BACKGROUND: Cardiac patients undergoing open heart surgery usually require ventilatory support that involves ICU admission in the postoperative period. We tried to find out determinants of postoperative ventilatory support time. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 56 open heart surgery patients retrospectively in terms of their disease, preoperative physical status, age, post-bypass arterial oxygen tension/inspired oxygen fraction (PaO2/FIO2) ratio, number of inotropics used and searched the relationship between each factor and postoperative intubation time. RESULTS: None of the factors except the number of inotropics used had an significant influence on the postoperative intubation time. CONCLUSION: In open heart surgical patients their disease, preoperative physical status, age, postbypass PaO2/FIO2 ratio do not affect postoperative intubation time rather than number of inotropics used does.
Heart* ; Humans ; Intubation* ; Medical Records ; Oxygen ; Postoperative Period ; Retrospective Studies ; Thoracic Surgery*

The bronchial varices in mitral stenosis are uncommon and incidentally discovered during bronchoscopy. Although bronchial varices are primarily associated with bronchial or pulmonary disease, the bronchial vein can be dilated with increased pulmonary venous pressure secondary to mitral stenosis. The bronchial varices may present massive hemoptysis. The hemoptysis can be controlled by mitral commissurotomy or mitral valve replacement in case of mitral stenosis. We report a case of bronchial varies in a patient with severe mitral stenosis. The bronchial varices were found incidentally during bronchoscopy and they were nearly disappeared by mitral valve replacement.
Bronchoscopy ; Hemoptysis ; Humans ; Lung Diseases ; Mitral Valve ; Mitral Valve Stenosis* ; Varicose Veins* ; Veins ; Venous Pressure

Pulmonary infection by capsule-deficient Cryptococcus neoformans (CDCN) is a very rare form of pneumonia and it is seldom seen in the immunocompetent host. The authors experienced a case of pulmonary cryptococcosis by CDCN in 25-year-old woman who was without any significant underlying disease. The diagnosis was made from the percutaneous lung biopsy and special tissue staining, including Fontana-Masson silver (FMS) staining. Fungal culture confirmed the diagnosis afterward. Her clinical and radiologic features improved under treatment with fluconazol. It's known that CDCN is not so readily confirmed because fungal culture does not always result in growth of the organism and the empirical fungal stain is not helpful for the differentiation between CDCN and the other infections that are caused by the nonencapsulated yeast-like organisms. In this report, we emphasize the diagnostic value of performing FMS staining for differentiating a CDCN infection from the other confusing nonencapsulated yeast-like organisms.
Silver Nitrate ; Lung Diseases/*diagnosis/*microbiology ; Humans ; Female ; Cryptococcus neoformans/*isolation & purification ; Cryptococcosis/*diagnosis/microbiology ; Cough ; Chest Pain ; Adult

Leflunomide is a new disease modifying anti rheumatic drug (DMARD) for the treatment of active rheumatoid arthritis. Its mechanism of action differs from other DMARDs in that it inhibits the de novo pyrimidine synthesis by inhibiting dihydroorotate dehydrogenase and therefore prevents the proliferation of activated lymphocytes. As it has been prescribed worldwide, there is a great deal of much concerns regarding its potential adverse effects. Because leflunomide has an active metabolite with a long elimination half life of approximately 2 weeks, serious adverse reactions may occur even after the leflunomide treatment has been stopped. The profile of serious reactions includes liver dysfunction, hematological disorders, severe skin reactions and respiratory dysfunction. Respiratory dysfunctions with leflunomide therapy are very rare and its incidence is lower than that of methotrexate therapy. However, there are reports in Japan showing that 5 patients died of interstitial pneumonitis and another 11 patients developed serious lung complications associated with leflunomide. This suggests the possibility of fatal respiratory toxicity of leflunomide. There are no reports of interstitial pneumonitis associated with leflunomide in Korea. We report a case of a 62-year old woman who developed interstitial pneumonitis, which might have been induced by leflunomide during the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
Antirheumatic Agents ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Female ; Half-Life ; Humans ; Incidence ; Japan ; Korea ; Liver Diseases ; Lung ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial* ; Lymphocytes ; Methotrexate ; Middle Aged ; Oxidoreductases ; Skin

Solitary fibrous tumor is an uncommon submesothelial mesenchymal neoplasm that arises primarily from the pleura. Extrapleural solitary fibrous tumors are rare. Solitary Fibrous tumors are often asymptomatic and discovered incidentally but may become symptomatic when vital structures are involved or they grow large. In general, solitary fibrous tumor is diagnosed on the basis of radiologic findings and its histologic features, with immunohistochemistry serving to support the diagnosis. Most solitary fibrous tumors pursue a benign course, and the single most important predictor of clinical outcome is the ability to excise the entire lesion. We experienced a case of intrapulmonary solitary tumor arising from the right lower lobe which was treated with wedge resection. We report this case of the patient.
Diagnosis ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lung Neoplasms ; Pleura ; Solitary Fibrous Tumors*

Infliximab is a chimeric antibody against tumor necrosis factor-alpha and it can be used in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis. Tumor necorosis factor-alpha is a potent proinflammatory cytokine and plays a key role in the host response against tuberculosis. Infliximab is known to be effective on active ankylosing spondylitis but it can also cause reactivation of latent tuberculosis. Physicians should screen patients for latent tuberculous infection or disease before prescribing the drug. We experienced a case of tuberculous pleurisy after taking infliximab in a patient suffering from ankylosing spondylitis. We present the case with a review of literature.
Humans ; Latent Tuberculosis ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Pleural* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Infliximab

Lemierre syndrome or postanginal septicemia (necrobacillosis) is caused by an acute oropharygeal infection with secondary septic internal jugular vein thrombophlebitis and frequent metastatic infections. 17-aged girl visted emergency room with dyspnea. She had the symptoms of fever, sore throat and myalgia before 3 or 4 days. She had multiple septic emboli in both lung fields and septic thrombophlebitis of right internal jugular vein. Although Fusobacterium necrophorum is the most common pathogen isolated from the patients, The pathogen can not be confirmed. We experienced a case of Lemierre syndrome with septic embolism after fever, sore throat and myalgia. We present the case with the review of literature.
Dyspnea ; Embolism* ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Female ; Fever* ; Fusobacterium necrophorum ; Humans ; Jugular Veins ; Lemierre Syndrome ; Lung ; Myalgia* ; Pharyngitis* ; Sepsis ; Thrombophlebitis

Toxic gases and soot deposition as a consequence of smoke inhalation can cause direct injury to the upper and lower airways and even to the lung parenchyma. A delay in proper and prompt therapy can be detrimental to critically ill burn patients with an inhalation injury. Therefore, serial chest radiography is an important diagnostic tool for pulmonary complications during treatment. The radiographic findings of the chest include normal, consolidation, interstitial and alveolar infiltrates, peribronchial thickening, atelectasis, cardiogenic and non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema, and a pneumothorax as acute complications of smoke inhalation. In addition, bronchiectasis, bronchiolitis obliterans and pulmonary fibrosis can occur as late complications. We encountered a case of 44-year-old male who presented with acute lung injury after an inhalation injury. He required endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation due to respiratory failure. He was managed successfully with conservative treatment. Later, a cavitary lesion of the left upper lobe was observed on the chest radiography and computed tomography, which was complicated by massive hemoptysis during the follow-up. However, the cavitary lesion disappeared spontaneously without any clinical consequences.
Acute Lung Injury ; Adult ; Bronchiectasis ; Bronchiolitis Obliterans ; Burns ; Critical Illness ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gases ; Hemoptysis ; Humans ; Inhalation ; Intubation, Intratracheal ; Lung* ; Male ; Pneumothorax ; Pulmonary Atelectasis ; Pulmonary Edema ; Pulmonary Fibrosis ; Radiography ; Respiration, Artificial ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Smoke Inhalation Injury* ; Smoke* ; Soot ; Thorax

Combined large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma is an uncommon lung cancer that include large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma with components of adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, giant cell carcinoma and/or spindle cell carcinoma histologically. We report a case that pathologically diagnosed as combined large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma with component of adenocarcinoma after right pneumonectomy and mediastinal lymph node dissection. A 44-year-old man with intermittent chest pain was referred to our hospital for lung mass on the right mid lung field.
Adenocarcinoma* ; Adult ; Carcinoma, Giant Cell ; Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine* ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Chest Pain ; Humans ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Lymph Node Excision ; Pneumonectomy

Pulmonary gangrene is a rare and severe complication of bacterial pneumonia, where a pulmonary segment or lobe is sloughed due to parenchymal devitalization of the parenchyma, with secondary anaerobic infection and necrosis caused by pulmonary vascular thrombosis. Prior to the antibiotic era, massive pulmonary gangrene was potentially fatal. Herein, a case of pulmonary gangrene in a 67-year-old man is reported. He complained of fever, chills, dyspnea and purulent sputum of 5 days duration. The plain chest radiograph showed well-marginated right upper lobe consolidation, with bulging minor fissure, suggestive of a Klebsiella infection. A contrast CT scan demonstrated consolidation of the right upper lobe, with a central necrotizing portion. Klebsiella species was confirmed from both sputum and blood cultures. After appropriate antibiotics, the chest X-ray and CT scan 3 weeks later showed a large cavity with an air-fluid level, sloughing-off and extrusion of necrotic lung tissue, suggestive of pulmonary gangrene. Seven months later, the right gangrenous lung showed severe volume loss on a chest radiograph. The management of pulmonary gangrene has been somewhat controversial. Herein, it was managed without surgical drainage or resection. If the antibiotic therapy had failed, then a surgical approach would have been considered.
Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Chills ; Drainage ; Dyspnea ; Fever ; Gangrene* ; Humans ; Klebsiella Infections ; Klebsiella* ; Lung ; Necrosis ; Pneumonia* ; Pneumonia, Bacterial ; Radiography, Thoracic ; Sputum ; Thorax ; Thrombosis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed