[Acute alveolitis due to mesalazine].

A 66-year-old male developed lymphocytic alveolitis with bronchiolitis after 3 month's treatment with mesalazin for ulcerative colitis. The patient's symptoms disappeared after halting mesalazin and increasing the steroid dose, the reduced diffusing capacity ameliorated and the thoracic X-ray normalized. The question whether this was a case of pulmonary involvement in inflammatory bowel disease or a drug side effect.

[Significance of bronchial alveolar lavage in the diagnosis of eosinophilic pneumonia].

We describe 3 cases of eosinophilic pneumonia of unknown etiology with atypical clinical findings diagnosed by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). In 2 patients with subacute symptoms and restrictive ventilatory dysfunction there was no eosinophilia in peripheral blood, and chest X-ray showed a bilateral acinar and mixed interstitial-acinar pattern respectively. Transbronchial lung biopsies revealed only nonspecific changes.

[Acute dyspnea following intravenous administration of vinblastine/mitomycin C].

A 49 year old woman treated for metastatic adenocarcinoma of the breast suddenly developed the symptoms of acute pulmonary edema 90 minutes after infusion of mitomycin C/vinblastine. No other causes of dyspnea were found. This dangerous side effect of mitomycin C/vinblastine therapy has been described previously.

[Experiences in the diagnosis of lower respiratory tract infection using a double-sheathed brush catheter].

Specimens from the lower airways were taken by protected brush catheter during 54 fiberoptic bronchoscopies for quantitative microbiological analysis. This technique allows uncontaminated sampling of lower airway secretion. The chance of identifying a bacterial pathogen in patients who have already been treated with antibiotics was less than 10%.

Upper airway obstruction as a cause of pulmonary edema during late pregnancy.

We describe a 35-year-old woman who developed pulmonary edema at 38 weeks of pregnancy as a result of upper airway obstruction caused by a progressively enlarging euthyroid goiter.