Previous outpatient antibiotic use in patients admitted to hospital for COPD exacerbations: room for improvement.

Purpose: Several studies have analyzed factors associated to hospitalization in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. However, data are lacking on the quality of treatment received by patients prior to hospital admission. The present study analyzed how often patients requiring hospitalization for a COPD exacerbation had received previous treatment for the exacerbation, particularly antibiotics.

[Factors related to diagnostic reliability of bronchial biopsy in primary bronchogenic carcinoma].

To analyze the diagnostic reliability of bronchial biopsy (BB) in bronchogenic carcinoma and the impact of several factors, among them patient symptoms and condition, tumor characteristics and the endoscopist's and pathologist's experience. One hundred eighty-four BB from 151 patients diagnosed of bronchogenic carcinoma in our hospital in the years 1993 and 1994 were reviewed. We first performed single variable analysis, and later logistical regression analysis taking BB positivity or negativity as the dependent variable.

[Reliability of the presurgical anatomopathologic diagnosis in primary bronchogenic carcinoma].

Background: The specific cell type in primary lung cancer (LC) has important consequences, both for treatment and prognosis. Our objective has been to evaluate the degree of accuracy of several preoperative techniques in the LC diagnosis.

Patients And Methods: We have studied 442 diagnostic techniques realized in 360 patients who underwent thoracotomy for LC in our hospital (1988-1994).

Cell type accuracy of bronchial biopsy specimens in primary lung cancer.

Study Objectives: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of bronchial biopsy (BB) specimens in establishing the specific cell type in primary lung cancer (LC), and to study the influence of several factors on this accuracy.

Setting: Tertiary health-care center.

Patients: One hundred forty-six patients with LC diagnosed by BB specimens who underwent thoracotomy (T).