Increased plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 concentrations in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids are associated with increased mortality in a cohort of patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Background: Increased plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) concentrations are found in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluids from patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome. The authors hypothesized that PAI-1 concentrations were associated with increased mortality in patients with either Pseudomonas aeruginosa-induced ventilator-associated pneumonia or tracheobronchial colonization.

Methods: In a prospective cohort study, daily aspirates from intubated patients were cultured for P.

Hepatic pseudotumor due to nodular fatty sparing: the diagnostic role of opposed-phase MRI.

Objective: We sought to describe the role of opposed-phase MRI in the diagnosis of nodular fatty sparing in the liver.

Conclusion: Nodular fatty sparing of the liver displays characteristic findings on opposed-phase MRI. Because the lesion may otherwise mimic a hepatic tumor, knowledge of these findings may prevent unnecessary biopsy or inappropriate treatment.