No abstract available.
Necrosis*

OBJECTIVES: The differentiation of tuberculous effusion from the other causes of exudative pleural effusion remained difficult even with aids of biochemical analyses and pleural biopsy. As the pathophysiology of tuberculous pleural effusion is an enhanced cell mediated immunity, Adenosine deaminase(ADA) and various cytokines including Inteferon-γ, tumor necrosis factor alpha(TNF-α) are considered as useful diagnostic tools in differentiating exudative pleural effusion The author would like to demonstrate the diagnostic usefulness of TNF-α in the differentiation of exudative pleural effusion, and compared the discriminating ability of TNF-α with ADA. METHODS: Pleural fluids obtained from 80 patients (tuberculous : 39, malignant : 31, parapneumonic : 10) with exudate pleural effusions were processed for cell counts and biochemical analysis including ADA and TNF-α RESULTS: Tuberculous pleural fluid showed higher levee of ADA and TNF-α, 48.7α 32.7U/L and 184.1±214.2pg/mL than that of non-tuberculous effusion 26.0α41.3U/L and 44.1α114.2pg/mL, respectively (ADA, TNF-α : p<0.05, p<0.01). Receiver operating characteristics(ROC) curves were generated for ADA and TNF-α, and the best cut-off value for adenosine deaminase and TNF-α were considered as 30U/L and 15pg/ml, respectively. Comparing the area under the ROC curves, there was no significant difference between ADA and TNF-α CONCLUSION: For the differential diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion from the other causes of exudative pleural effusions, TNF-α as well as ADA was considered as useful diagnostic method. However adding TNF-α to ADA has no further diagnotic benefit than ADA alone.
Adenosine ; Adenosine Deaminase ; Biopsy ; Cell Count ; Cytokines ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Exudates and Transudates ; Humans ; Immunity, Cellular ; Pleural Effusion* ; ROC Curve ; Tuberculosis ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha*

No abstract available.
Glomerulonephritis, IGA* ; Immunoglobulin A* ; Nephrotic Syndrome*

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) secondary to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is incurable and it has an unpredictable survival rate. Two men who suffered from COPD presented with progressive dyspnea and edema, respectively. PAH, as estimated by the peak velocity of tricuspidal regurgitation, and the depressed myocardial performance index (MPI) of the right ventricle (RV) were noted on echocardiography. In addition to the baseline therapy for their depressed ventilatory function, we prescribed tadalafil 10 mg orally every other day for 2 weeks and then we doubled the dosage. They well tolerated the medication without any notable side effects. After 4 weeks of tadalafil treatment, the patients' pulmonary arterial pressure was decreased and the MPI of the RV was improved in both. The exercise capacity, as measured by the respiratory oxygen uptake, also improved from 10.9 mL/kg/min to 13.8 mL/kg/min in one patient. We report here on 2 patients with PAH secondary to COPD, and they showed notable improvement of their pulmonary hemodynamics and exercise capacity with the administration of tadalafil.
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/*complications ; Pulmonary Artery/drug effects/*pathology ; Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors/*therapeutic use ; Oxygen Consumption/drug effects ; Middle Aged ; Male ; Hypertension, Pulmonary/*drug therapy/etiology ; Humans ; Exercise Tolerance/drug effects ; Carbolines/*therapeutic use

The ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome is a rare but serious complication of ovulation induction therapy with gonadotropin. The clinical manifestations are generalized edema, ascites with pleural effusion and may become life-threatening in severe cases. The pathophysiology is still unknown therefore, the treatment should be symptomatic and conservative. We report a case of severe OHSS with massive right pleural effusion in excess of ten liters after human menopausal gonadotropin therapy because of secondary infertility. Fluid and electrolyte imbalances were corrected and albumin was administered. A right chest tube was placed for a total of sixteen days, draining eleven liters of pleural effusion totally, resulting a dramatic decrease of pleural effusion and improvement of symptoms.
Ascites ; Chest Tubes ; Edema ; Female ; Gonadotropins ; Humans ; Infertility ; Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome* ; Ovulation Induction ; Pleural Effusion*

Hepatopulmonary syndrome consists of a triad of liver dysfunction, intrapulmonary vascular dilatation, and hypoxemia. This is one of the main causes of arterial hypoxemia in patients with chronic liver disease. The vascular abnormalities are precapillary dilatation, direct arterial-venous communication, and dilated pleural vessels. In this article, we report a case of hepatopulmonary syndrome in a 62-year-old woman who had complained progressively worsening dyspnea, platypnea, and orthodeoxia. She had huge splenomegaly, clubbing fingers and cyanosis of lip and fingers. Arterial blood gas analysis showed refractory arterial hypoxemia and orthodeoxia suggesting right-to-left "shunting". Chest X-ray showed increased interstitial markings on the lower part of right lung, In 99mTc-labeled macroaggregated albumin (MAA) lung perfusion scan, there was no perfusion defect in the lung, but labeled radionuclide were taken up in the intraabdominal organs, kidney, liver and spleen. The amount of shunted radionuclide were about 58 percent. In contrast echocardiography, microbubbles which were injected via cephalic vein were visualized in the left atrium at 4 cardiac cycles after leaving the right ventricle indicating intrapulmonary right-to-left "shunting" rather than intracardiac shunt. Pulmonary angiographic finding revealed diffuse blotchy arterial dilatation on both lung fields, especially lower lobes of both lungs. Current modalities of treatment of hepatopulmonary syndrome are the therapeutic embolization of direct arterial-venous communication for focal vascular dilatations, and TIPSS (Transjugular intrahepatic porto-systemic shunt) or liver transplantation for diffuse intrapulmonary vascular dilatations. Despite our recommendation of TIPSS, she refused the procedure and is under home oxygen therapy.
Anoxia ; Blood Gas Analysis ; Cyanosis ; Dilatation ; Dyspnea ; Echocardiography ; Embolization, Therapeutic ; Female ; Fingers ; Heart Atria ; Heart Ventricles ; Hepatopulmonary Syndrome* ; Humans ; Kidney ; Lip ; Liver ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Liver Diseases ; Liver Transplantation ; Lung ; Microbubbles ; Middle Aged ; Oxygen ; Perfusion ; Portasystemic Shunt, Transjugular Intrahepatic ; Spleen ; Splenomegaly ; Thorax ; Veins

Benign hypervascular hyperplastic nodules (HHN) in liver cirrhosis are very rare. It is important to distinguish between regenerative nodules (hyperplastic nodules) and tumorous nodules (dysplastic or neoplastic nodules) in hepatocellular nodular lesions. The differential diagnosis between HHN and hepatocellular carcinoma on the basis of radiologic imaging is often difficult, and is clinically important when determining the therapeutic plan. Therefore, histological confirmation by needle biopsy sampling of the liver is necessary for a correct diagnosis of HHN. We report herein a case of benign HHN mimicking hepatocellular carcinoma in a 32-year-old male alcoholic liver cirrhosis patient without viral hepatitis infection.
Adult ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/diagnosis ; Humans ; Hyperplasia/diagnosis ; Liver/*pathology ; Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic/*diagnosis/pathology/radiography ; Liver Neoplasms/diagnosis ; Magnetic Resonance Angiography ; Male ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Paragangliomas are unusual neuroendocrine cell tumors arising from paraganglia, of which ACTH-secreting cases in the mediastinum are extremely rare. A 51-year-old woman was admitted for generalized edema and weakness which began 5 months ago. Chest X-ray and CT scan revealed a tumor mass in the anterior mediastinum. The plasma cortisol and ACTH levels were very high. Other sources secreting ACTH, except mediastinal mass, were not found. Surgical excision of mediastinal mass and left supraclavicular lymph node was performed. The postoperative microscopic finding and immunohistochemical staining revealed organoid tumor cell nests (zellballen) and S-100 protein positive sustentacular cells which are characteristics of paraganglioma. This was thus a case of Cushing's syndrome resulting from ectopic ACTH production in anterior mediastinal paraganglioma.
Case Report ; Corticotropin/secretion+ACo- ; Cushing Syndrome/etiology+ACo- ; Female ; Human ; Mediastinal Neoplasms/therapy ; Mediastinal Neoplasms/secretion ; Mediastinal Neoplasms/complications+ACo- ; Middle Age ; Paraganglioma, Extra-Adrenal/therapy ; Paraganglioma, Extra-Adrenal/secretion ; Paraganglioma, Extra-Adrenal/complications+ACo-

The relationship between neoplastic disease and thromboembolic disorders has been recognized since 1865, when Armand Trousseau first reported a high incidence of venous thrombosis in a series of patients with gastric carcinoma. The overall incidence of thromboembolic disease in patients with cancer has been reported to vary 1% to 15%. In a prospective study, Ambrus and associates reported that thrombosis and/or bleeding was the second most common cause of death in hospitalized cancer patients. We report a case who presented as a thromboembolic disease and subsequently confirmed to have an underlying lung malignancy. This 45 years old male patient visited our hospital with abdominal pain and distention of 3 days duration. Abdominal CT scan revealed multiple splenic and renal infarctions. On 20th hospital day, drowsy mental status was developed and hemorrhagic cerebral infarction was noted in brain CT scan. Chest CT scan revealed a 4cm sized spiculated mass on left lung apex and multiple paratracheal lymph adenopathy. With surgical biopsy of left supraclavicular lymph nodes, this patient was confirmed to have adenocarcinoma.
Abdominal Pain ; Adenocarcinoma ; Biopsy ; Brain ; Cause of Death ; Cerebral Infarction ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infarction* ; Lung* ; Lymph Nodes ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Thrombosis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Venous Thrombosis

We report a case of congenital and familial antithrombin III deficiency developing massive pulmonary thromboembolism. A 44-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of sudden chest pain and severe dyspnea. Five years ago, he was operated due to a mesenteric vein thrombosis of unknown cause. On admission, radioisotopic venogram showed deep vein thrombosis and lung scintigram showed multiple segmental perfusion defects. His plasma antithrombin III level was 10.5 mg/dL which was less than 50% of normal and those of a son and two daughters were also decreased. After treatment with tissue plasminogen activator, heparin and coumadin, his symptom and lung scintigram were significantly improved. As far as we reviewed, there were very rare reports with congenital antithrombin III deficiency presenting as pulmonary thromboembolism in Korea.
Adult ; Antithrombin III ; Antithrombin III Deficiency* ; Chest Pain ; Dyspnea ; Heparin ; Humans ; Korea ; Lung ; Mesenteric Veins ; Nuclear Family ; Perfusion ; Plasma ; Pulmonary Embolism* ; Thrombosis ; Tissue Plasminogen Activator ; Venous Thrombosis ; Warfarin