A rare association of Kimura’s disease with chronic pulmonary aspergillosis

Kimura’s disease is a rare chronic benign inflammatory condition characterised by nodules of skin and soft tissue and lymphnodes. Eosinophilic infiltration is a prominent finding. It has been reported in association with various conditions like nephrotic syndrome, bronchial asthma, ulcerative colitis and aortitis syndrome. Hereby we present a case in medical literature to the best of our knowledge in Kimura’s disease in association with chronic cavitary pulmonary aspergillosis, which has never been reported. He was treated with antifungals, after which he responded clinically, eosinophilia has subsided and he is under regular follow up. Now This case report suggest possible role of chronic aspergillosis as a cause for Kimura’s disease

Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and it’s correlation with forced expiratory volume in one second: a tertiary care centre study

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is common all over the Indian subcontinent, with a prevalence of 70-100% in the general population. Vitamin D deficiency has a role in several diseases of the respiratory system including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Studies have shown that vitamin D deficient COPD patients have lower lung function measured by FEV1. We conducted a study to see prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency in COPD patients and it’s correlation with Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 second.Methods: A cross sectional observational study was performed in a tertiary care hospital in Hyderabad, Telangana during the period of one and half year. This included 104 COPD cases attending outpatient department of pulmonary medicine. Serum vitamin D levels were measured, and spirometry was done in all patients and data was analyzed accordingly.Results: Among 104 patients, 87 were males and 17 were females. Most of the study population (44.2%) was aged between 60-70 years. Mean BMI was 26.40 (±5.77) kg/m2. Majority of study populations (66.34%) were in GOLD stage 1 and 2. The mean Vitamin D value of the study population was 20.77±11.74ng/ml. Majority of the COPD patients were vitamin D deficient (69.2%). 25.0 % was severely deficient of vitamin D. The mean FEV1 volume (%) was 83.15±11.53, 60.97±17.47, 30.71±7.96 in sufficient, deficient and severe deficient patients.Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency is common in COPD patients. Serum vitamin D deficiency increases with increased severity of COPD. There is positive correlation between serum vitamin D levels and post bronchodilator FEV1 (%).

A rare association of Kimura’s disease with chronic pulmonary aspergillosis

Kimura’s disease is a rare chronic benign inflammatory condition characterised by nodules of skin and soft tissue and lymphnodes. Eosinophilic infiltration is a prominent finding. It has been reported in association with various conditions like nephrotic syndrome, bronchial asthma, ulcerative colitis and aortitis syndrome. Hereby we present a case in medical literature to the best of our knowledge in Kimura’s disease in association with chronic cavitary pulmonary aspergillosis, which has never been reported. He was treated with antifungals, after which he responded clinically, eosinophilia has subsided and he is under regular follow up. Now This case report suggest possible role of chronic aspergillosis as a cause for Kimura’s disease

Clinical and etiological profile of an exudative pleural effusion in a tertiary care center

Background: Pleural effusion is common clinical entity in day-to-day clinical practice. There are various etiologies for pleural effusion. Among those tubercular pleural effusion, parapneumonic effusion, malignant effusion, and congestive heart failure were the most common causes of pleural effusion. Here, we have done a retrospective study to see the etiology of pleural effusion in our tertiary care center. Patients and Methods: This retrospective study conducted in a tertiary care center over 1 year period. A total of 63 patients were included in this study after verifying in patient records of all patients who were admitted with exudative pleural effusion. The demographic data collected and complete history was obtained. Investigations such as complete hemogram, random blood sugar; renal function tests, serum proteins, chest x-ray, and pleural fluid analysis and investigations such as ultrasonogram of the chest and abdomen, echocardiogram, computed tomography scan of chest, fine-needle aspiration cytology, and pleural biopsy reports (if done) were collected. Results: Among the study participants, 40 were male and 23 were female patients with male-to-female ratio of 1.7:1. Mean age of the study population was 48.8 ± 18.7 years. The most common presenting symptom was dyspnea (84%) followed by cough (80%), fever (65%), and chest pain (43%). The most frequent cause of pleural effusion was tuberculosis in 38% of patients, followed by parapneumonic effusion (28.5%) and malignant pleural effusion (22.2%). Three patients had chylothorax, two patients had pancreatic pleural effusion and the diagnosis was unknown in two patients. Mean ± standard deviation (SD) adenosine deaminase (ADA) value of the study population was 45.3 ± 28.1. Mean ± SD of ADA values in tuberculous, parapneumonic, and malignant pleural effusion was 54.5 ± 16.8, 65.2 ± 30.7, and 18.2 ± 11.0, respectively. Conclusions: Tuberculosis is one of the common causes of exudative effusions along with parapneumonic effusions and malignancy. Pleural fluid ADA levels are highly sensitive with good specificity for the diagnosis of etiology of tubercular effusions. However in view of high levels of ADA in pleural fluid in parapneumonic effusions also, other measures such as clinical evaluation, lymphocyte to neutrophil ratio, and glucose levels are necessary to separate both these entities