Submassive pulmonary embolism.

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a common diagnosis in critical care. Depending on the severity of clot burden, the clinical picture ranges from nearly asymptomatic to cardiovascular collapse. The signs and symptoms of PE are nonspecific.

Chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis: CT features comparison with pathologic evidence of fibrosis and survival.

Purpose: To retrospectively compare in patients with chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) the computed tomographic (CT) imaging features suggestive of fibrosis with pathologic evidence of fibrosis at surgical lung biopsy and to compare a usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern at CT with survival.

Materials And Methods: Institutional review board approval and informed consent were obtained for this study, which was HIPAA compliant. Twenty-six patients (15 women, 11 men; age range, 37-76 years) with chronic HP had their surgical lung biopsy results reviewed by two pathologists for the presence of fibrosis.

Acute interstitial pneumonia.

The idiopathic interstitial pneumonias have unknown etiology and are characterized by diffuse parenchymal lung involvement and the potential to develop pulmonary fibrosis. Most portend a reduction in life expectancy due, in part, to the absence of effective therapies. The symptoms of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia develop insidiously.

Use of markers for the detection and treatment of lung cancer.

The unacceptably high morbidity and mortality associated with the diagnosis of lung cancer mandates new approaches toward the early detection and treatment of this disease. Enhanced understanding of the molecular biology of the carcinogenic process is identifying many potential markers of risk of lung cancer occurrence as well as of poor prognosis. Identification of high risk populations who are at greatest risk of being diagnosed with and dying from lung cancer would allow delivery of more intensive screening and interventions to the individuals who are most likely to benefit from such strategies.

The effect of pulmonary fibrosis on survival in patients with hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

Purpose: To determine the effect of pulmonary fibrosis on survival in an unselected group of patients with hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

Methods: We identified 72 patients with hypersensitivity pneumonitis confirmed by surgical lung biopsy in the database of the Clinical Interstitial Lung Disease Program at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center. All biopsy specimens were scored according to the presence or absence of fibrosis.

Changes in clinical and physiologic variables predict survival in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

There is significant heterogeneity in survival time among patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Studies of baseline clinical and physiologic variables as predictors of survival time have reported inconsistent results. We evaluated the predictive value of changes in clinical and physiologic variables over time for survival time in 81 patients with biopsy-proven idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.