Invasive coronary angiography in patients with acute exacerbated COPD and elevated plasma troponin.

Background: In acute exacerbation of COPD, increased plasma levels of cardiac troponin are frequent and associated with increased mortality. Thus, we aimed at prospectively determining the diagnostic value of coronary angiography in patients with exacerbated COPD and concomitantly elevated cardiac troponin.

Patients And Methods: A total of 88 patients (mean age 72.

[Pneumonia in ambulatory care patients. Choice of antibiotics for therapy of community-acquired pneumonia].

According to the statistics prepared by health insurance carriers community-acquired pneumonia has an incidence of some 300,000 to 400,000 cases per year. In old age (more than 80 years), the mortality rate increases from 20 to 2000 per 100,000 head of the population, that is, by a factor of 100. The former classification into "typical" and "untypical" pneumonia has now been abandoned, the modern approach being that of "calculated antibiotic therapy" that involves the placing of patients in "risk groups".

Diagnosis of pulmonary metastases with turbo-SE MR imaging.

The sensitivity of MR imaging for detection of pulmonary metastases was evaluated in 23 patients. The MR imaging was performed with T2-weighted turbo-spin-echo (TSE) sequences at 1.5 T.