Background: Patients with diabetes mellitus are highly sensitive to infections, including tuberculosis, and the longer the duration of DM, the greater is the prevalance of tuberculosis. We studied the difference of the clinical manifestations, radiologic findings, resistance and others factors of patients with diabetic and non-diabetic pulmonary tuberculosis. Methods: The patients we enrolled in this study were newly diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis from January 2003 to December 2005. Results: 159 patients were enrolled in this study. There were 30 pulmonary tuberculosis patients with diabetic mellitus (DMTB) and 129 pulmonary tuberculosis patients without diabetic mellitus (non-DMTB). There was no difference in the basic characteristics and clinical manifestation between both the groups. For the chest X-ray findings, the moderately advanced tuberculosis patients were the most common (43.3% in the DMTB group and 49.6% in the non-DMTB group). There was no relation between the severity of tuberculosis activity on chest x-ray and the presence of diabetes. The prevalence of cavitory lesions in the DMTB group was significantly higher than that in the non-DMTB group, but the prevalence of atelectasis was higher in the non-DMTB group (p＜0.05). There was no difference in the incidence of lower lung involvement, the number of involved lobes, the number of treatment days and the radiological sequelae in both groups. Conclusion: The DMTB patients had a higher incidence of cavitory lesions and a higher incidence of atelectasis than the non-DMTB patients.
Background: Estimation of the probability of a patient having an acute pulmonary embolism (PE) for patients with a suspected PE are well established in North America and Europe. However, an assessment of the prediction rules for a PE has not been clearly defined in Korea. The aim of this study is to assess the prediction rules for patients with a suspected PE in Korea. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of 210 inpatients or patients that visited the emergency ward with a suspected PE where computed tomography pulmonary angiography was performed at a single institution between January 2005 and March 2007. Simplified Wells rules and revised Geneva rules were used to estimate the clinical probability of a PE based on information from medical records. Results: Of the 210 patients with a suspected PE, 49 (19.5%) patients had an actual diagnosis of a PE. The proportion of patients classified by Wells rules and the Geneva rules had a low probability of 1% and 21%, an intermediate probability of 62.5% and 76.2%, and a high probability of 33.8% and 2.8%, respectively. The prevalence of PE patients with a low, intermediate and high probability categorized by the Wells rules and Geneva rules was 100% and 4.5% in the low range, 18.2% and 22.5% in the intermediate range, and 19.7% and 50% in the high range, respectively. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the revised Geneva rules had a higher accuracy than the Wells rules in terms of detecting PE. Concordance between the two prediction rules was poor (κ coefficient=0.06). Conclusion: In the present study, the two prediction rules had a different predictive accuracy for pulmonary embolisms. Applying the revised Geneva rules to inpatients and emergency ward patients suspected of having PE may allow a more effective diagnostic process than the use of the Wells rules.
Background: The efficacy of the use of the interventional bronchoscope for palliation of patients with central airway obstruction has been established. In the palliative setting to alleviate central airway obstruction, the use of laser resection, electrocautery, argon plasma coagulation, photodynamic therapy and cryotherapy can provide relief of an airway obstruction. Cryotherapy is the therapeutic application of extreme cold for the local destruction of living tissue. Recently, this technique has been used for endoscopic management of central airway obstructions in Korea. We report the role and complications of the use of cryotherapy for airway obstructions in patients with advanced lung cancer. Methods: We used a flexible cryoprobe for cryotherapy using nitrous oxide as a cryogen. The cryoprobe was applied through the working channel of a flexible fiberoptic bronchoscope. The temperature of the tip was approximately −89oC, and the icing time was 5∼20 seconds. Results: Four patients with a central airway obstruction from advanced lung cancer were treated with cryotherapy. Three of the four patients were treated successfully and the airway obstruction was improved after the cryotherapy procedure. Dyspnea, hypoxia and atelectais were improved in three cases. Two patients experienced complications-one patient experienced pneumomediastinum and the other patient experienced massive hemoptysis during the cryotherapy procedure. However, these complications resolved and did not influence mortality. Conclusion: This technique is effective and relatively safe for palliation of inoperable advanced lung cancer with a central airway obstruction.
Background: TRAIL is a promising anticancer agent which induces selective tumor cell death due to a unique receptor system that includes death receptors and decoy receptors. DR5 TRAIL receptor is an originally identified p53-regulated death receptor gene that was induced, by doxorubicine, only in cells with a wild-type p53 status. We investigated that focused on the correlation between the DR5 and p53 expressions in non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC). Methods: Immunohistochemical analysis, with using avidin-biotinylated horseradish peroxidase complex, was carried out in 89 surgically resected NSCLC formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue sections. As primary antibodies, we used anti-DR5 polyclonal antibody and anti-p53 monoclonal antibody. A negative control was processed with each slide. The positive tumor cells were quantified twice and these values were expressed as percentage of the total number of tumor cells, and the intensity of immunostaining was expressed. The analysis of the DR5 expression was done separately in tumor area and in a nearby region of normal tissue. Results: The DR5 expression was high in the bronchial epithelium (89% of cases) but this was almost absent in type I & II pneumocytes, lymphocytes and smooth muscle cells. High DR5 expression rate in tumor was seen in 28% (15/53) of squamous cell carcinomas, in 47% (15/32) of adenocarcinomas and, in 50% (2/4) of large cell carcinomas. The DR5 expression did not show any statistical significance relationship with the T stage, N stage, or survival. However, the DR5 expression showed significant inverse correlation with the p53 expression. (p＜0.01).Conclusion: We demonstrated that the DR5 expression in NSCLC via immunohistochemical analysis is relatively tumor-specific except for that in the normal bronchial epithelium and it is significantly dependent on the p53 status. This might be in vivo evidence for the significance of the DR5 gene as a p53 downstream gene.
Background: A diagnosis of malignant pleural effusion is clinically important, as the prognosis of lung cancer patients with malignant pleural effusion is poor. The diagnosis will be difficult if a cytological test is negative. This study was performed to investigate whether the detection of hypermethylation of the p16 (CDKN2A) and retinoic acid receptor b2 (RARB2) genes in pleural fluid is useful for a diagnosis of malignant pleural effusion. Methods: Pleural effusion was collected from 43 patients and was investigated for the aberrant promoter methylation of the RARB2 and CDKN2A genes by use of methylation-specific PCR. Results were compared with findings from a pleural biopsy and from pleural fluid cytology. Results: Of 43 cases, 17 cases of pleural effusion were due to benign diseases, and 26 cases were from lung cancer patients with malignant pleural effusion. Hypermethylation of the RARB2 and CDKN2A genes was not detected in the case of benign diseases, independent of whether or not the patients had ever smoked. In 26 cases of malignant pleural effusion, hypermethylation of RARB2, CDKN2A or either of these genes was detected in 14,5 and 15 cases, respectively. The sensitivities of a pleural biopsy, pleural fluid cytology, hypermethylation of RARB2,hypermethylation of CDKN2A, or hypermethylation of either of the genes were 73.1%, 53.8%, 53.8%, 19.2%, and 57.7%, respectively; negative predictive values were 70.8%, 58.6%, 58.6%, 44.7%, and 60.7%, respectively. If both genes are considered together, the sensitivity and negative predictive value was lower than that for a pleural biopsy, but higher than that for pleural fluid cytology. The sensitivity of hypermethylation of the RARB2 gene for malignant pleural effusion was lower in small cell lung cancers than in non-small cell lung cancers. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that detection of hypermethylation of the RARB2 and CDKN2A genes showed a high specificity, and sensitivity was higher than for pleural fluid cytology. With a better understanding of the pathogenesis of lung cancer according to histological types at the molecular level, and if appropriate genes are selected for hypermethylation testing, more precise results may be obtained.
Mycobacterium fortuitum usually causes colonization or transient infection in patients with underlying lung disease,such as prior tuberculosis or bronchiectasis. The majority of these patients may not need to receive antibiotic therapy for M. fortuitum isolates. We report here on a patient with M. fortuitum lung disease and who was successfully treated with combination oral antibiotic therapy. A 53-year-old woman was referred to our institution because of purulent sputum and dyspnea. A chest radiograph and computed tomography scan revealed cavitary consolidation in the left upper lobe and multiple small cavities in the left lower lobe. Numerous acid-fast bacilli (AFB) were seen in multiple sputum specimens and M. fortuitum was identified by culture from the sputum specimens. The patient received antibiotic treatment including clarithromycin, ciprofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole, because her symptoms were worsening despite conservative treatment. Sputum conversion was achieved after one month of antibiotic therapy. Both the patient's symptoms and radiographic findings improved after 10 months of antibiotic therapy.
We experienced a case of tuberculosis presented simultaneously with pseudoaneurysm of the aorta and ARDS. A 63-year-old man was admitted with complaints of fever and right upper quadrant abdominal pain for a week. Chest X-ray on admission showed a normal finding. Sub-diaphragmatic abscess on abdomen CT scan was suspected and serosanguinous fluid was aspirated from the abscess pocket. On day 2, he was getting more dyspneic and chest X-ray revealed extensive bilateral infiltration. Aspirated fluid revealed AFB. Later, follow-up abdomen CT scan revealed a leakage of dye from the aneurysmal sac of the descending aorta which was previously diagnosed as sub-diaphragmatic abscess. An aortic stent was placed, covering the opening into the aneurysm. The sputum also showed positive AFB. The patient was successfully weaned from the ventilator, and discharged with anti-tuberculous medication on day 42. Follow-up abdomen CT scan 6 months later showed that the aneurymal sac was completely disappeared.
Benign bronchoesophageal fistula is a rare disease and it may be characterized by nonspecific symptoms that can cause a delayed diagnosis. We misdiagnosed a patient with recurrent aspiration, which was due to bronchoesophageal fistula, as active pulmonary tuberculosis. The patient was 44 year old female who had suffered from chronic cough, especially during eating liquid meals, since 1982 when she had been treated for tuberculous lymphadenitis. Computed tomography showed an irregular mass with surrounding centrilobular nodules in the superior segment of the right lower lobe (RLL). She was diagnosed as having active pulmonary tuberculosis and treated with anti-tuberculosis medication, but she continued to complain of persistent cough even after anti-tuberculosis treatment. Thus, we reexamined the patient, and bronchoesophageal fistula between the esophagus and the superior segment of the RLL was finally confirmed by esophagography. After the fistula was surgically treated, the patient became asymptomatic and she then experienced good health.
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) pneumonia is a serious opportunistic infection in an immunocompromised host such as an AIDS patient or transplant recipient undergoing immunosuppressive therapy. Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) is a relatively uncommon condition and it occurs most often in patients with systemic autoimmune disease. However, various types of infectious pneumonia with Mycoplsma hominis, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Pneumocystis jirovecii have been reported to be associated with the development of DAH. The association of CMV infection with the development of DAH has rarely been reported. We experienced a case of DAH associated CMV pneumonia and the patient was successfully treated with the use of antiviral agents and steroids.
We report the patient presented with a left-sided pleural effusion. Pleural fluid analysis revealed lymphocyte-dominant exudates with lower level of adenosine deaminase and negative cytologic malignancy. Thoracoscopic examination and histologic examination revealed metastatic nodules on pleurae, proven to be from the papillary thyroid cancer. There were no other sites of distant metastases. Though papillary thyroid cancer is characterized with slow progression and relatively good prognosis, metastatic pleural effusion as an initial manifestation of undiagnosed papillary thyroid cancer can be considered.
It is difficult to distinguish a lung cancer from a pulmonary tuberculoma or other benign nodule. It is even more difficult to identify the type of lesion if the mass shows no change in size or demonstrates slow growth. Only a pathological confirmation can possibly reveal the nature of the lesion. A 61-year-old-woman was referred for a solitary pulmonary nodule. The nodule showed no change in size for the first two years and continued to grow slowly. Pathological and immunological analyses were conducted for confirmation of the nodule. The nodule was identified as a well-differentiated primary pulmonary adenocarcinoma. An LULobectomy was performed, and the post surgical stage of the nodule was IIIA (T2N2M0). Even though there are few risk factors, there is still the possibility of a malignancy in cases of non-growing or slow growing solitary pulmonary nodules. Therefore, pathological confirmation is encouraged to obtain a firm diagnosis.