[Combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema syndrome].

CPFE-combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema is a new term for a syndrome whose main characteristic is fibrosis in lower pulmonary lobes with simultaneous emphysema in upper pulmonary lobes. CPFE patients have well preserved pulmonary test values for unexpectedly long period, but extremely lowered carbon monoxide diffusion capacity and significant arterial hypertension. All CPFE studies indicate that CPFE occurs predominately in older male population.

WHOQOL-bREF questionnaire as a measure of quality of life in sarcoidosis.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of a short form of the WHOQOL questionnaire, the WHOQOL-BREF, which consists of 24 questions, in evaluating quality of life (QOL) in sarcoidosis patients. A group of 97 sarcoidosis patients and a matched group of 97 healthy controls took part in the study. Their QOL was examined by means of the WHOQOL-BREF, and the respiratory functions were measured in sarcoidosis patients.

Morphometric and DNA image analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid macrophages nuclei in interstitial lung diseases with lymphocytic alveolitis.

Lymphocytic alveolitis is a characteristic of diverse interstitial lung diseases (ILD-s), but macrophages are often more numerous cell population in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Aim of this study is to analyze morphometric characteristics of macrophages nuclei in BALF in patients with ILD-s and to detect possible differences allowing distinguishing sarcoidosis from other lymphocytic alveolitis ILD-s. Thirty-one patient with interstitial lung disease who had lymphocytic alveolitis in BALF cell count (17 sarcoidosis and 14 other ILD-s) and nine controls were included in the study.

HLA class I and class II frequencies in patients with sarcoidosis from Croatia: role of HLA-B8, -DRB1*0301, and -DQB1*0201 haplotype in clinical variations of the disease.

Sarcoidosis is an immune-mediated, multiorgan, granulomatous disease triggered by a combination of environmental and genetic factors. Numerous studies have reported about an association of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles with sarcoidosis, with variation of alleles in different ethnic groups. Therefore, we investigated 142 Croatian sarcoidosis patients treated at the University Hospital for Lung Diseases Jordanovac, Zagreb, Croatia.

Transbronchial fine needle aspiration cytology in the diagnosis of mediastinal/hilar sarcoidosis.

Objective: The diagnostic value of transbronchial/transtracheal fine needle aspiration (TBFNA) cytology in the patients with mediastinal and/or hilar lymphadenopathy has been investigated.

Method: Out of 116 patients with mediastinal/hilar lymphadenopathy, the diagnosis of sarcoidosis was established in 88 (75.9%).