Correlation of exhaled carbon monoxide level with disease severity in chronic obstruction pulmonary disease.

Introduction: Amplification of airway inflammation and its destruction due to oxidative stress is a major step in the pathogenesis of chronic obstruction pulmonary disease (COPD). Exhaled carbon monoxide (eCO) may be quantified to evaluate the airway inflammation and oxidative stress in such patients.

Objectives: To assess the disease severity of COPD and treatment response by measuring eCO as a biomarker.

Thoracic aortic aneurysm: A rare cause of elevated hemidiaphragm.

Phrenic nerve palsy causing hemidiaphragm paralysis is a very uncommon feature of thoracic aortic aneurysm. In one case, a 30 year male complained of chronic dull aching chest pain, and hoarseness of voice; posteroanterior view chest radiograph revealed large spherical radiopacity on the left upper lung zone with smooth lobulated margin with elevated left hemidiaphragm. On Colour Doppler sonography, lesion was anechoic on gray scale sonography but on Doppler analysis revealed intense internal vascularity within it with characteristic "Ying Yang" sign.