Intrabronchial Infusion of Autologous Blood Plus Thrombin for Intractable Pneumothorax After Bronchial Occlusion Using Silicon Spigots: A Case Series of 9 Patients With Emphysema.

Background: Bronchial occlusion therapy using silicon spigots is effective for intractable pneumothorax. However, sometimes the pneumothorax is refractory to bronchial occlusion because of collateral ventilation. For such difficult pneumothoraces, we attempted an intrabronchial infusion of autologous blood plus thrombin to control collateral ventilation and stop air leaks.

IgG4-related disease in asbestos-related pleural disease.

A 67-year-old man with a history of asbestos exposure and rounded atelectasis complained of cough and swelling in the left submandibular region. Computed tomography showed an increase in size of the right lower lung lobe lesion, which was recognized as the pre-existing rounded atelectasis, as well as swelling of the pancreas and submandibular glands. Biopsy from a submandibular gland and the pulmonary lesion led to a diagnosis of immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD).

Effects of bronchoscopic lung volume reduction using transbronchial infusion of autologous blood and thrombin in patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Existing medical treatments have limitations in the management of very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods: We performed bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BLVR) using transbronchial infusion of autologous blood and thrombin (BLVR with blood) in three patients with very severe COPD whose dyspnea could not be relieved by maximum medical management. Two patients underwent BLVR with blood in the left and right lungs at intervals of a half-year or a year, and one patient underwent this procedure in only the right lung.

Nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease accompanied by organizing pneumonia.

We herein report our experience with patients who had nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease (NTM disease) accompanied by organizing pneumonia (OP). Out of 98 NTM disease patients who had undergone a biopsy or surgical resection, 11 patients had OP that was revealed histologically. After excluding six patients who had OP-related diseases (idiopathic interstitial pneumonia, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.

IgG4-related lung disease with organizing pneumonia effectively treated with azathioprine.

Immunoglobulin (Ig)-G4-related disease is a multi-organ disease that may affect the lung. We herein describe a patient with IgG4-related lung disease (IgG4-RLD) who was radiologically and pathologically diagnosed with organizing pneumonia. He was successfully treated with a combination of prednisolone (PSL) and azathioprine (AZA), and his clinical course has been uneventful since tapering off PSL.

Efficacy of inhaled N-acetylcysteine monotherapy in patients with early stage idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Background And Objective: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fatal disorder for which there are currently no specific or effective medical treatments. A multicentre, prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial was conducted to assess the efficacy of inhaled N-acetylcysteine (NAC) monotherapy in Japanese patients with early stage IPF.

Methods: Eligible patients had well-defined IPF of mild-to-moderate severity, with no desaturation on exercise.

[High-sensitivity C-reactive protein and changes over time in forced expiratory volume in 1 second in adult-onset asthma].

Purpose: To study the possibility that changes in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) may be a predictor of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) decline over time in adult asthmatic subjects.

Methods: Subjects with adult-onset asthma with no smoking history underwent complete medical evaluation at Yoka Public Hospital in both 2005 and in 2008 (n = 26). We analyzed the correlation between hs-CRP levels and FEV1 changes over time, in relation to whether or not they received inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) therapy.

[A case of yellow nail syndrome with bilateral pleural effusion].

A 68-year-old woman, suffering from dyspnea on exertion, was admitted to our hospital. She had noticed her nails become yellow 8 years previously. She had mild bilateral effusion.

Percutaneous needle washing for the diagnosis of pulmonary thin-walled cavitary lesions filled with air.

Objective: It is difficult to obtain sufficient material from pulmonary thin-walled cavitary lesions filled with air by conventional percutaneous aspiration biopsy in order to make a diagnosis. In these cases, we performed percutaneous needle washing (PNW) and ascertained the diagnostic significance of this method.

Materials And Methods: PNW was performed on 27 patients with a pulmonary thin-walled cavitary lesion whose diagnosis could not be made by sputum and bronchoscopic examinations.

[A case of ANCA-associated vasculitis with diffuse alveolar hemorrhage successfully treated by plasmapheresis].

A 65-year-old man was admitted due to rapidly progressing dyspnea experienced over a 3-day period. Chest radiography and computed tomography conducted upon admission showed diffuse bilateral interstitial infiltrate. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid contained blood and siderophores, which suggested pulmonary alveolar hemorrhage.

[A case of pulmonary aspergillosis accompanied with eosinophilic pneumonia].

An infiltrative shadow was observed in the upper lobe of the left of a 60-year-old man lung during the course of paroxysmal tachycardia. Fever and coughing occurred one month later, and ground-glass opacities (GGOs) were found extensively in the lower left lung field. Although his condition strongly suggested allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) due to significantly increased eosinophil count in the peripheral blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of the lower lobe of the left lung, anti-aspergillus antibody precipitation, and positive immediate intradermal test, the Rosenberg diagnostic criteria for ABPA were not satisfied.

Prognostic significance of the lymphocyte-to-neutrophil ratio in percutaneous fine-needle aspiration biopsy specimens of advanced nonsmall cell lung carcinoma.

Background: The prognostic significance of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in surgically resected carcinomas was reported. To apply this to inoperable nonsmall cell lung carcinomas (NSCLC) of Stage IIIB-IV, the authors estimated the occurrence of TILs using percutaneous fine-needle aspiration biopsy specimens, and tested the validity of this method.

Methods: The authors defined the L-N index as [L(S)/(L(S) + N(S)) - L(B)/(L(B) + N(B))], in which L(S) and N(S) denoted lymphocyte and neutrophil counts in the aspiration smear, and L(B) and N(B) denoted lymphocyte and neutrophil counts in the peripheral blood specimen.