy the affected tissues.

Combination chemotherapy followed by radiation therapy in patients with regional stage III unresectable non-small cell lung cancer.

A chemotherapy combination of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and cisplatin (CAP) was administered to 30 patients with stage III M0 or M1 (supraclavicular nodes) unresectable non-small cell lung cancer before and after radiotherapy. All patients had mediastinal metastases and most had T2 or T3 primary lesions. The response rate (complete plus partial) after two cycles of CAP was 47%, which increased to 66% (24% complete response rate) following radiotherapy.