Effects of long-term low-dose oxygen supplementation on the epithelial function, collagen metabolism and interstitial fibrogenesis in the guinea pig lung.

Background: The patient population receiving long-term oxygen therapy has increased with the rising morbidity of COPD. Although high-dose oxygen induces pulmonary edema and interstitial fibrosis, potential lung injury caused by long-term exposure to low-dose oxygen has not been fully analyzed. This study was designed to clarify the effects of long-term low-dose oxygen inhalation on pulmonary epithelial function, edema formation, collagen metabolism, and alveolar fibrosis.

[Comparative study of bactec MGIT 960 AST and conventional proportion method using Ogawa medium for the drug susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to isoniazid].

Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of drug susceptibility testing to isoniazid with BACTEC MGIT 960 (MGIT AST) comparing with the standard proportion method using Ogawa medium.

Method: A total of 1109 M. tuberculosis strains, which were selected from the collection of RYOKEN drug resistance survey in 2002, were selected and subjected to the susceptibility testing to isoniazid using MGIT AST and 1% Ogawa standard methods.

[Clinical analysis of patients with sequelae of pulmonary tuberculosis undergoing home oxygen therapy].

Purpose: To clarify the clinical characteristics of patients with sequelae of pulmonary tuberculosis undergoing home oxygen therapy.

Objects And Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of those with newly-introduced home oxygen therapy for the sequelae of pulmonary tuberculosis from 1998 through 2001, using national hospital network of respiratory diseases.

Results: The study subjects were 402 in total (271 men and 131 women), who started the home oxygen therapy at the age ranging between 33 and 100 years (72.

[Evaluation of respiratory failure due to sequelae of tuberculosis].

Though the mortality of tuberculosis in Japan has been extremely rapidly depressed from about 150 deaths per 100,000 in 1950 down to about 4 in 1985 during the period of a couple of decades after the World War II. However, the declining trend of the mortality and the morbidity seem to be leveling off now and the morbidity of the tuberculosis remain on the almost same level which are much higher than that of the developed countries. We have to make the progress in the field of the new diagnostic technique and the creation of the new drugs applying the most frontier science and the social system supporting the completion of the treatment for every patient.

[Pulmonary infection in immunocompromised hosts].

While typical pulmonary infections can be cured with antimicrobial agents, three types require surgical lung resection: those in immunocompromised patients; those with acquired resistance to medication; and those caused by microorganisms against which there are no effective drugs. We discuss these three types from the viewpoint of physicians. With the development of chemotherapy for malignant disease, patients with leukemia can be cured with bone marrow transplantation.

[A clinical study on tuberculosis among young adults in Japan: analysis on patients admitted to national hospitals in Kanto- and Kinki-areas in the year 2000].

Considering the high social activity, the trend of tuberculosis among young adults appears to be one of the key factors that influence the future morbidity rate of tuberculosis in Japan. To investigate its current characteristics, we analyzed new cases of tuberculosis aged 20 to 29 who were admitted to 7 national hospitals in Kanto- and Kinki-areas during the period of January 1st to December 31st, 2000. Data on the following items were compiled: sex, age, body height and weight, nationality; background factors such as life style, complications; course of the disease before the diagnosis; result of PPD skin test; severity of the disease estimated by the amount of M.

[Trends in drug-resistant tuberculosis in National Higashisaitama Hospital, 1994-2001].

To know the prevalence of resistance to four first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs, we reviewed the results of drug-susceptibility tests of patients with tuberculosis who were admitted to our hospital from 1994 to 2001. Among patients with no prior chemotherapy against tuberculosis, the complete resistance rate was 1.9% for INH, 0.

[Superior sensitivity of MGIT method in identification of specimens culture-positive for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) and individuals with positive AFB cultures].

To investigate the superiority of the Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT) over Ogawa medium in the detection of acid-fast bacilli (AFB), we surveyed all specimens for AFB culture using Ogawa medium in 1999 and MGIT in 2000. The MGIT method increased the culture-positive rate from 23.1% (Ogawa medium) to 34.