Large spectrum of liver vascular lesions including high prevalence of focal nodular hyperplasia in patients with hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia: the Belgian Registry based on 30 patients.

Objectives: We report the Belgian Registry of 30 patients (19 women and 11 men) with hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) and liver involvement.

Results: Twenty-three patients (77%) were asymptomatic. Within the seven symptomatic patients (23%), four suffered from high output cardiac failure, two died before liver transplantation and one was transplanted.

Spontaneous detachment of benign mesothelioma into the pleural space and removal during pleuroscopy.

Benign pleural mesothelioma is a rare tumor which is usually diagnosed by thoracotomy in a patient with an intra-thoracic mass of uncertain origin. We report a case in which both diagnosis and therapy of a small, peripheral coin-lesion were achieved through thoracoscopy. The latter was performed following the observation that the tumor moved freely in the pleural space, because of an incidental pneumothorax.

The contributions of rib cage and abdominal displacements to the hyperinflation of acute bronchospasm.

To quantitate the relative contributions of rib cage and abdomen to the hyperinflation of asthma, we examined chest wall movements during histamine-induced bronchospasm in 7 male asthmatic subjects. A reduction in FEV1 of 28.1 +/- 4.

Interrupter technique for measurement of respiratory mechanics in anesthetized humans.

Flow (V), volume (V), and tracheal pressure (Ptr) were measured throughout a series of brief (100 ms) interruptions of expiratory V in six patients during anesthesia (halothane-N2O) and anesthesia-paralysis (succinylcholine). For the latter part of spontaneous expiration and throughout passive deflation during muscle paralysis, a plateau in postinterruption Ptr was observed, indicating respiratory muscle relaxation. Under these conditions, passive elastance of the total respiratory system (Ers) was determined as the plateau in postinterruption Ptr divided by the corresponding V.