The patient is a 62-year-old man with known diabetes mellitus who presented with a two-weeks-history of dyspnea, cough, and fever. He was diagnosed with a lung abscess in the right upper lobe and was treated with intravenous antibiotics. The patient's clinical and radiological findings improved within seven days after medical treatment. However, newly developed ground-glass opacity and infiltrations were observed in the right lower lung. Fourteen days after admission, the patient's symptoms and imaging finding became aggravated despite trestment with susceptible antibiotics for lung abscess. Trans-bronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) was performed in the lateral basal segment of the right lower lobe of the lung. A histologic photomicrograph showed organizing pneumonia, also called bronchiolitis obliterans with organizing pneumonia(BOOP), that became more definite as the terminal bronchioles and alveoli became occluded with masses of inflammatory cells and fibrotic tissue. The clinical symptoms and radiograph findings resolved quickly with prednisone treatment. We report a case of secondary organizing pneumonia diagnosed after TBLB following lung abscess treatment and provide a review of the literature.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Biopsy ; Bronchioles ; Bronchiolitis Obliterans ; Cough ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Dyspnea ; Fever ; Humans ; Lung Abscess* ; Lung* ; Middle Aged ; Pneumonia* ; Prednisone

Tracheostomy is one of the oldest surgical procedures in medical history. The indications for a tracheostomy include the relief of an upper airway obstruction, long-term mechanical ventilation, and decreased airway resistance to help wean the patient from mechanical ventilator support. Unfortunately, tracheostomy is also associated with a number of problems including, bleeding, infection, pneumothorax, and tracheal stenosis. A pneumothorax is an uncommon complication of a tracheostomy, and can result from direct injury to the pleura or positive pressure ventilation through a dislocation of the tracheostomy tube. We report an uncommon case of a tracheostomy-induced bilateral tension pneumothorax with a review of the literature.
Airway Obstruction ; Airway Resistance ; Dislocations ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Pleura ; Pneumothorax* ; Positive-Pressure Respiration ; Respiration, Artificial ; Tracheal Stenosis ; Tracheostomy* ; Ventilators, Mechanical

OBJECTIVES: The authors would report the results of definitive radiation therapy (RT) for early glottic cancer by two different radiation dose schedules. METHODS: From February of 1995 till June of 2008, 157 patients with T1-2N0 glottic cancer were treated with curative RT at Samsung Medical Center. All patients had squamous cell carcinoma, and there were 89 patients (56.7%) with T1a, 36 (22.9%) with T1b, and 32 (20.4%) with T2. Two different radiation dose schedules were used: 70 Gy in 35 fractions to 64 patients (40.8%, group A); and 67.5 Gy in 30 fractions to 93 patients (59.2%, group B). The median treatment durations were 50 days (range, 44 to 59 days) and 44 days (range, 40 to 67 days) in the groups A and B, respectively. RESULTS: The median follow-up durations were 85 and 45 months for the groups A and B. No severe late complication of RTOG grade 3 or higher was observed, and there was no difference in acute or chronic complication between the groups. Twenty-four patients experienced treatment failure: local recurrence only in 19 patients; regional recurrence only in one; combined local and regional recurrence in four; and systemic metastasis in none. The overall 5-year disease-free survival and disease-specific survival rates were 84.7% and 94.8%. The disease-free survival rate in the group B was better (78.3% vs. 90.8%, P=0.031). This difference was significant only in T1 stage (83.4% vs. 94.6%, P=0.025), but not in T2 (62.7% vs. 60.6%, P=0.965). Univariate analysis showed that the tumor extent, cord mobility, T-stage, and the dose schedule had significant influence on the disease-free survival, and multivariate analysis showed that only the tumor extent and the dose schedule were associated with the disease-free survival. CONCLUSION: Superior disease-free survival could be achieved by 2.25 Gy per fraction without increased toxicity over shorter RT duration, when compared with 2.0 Gy per fraction.
Appointments and Schedules ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Disease-Free Survival ; Dose Fractionation ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Laryngeal Neoplasms ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Recurrence ; Survival Rate