Inferior vena cava filter migration to the right ventricle.

Inferior vena cava (IVC) filter placement is recommended for acute proximal deep venous thrombosis if anticoagulation is contraindicated. A 52-year-old man presented with weakness, dyspnea, syncope, and renal failure 8 months after IVC filter placement. Imaging revealed migration of the IVC filter to the right ventricle.

[(18)F]Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computerized tomography and lung cancer: a significant referral bias exists.

Objective: [(18)F]Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computerized tomography (PET-CT) scan is a tool widely used in the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer. Referral bias is present when the results of a diagnostic study affect the decision to proceed with definitive testing. This bias artificially increases the sensitivity and decreases the specificity, and may inappropriately alter the decision to undergo definitive testing.

Special situations: air leak after lung volume reduction surgery and in ventilated patients.

Patients undergoing lung volume reduction surgery and those supported by mechanical ventilation are among our most vulnerable patients. Prolonged air leak in these fragile patients can have dire, even fatal, consequences. This article describes the incidence of prolonged air leak in these populations, the causes ascribed to their development, and strategies that may be applied to their prevention and treatment.

Bronchopulmonary carcinoid tumor presenting with polymyositis.

We present a patient with a typical bronchopulmonary carcinoid tumor who presented with proximal muscle weakness. Laboratory analysis and a muscle biopsy specimen led to the diagnosis of polymyositis. Chest imaging revealed a bronchopulmonary carcinoid tumor.

Standard uptake value predicts survival in non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: Integrated [(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) scan is a widely used modality in the evaluation of lung cancer. Our goal was to determine the ability of the standard uptake value (SUV) of the primary tumor (SUV-T) and regional lymph nodes (SUV-N) to predict survival.

Methods: From January 2005 through June 2007, 584 consecutive patients undergoing integrated PET-CT scan for suspected lung cancer were studied.

Postoperative outcomes in intimal aortic angiosarcoma: a case report and review of the literature.

Intimal angiosarcoma is a most unexpected cause of aortic occlusion. We present the case of a 74-year-old woman with intimal angiosarcoma that manifested with the triad of congestive heart failure, acute renal failure, and abdominal angina. A review of the literature and discussion of postoperative outcomes follows.