Acrometastasis due to lung adenocarcinoma

We are presenting a case of acrometastasis in a male patient with lung adenocarcinoma. Acrometastases accumulate for 0.1%of all metastatic bone lesions and can be the first manifestation of cancer in approximately 10% of cases. The main clinicalmanifestations are tenderness, intermittent pain, functional impairment, erythema, heat and swelling of the affected part. Lungcancer is the main primary malignancy which causes acrometastases. Although the lesions can be recognized in x-rays or CTscans, the gold standard for the diagnosis is MRI scan in which the full extension of the tumor can be evaluated.The diagnosisis usually confirmed by fine-needle biopsy of the affected bone. In the presence of acrometastases, prognosis is very poor andpalliative treatment is usually recommended. This case shows that patients at risk for lung cancer should be screened intensivelywhen they develop persistent digital symptoms

“Luck’s always to blame”: silent wounds of a penetrating gunshot trauma sustained 20 years ago

Gunshot tracheal injuries represent life-threatening events and usually necessitate emergent surgical intervention. We report a case of an exceptional finding of a patient with retained ballistic fragments in the soft tissues of the thorax, proximal to the right subclavian artery and the trachea, carrying silently his wounds for two decades without any medical or surgical intervention. The bullet pellet on the upper part of the trachea seen accidentally in the chest computed tomography, was also found during bronchoscopy. In short “luck’s always to blame”

Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis (DISH) and non small cell lung cancer: case presentation and review of the literature

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH), also known as Forestier’s disease, is a systemic non inflammatory disease of unknown cause. It is characterized by the presence of osteophytes due to calcification and ossification of spinal ligaments and entheses. Moreover, diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis has been associated with a variety of metabolic disorders. However, to the best of our knowledge no association with non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been reported so far. In the present study we report a case of a patient with NSCLC and DISH.Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH), also known as Forestier’s disease, is a systemic non inflammatory disease of unknown cause. It is characterized by the presence of osteophytes due to calcification and ossification of spinal ligaments and entheses. Moreover, diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis has been associated with a variety of metabolic disorders. However, to the best of our knowledge no association with non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been reported so far. In the present study we report a case of a patient with NSCLC and DISH

Przerzuty gruczolakoraka płuca do kości dystalnych części kończyn

W pracy przedstawiono przypadek mężczyzny z przerzutami gruczolakoraka płuca do kości dystalnych części kończyn. Przerzuty do kości dystalnych części kończyn stanowią 0,1% wszystkich kostnych zmian przerzutowych, a w około 10% przypadków mogą być pierwszą manifestacją raka. Głównymi objawami klinicznymi są: tkliwość uciskowa, ból przerywany, upośledzenie czynnościowe, rumień, wzmożone ucieplenie oraz obrzęk zajętej części kończyny. Rak płuca jest głównym pierwotnym nowotworem złośliwym dającym przerzuty do kości dystalnych części kończyn. Mimo że zmiany te mogą być wykryte na radiogramach lub w tomografii komputerowej, „złotym standardem” diagnostyki pozostaje badanie rezonansem magnetycznym, w którym można ocenić pełny zakres zmian. Rozpoznanie jest zwykle potwierdzane za pomocą biopsji cienkoigłowej zajętej kości. W przypadku obecności przerzutów do kości dystalnych części kończyn rokowanie jest niekorzystne i zwykle stosuje się leczenie paliatywne. Przedstawiony przypadek pokazuje, że u pacjentów ze zwiększonym ryzykiem raka płuca, z nieustępującymi objawami ze strony palców, należy przeprowadzić szeroką diagnostykę.W pracy przedstawiono przypadek mężczyzny z przerzutami gruczolakoraka płuca do kości dystalnych części kończyn. Przerzuty do kości dystalnych części kończyn stanowią 0,1% wszystkich kostnych zmian przerzutowych, a w około 10% przypadków mogą być pierwszą manifestacją raka. Głównymi objawami klinicznymi są: tkliwość uciskowa, ból przerywany, upośledzenie czynnościowe, rumień, wzmożone ucieplenie oraz obrzęk zajętej części kończyny. Rak płuca jest głównym pierwotnym nowotworem złośliwym dającym przerzuty do kości dystalnych części kończyn. Mimo że zmiany te mogą być wykryte na radiogramach lub w tomografii komputerowej, „złotym standardem” diagnostyki pozostaje badanie rezonansem magnetycznym, w którym można ocenić pełny zakres zmian. Rozpoznanie jest zwykle potwierdzane za pomocą biopsji cienkoigłowej zajętej kości. W przypadku obecności przerzutów do kości dystalnych części kończyn rokowanie jest niekorzystne i zwykle stosuje się leczenie paliatywne. Przedstawiony przypadek pokazuje, że u pacjentów ze zwiększonym ryzykiem raka płuca, z nieustępującymi objawami ze strony palców, należy przeprowadzić szeroką diagnostykę

Unilateral hypertransparency on chest radiograph: the congenital Poland Syndrome

  Unilateral hypertransparent hemithorax requires a particular diagnostic approach as it can be the result of diverse pulmonary diseases, including pneumothorax, large pulmonary embolus, unilateral large bullae, mucous plag, airway obstruction and contralateral pleural effusion. Congenital syndromes with chest wall abnormalities, are rare, but often underdiagnosed causes. Poland Syndrome consists of such a rare, congenital anomaly and is characterized by the absence of the pectoralis major muscle and upper limb ipsilateral abnormalities. We present a case of a patient with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and a unilateral hypertransparency on chest radiology, attributed to the underlying Poland Syndrome.  

Clinical review: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis acute exacerbations - unravelling Ariadne's thread

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a dreadful, chronic, and irreversibly progressive fibrosing disease leading to death in all patients affected, and IPF acute exacerbations constitute the most devastating complication during its clinical course. IPF exacerbations are subacute/acute, clinically significant deteriorations of unidentifiable cause that usually transform the slow and more or less steady disease decline to the unexpected appearance of acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS) ending in death. The histological picture is that of diffuse alveolar damage (DAD), which is the tissue counterpart of ARDS, upon usual interstitial pneumonia, which is the tissue equivalent of IPF. ALI/ARDS and acute interstitial pneumonia share with IPF exacerbations the tissue damage pattern of DAD. 'Treatment' with high-dose corticosteroids with or without an immunosuppressant proved ineffective and represents the coup de grace for these patients. Provision of excellent supportive care and the search for and treatment of the 'underlying cause' remain the only options. IPF exacerbations require rapid decisions about when and whether to initiate mechanical support. Admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) is a particular clinical and ethical challenge because of the extremely poor outcome. Transplantation in the ICU setting often presents insurmountable difficulties

Vascular endothelial growth factor and cysteinyl leukotrienes in sputum supernatant of patients with asthma

SummaryBackgroundVascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is considered to be the most important angiogenic factor in asthma. Cysteinyl leukotrienes (Cyst-LTs) have been implicated in vascular permeability in asthma. Cyst-LTs receptor antagonists modulate vascular permeability by reducing VEGF expression.ObjectiveWe aimed to determine the levels of VEGF and Cyst-LTs in sputum supernatants of patients with asthma and to investigate possible associations within them and with airway vascular permeability (AVP) index. Possible confounding factors were also assessed.MethodsOne hundred twenty one patients with asthma (38 with severe refractory asthma, 41 smokers) and 30 healthy subjects (15 smokers) were studied. All subjects underwent lung function tests, and sputum induction for cell count identification and VEGF, Cyst-LTs, measurement in supernatants. AVP index was also assessed.ResultsBoth VEGF & Cyst-LTs (pg/ml) levels were significantly elevated in patients with asthma compared to normal subjects (median, interquartile ranges 845 [487–1034] vs. 432 (327–654) and 209 [171–296] vs. 92 [75–114] respectively, p < 0.001 for both). Multivariate regression analysis in the whole group showed a significant association of Cyst-LTs levels in sputum supernatants with VEGF levels in sputum supernatants and AVP index. A similar positive association was observed between VEGF levels in sputum supernatants and AVP index. The presence of Severe asthma was a significant covariate for both associations.ConclusionOur results indicate that Cyst-LTs may modulate vascular permeability by up-regulating VEGF expression. The above effect seems to be affected by asthma severity

CD8+ T lymphocytes in bronchoalveolar lavage in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Recently it was shown that in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) tissue infiltrating CD₈₊T lymphocytes (TLs) are associated with breathlessness and physiological indices of disease severity, as well as that CD₈₊TLs recovered by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) relate to those infiltrating lung tissue. Since BAL is a far less invasive technique than tissue biopsy to study mechanisms in IPF we further investigated the usefulness offered by this means by studying the relationship between BAL macrophages, neutrophils, eosinophils, CD₃₊, CD₄₊, CD₈₊, CD_8+/38+TLs and CD₄₊/CD₈₊ratio with breathlessness and physiological indices.</p> <p>Patients and methods</p> <p>27 IPF patients, 63 ± 9 years of age were examined. Cell counts were expressed as percentages of total cells and TLs were evaluated by flow cytometry. FEV₁, FVC, TLC, RV, <it>D</it>LCO, PaO₂, and PaCO₂were measured in all. Breathlessness was assessed by the Medical Research Council (MRC) chronic dyspnoea scale.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>CD₈₊TLs correlated positively (r_s= 0.46, p = 0.02), while CD₄₊/CD₈₊ratio negatively (r_s= -0.54, p = 0.006) with the MRC grade. CD₈₊TLs correlated negatively with RV (r_s= -0.50, p = 0.017). CD_8+/38+TLs were negatively related to the FEV₁and FVC (r_s= -0.53, p = 0.03 and r_s= -0.59, p = 0.02, respectively). Neutrophils correlated positively with the MRC grade (r_s= 0.42, p = 0.03), and negatively with the <it>D</it>LCO (r_s= -0.54, p = 0.005), PaO₂(r_s= -0.44, p = 0.03), and PaCO₂(r_s= -0.52, p = 0.01).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>BAL CD₈₊TLs associations with physiological and clinical indices seem to indicate their implication in IPF pathogenesis, confirming our previous tissue study.</p