Closed percutaneous pleural biopsy. A lost art in the new era.

Objective: To assess the association between size and number of biopsy specimens obtained by percutaneous closed pleural biopsy, with overall diagnostic yield in general, and histopathological evidence of tuberculosis pleurisy, in particular.

Methods: One hundred and forty-three patients, with a high index of clinically having tuberculous pleurisy, were referred to the respiratory division of Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital in Kuwait during a 9-year period (January 1999 to December 2007). All subjects with exudative lymphocytic predominant effusion underwent percutaneous closed pleural biopsy, looking for tuberculous granulomas.

Changes in blood levels of eosinophil cationic protein and tryptase after exercise challenge in adolescents with exercise-induced asthma.

Background: Exercise-induced asthma (EIA) is increasingly encountered among school children in Kuwait. Available evidence has shown that inflammatory mediators may be involved in the pathogenesis of EIA. Studies on release of inflammatory mediators have been carried out in adult patients with asthma in Kuwait, but no study on EIA involving children has taken place in this region.

Clinical patterns of diffuse parenchymal lung disease in Kuwait: a prospective study.

Objective: To report our experience of the clinicopathological patterns of diffuse parenchymal lung disease (DPLD).

Subjects And Methods: Over a 4-year period, 75 patients (41 males, 34 females), aged 13-76 years, who were referred to Mubarak Al-Kabeer and the Chest Diseases Hospitals, Kuwait with a diagnosis of diffuse lung disease, were included in the study. After a comprehensive history and physical examination, further investigations were done, including hematological and immunological profiles, sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid examination, chest radiograph, high resolution computed tomography (HRCT), pulmonary function test and lung biopsy.

Clinicopathological and therapeutic patterns of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in Kuwait: a prospective study.

Though common, the exact incidence and clinical pattern of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in Gulf countries are not known. The results of a four-year prospective study undertaken in two tertiary hospitals in Kuwait are presented. The mean age at diagnosis of the 52 patients studied was 55.

Effect of methotrexate on pulmonary function in patients with rheumatoid arthritis--a prospective study.

If given in high doses, methotrexate (MTX), a folate antagonist, could cause pulmonary complications. To evaluate the pulmonary effects of low-dose methotrexate, 55 newly diagnosed patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) prescribed with MTX were studied prospectively. A significant reduction in percent predicted values of forced expiratory volume (FEV(1)), forced vital capacity (FVC), total lung capacity (TLC), and functional residual capacity (FRC) was observed after 2 years of MTX treatment.