Exacerbation rates in Japanese patients with obstructive lung disease: A subanalysis of the prospective, observational NOVELTY study.

Background: Although clinical trials including asthma and COPD patients have revealed much about exacerbation frequencies, most studies are limited in that they recruited patients only with a clear diagnosis of one disease or the other, based on conventional diagnostic criteria, which may exclude many real-world patients with mixed symptoms.

Methods: NOVELTY is a global prospective observational study of patients with asthma and/or COPD from real-world practice. In this subanalysis, we compared patient characteristics of obstructive pulmonary diseases between the Japanese population (n = 820) and the overall population excluding Japanese patients (n = 10,406).

[[CASE OF TUBERCULOSIS COMPLICATIONS DURING PREGNANCY LEADING TO AN INFECTION OUTBREAK].].

A 31-year-old woman developed a constant cough during the 8th week of pregnancy and was diagnosed with bronchial asthma. She was prescribed prednisolone and inhaled corticosteroids. At 28 weeks of pregnancy, she showed worsening weight loss, fever, night sweats, hoarseness, and coughs.

[THE MINIMUM NUMBER OF SPUTUM SMEAR SAMPLES NEEDED FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF TUBERCULOSIS].

[Objective] To determine whether three sputum examinations with fluorescent staining are necessary to diag- nose tuberculosis (TB) in our hospital. [Patients] From April 2005 to December 2012, 379 TB patients were admitted and received anti-TB therapy in our hospital. [Methods] A retrospective study was conducted to assess the positivity rates of sputum smears based on three exami- nations.

[AN OUTBREAK OF PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS DUE TO DEFINITE EXOGENOUS REINFECTION AMONG ELDERLY INDIVIDUALS IN WELFARE FACILITIES].

Purpose: We report an outbreak of 64 cases of tuberculosis (TB) that spread in a welfare facility for elderly individuals.

Objective And Methods: First, 64 TB patients who had contact with the source patient were screened at our hospital. We examined the time course up to the discovery of symptoms and analyzed the results for variable numbers of tandem repeats (VNTR) and the drug susceptibility tests.

Low-intensity noninvasive ventilation: Lower pressure, more exacerbations of chronic respiratory failure.

Background: For patients with chronic respiratory failure (CRF) who are treated with noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV), a little is known regarding the effects of low-intensity NPPV (LI-NPPV) on the clinical course of CRF and the frequency of adjustments in these patients.

Objectives: This study investigated the effects of LI-NPPV on the clinical course of patients with CRF as compared with patients who were treated with conventional NPPV (C-NPPV) and determined how frequently NPPV was adjusted during therapy.

Methods: Clinical data from 21 patients who received long-term NPPV were retrospectively analyzed.

Effect of Asian dust on pulmonary function in adult asthma patients in western Japan: A panel study.

Background: Asian dust (AD) has become a major health concern. The concentration of AD is typically expressed in particulate matter less than 10 μm (PM10) and 2.5 μm (PM2.

An analysis of etiology, causal pathogens, imaging patterns, and treatment of Japanese patients with bronchiectasis.

Background: Bronchiectasis (BE), a syndrome that presents with persistent or recurrent bronchial sepsis related to irreversibly damaged and dilated bronchi, has not been well-characterized in Asians. This study aims to review the etiology, causal pathogens, imaging patterns, and treatment of BE and to define the prognostic factors for acute exacerbation in a Japanese population.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of 147 patients (104 women; median age, 73 years; range, 30-95 years) with BE at our institution using high-resolution computed tomography to identify imaging patterns and the area of pulmonary involvement.

Pulmonary actinomycosis caused by Actinomyces cardiffensis.

We herein present the first case of pulmonary actinomycosis caused by Actinomyces cardiffensis (A. cardiffensis). A computed tomography (CT) examination revealed a nodule with cavitation in the left upper lobe of the lung.

Sarcoid-like reaction in Cryptococcus neoformans infection.

We report a patient with Cryptococcus (C.) neoformans infection, who developed a case of sarcoid-like reaction (SLR). There have been reports of SLRs associated with malignancies.

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis that required 2 years for diagnosis.

Isoniazid (H) or rifampicin (R) mono-resistant disease can be treated easily and effectively with first-line drugs, while combined H and R resistance (ie, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB)) requires treatment with at least four agents, including a quinolone and an injectable agent. Drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains are reported to be extremely difficult to cultivate invitro. The authors report a case of MDRTB that required 2 years for diagnosis, and was detected only in sputum culture on solid medium.

A case of sinobronchial syndrome complicated with myeloperoxidase antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody associated vasculitis: review of the literature.

We report a case of long-standing sinobronchial syndrome complicated by microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) during the clinical course. The patient showed a mild elevation of myeloperoxidase antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (MPO-ANCA) 17 months prior to the diagnosis of MPA. Subsequently, her MPO-ANCA level gradually became more elevated, and finally her MPO-ANCA level peaked when purpura appeared.

[Clinical analysis of non-tuberculous mycobacteriosis cases complicated with pulmonary aspergillosis].

Objectives: To clarify the clinical features of nontuberculous mycobacteriosis (NTM) complicated with chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA), we analyzed 257 cases diagnosed with newly developed NTM during the last 12 years in our hospital.

Results: Fifty-six per cent of the patients were females. Ten cases (3.

[Pulmonary tuberculosis with atypical radiological findings in a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease].

A 77-year-old-man who had been treated for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was referred to our hospital for further examination of a chest X-ray abnormality. The chest X-ray showed consolidation in the right upper and middle lung field. Chest computed tomography showed an airspace consolidation extending subpleurally and nonsegmentally without nodular lesions.

[A case of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis who acquired additional resistance to ethambutol before the result of the initial drug sensitivity test was reported].

On December 6, 2008, a 52-year-old man presented to a clinic with chronic cough, sputum, and chest discomfort, which had lasted since mid-November. Since the chest radiograph showed a small cavity with small nodules and granular shadows, he was referred to another hospital. On TB-PCR, the gastric juice was positive.

Cough and asthma diagnosis: physicians' diagnosis and treatment of patients complaining of acute, subacute and chronic cough in rural areas of Japan.

Background: Cough is one of the most common reasons for visiting a clinic. The causes of cough differ according to the duration of cough. Infectious disease is commonly observed in acute cough while noninfectious disease is commonly observed in chronic cough.

[A case of axillary lymph node tuberculosis with paradoxical worsening in breast lesion].

A 80-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of left axillary swelling. Needle biopsy specimen showed negative results on a smear for acid-fast bacilli and PCR. The histological findings showed epithelioid cell granuloma with caseous necrosis.

[A case of miliary tuberculosis and esophageal perforation secondary to tuberculous mediastinal lymphadenitis].

An 80-year-old woman was admitted to a local hospital following transient disturbance of consciousness after a fall. High intermittent fever developed after hospitalization and she was diagnosed as having mediastinal abscess with esophageal perforation. She underwent mediastinal drainage and surgical repair of the esophagus.

Environmental tobacco smoke and its effect on the symptoms and medication in children with asthma.

Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) worsens asthmatic symptoms. We analyzed the relationship between levels of ETS and asthmatic symptoms and medication. We asked parents of 282 asthmatic children about the general condition, smoke exposure and medication.

[A case of severe pulmonary hypertension associated with COPD treated with epoprostenol].

A rare case of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with severe pulmonary hypertension (PH) was found in a 68-year-old man. COPD was diagnosed in his 50s, from which time he received home oxygen therapy. In January 2007, he was admitted due to progression of dyspnea.

[A case of multi-drug resistant pulmonary tuberculosis after administration of standard anti-tuberculosis treatment for two times].

We reported a case in which multi-drug resistant tuberculosis was recognized after two courses of anti-tuberculosis treatment. A 41-year-old woman who had received two courses of anti-tuberculosis treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis was admitted to our hospital due to productive cough, high fever and positive sputum smear showing acid fast bacillus. In the past treatment, drug susceptibility was unknown because of culture-negative TB.

[A suspected case of voriconazole-induced lung injury].

A 71-year-old man was initially given a diagnosis of pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial infection due to Mycobacterium intracellulare (M. intracellulare). The patient was admitted because chest roentgenogram and CT scanning showed a progression of infiltrating shadows in the bilateral upper lung fields.

[Quantiferon TB-2G among nurses with a history of working in our tuberculosis ward].

Purpose: To investigate the infection rate of tuberculosis among nurses with a history of working in our hospital's tuberculosis ward (TW).

Methods: We measured interferon gamma levels in 50 nurses who had worked in our TW, and evaluated the infection rate among these nurses before (I) and after (II) the use of our hospital's tuberculosis infection control manual.

Results: The infection rate including probable infection was 6/50 (12.