Benign esophagorespiratory fistulas in adults.

Four benign esophagorespiratory fistulas, three secondary to granulomatous disease and one presumed to be congenital, have been diagnosed in adults at the authors' institution in the past year. The patients had symptoms of chronic or recurrent pulmonary infections, and two experienced coughing after swallowing. Chest radiographs demonstrated refractory consolidation, with or without cavitation and frequently accompanied by an air-distended esophagus.

Diagnosis of penetrating cervical esophageal injuries.

Arterial injuries pose the greatest early threat to the patient with penetrating neck trauma and esophageal injuries, the greatest late threat. Clinical evaluation reliably identifies 80 percent of esophageal injuries, which, in our opinion, is not adequate. In 118 minimally symptomatic or asymptomatic patients with penetrating neck trauma, the combination of esophagography with esophagoscopy identified all 10 esophageal injuries in 118 patients with penetrating neck trauma.

Zollinger-Ellison syndrome presenting as esophageal stricture.

A case of Zollinger-Ellison syndrome in an elderly man who presented with dysphagia and subsequently developed esophageal stricture is described. This is an infrequent concomitant of the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, especially as a presenting complaint. The literature on esophageal involvement in the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome is briefly reviewed.

Malignant polypoid lesions of the esophagus: review and case reports.

Polypoid lesions of the esophagus occur infrequently and may be benign or malignant. Polypoid pedunculated malignancy of the esophagus is still a rare lesion. We report three additional cases in this paper, two associated with tumor-related hypercalcemia, and review the recent literature on malignant polypoid lesions of the esophagus.

Ultrasonic recognition of parenchymal gas.

Abdominal sonography in six febrile patients was suspicious for parenchymal gas. In five, immediate radiographic confirmation was obtained. Four patients had gas-containing abscesses, one had gas sequestered in a hepatic hematoma, and in the other subcapsular hepatic gas probably originated by mesenteric dissection from pneumatosis cystoides intestinals.

Narrowing of the airway in relapsing polychondritis.

Relapsing polychondritis, once thought to be a very rare disease, is being recognized with increasing frequency. It is characterized by inflammation of cartilaginous structures throughout the body. In some cases, the eye and ear are involved; aortic aneurysms develop in a minority of patients.

The spectrum of radiographic features of aberrant pancreatic rests involving the stomach.

The radiographic features of 20 cases of pathologically confirmed heterotopic pancreatic rests involving the stomach were analyzed. Aberrant pancreatic tissue in the stomach produces a broader spectrum of radiographic findings than had been thought. The mass produced by the aberrant tissue is often larger and more sessile than usually anticipated, and may simulate a mural neoplasm or adenomatous polyp.

Colitis associated with oral clindamycin therapy. A clinical study of 16 patients.

The clinical, radiologic, and histologic features of 16 patients hospitalized with clindamycin-associated colitis are presented. The findings are tabulated and compared to 33 cases reported in the literature. The majority of patients were caucasian females over 40 years of age.