Chest
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Comparative Study
Gender differences in perceptions of urge to cough and dyspnea induced by citric acid in healthy never smokers.
The mechanism of the gender difference in cough reflex threshold has not been clearly elucidated. In the present study, we evaluated gender differences in the cough reflex threshold along with the perceptions of respiratory sensations, urge to cough, and dyspnea. ⋯ The gender difference in cough reflex threshold accompanied the gender difference in amplification rate of respiratory sensations in the same direction. The higher central gain for common pathways for respiratory sensations may play a role in lower cough reflex threshold in women. Further studies are needed to elucidate this issue.
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Comparative Study
Survival in sarcoidosis-associated pulmonary hypertension: the importance of hemodynamic evaluation.
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) has been associated with increased mortality in patients with advanced pulmonary sarcoidosis. Sarcoidosis-associated PH may be the result of left ventricular dysfunction (LVD) or isolated pulmonary vasculature abnormality. Our objective was to determine if the cause of PH affects survival in patients with sarcoidosis with persistent dyspnea. ⋯ PH without LVD was associated with increased mortality. Proper characterization of patients required hemodynamic evaluation, as 29% of sarcoidosis-associated PH was due to LVD.
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Angiofollicular lymph node hyperplasia, known more commonly as Castleman disease, is a rare lymphoproliferative disorder. Castleman disease has two distinct clinical manifestations described as unicentric and multicentric disease. These presentations have distinct treatment algorithms and portend very different prognoses. ⋯ Postoperative surgical pathology confirmed the diagnosis of Castleman disease, hyaline vascular type, with negative margins. Notably, the lymph node tissue in the rituximab-treated specimen demonstrated reduced mantle zone thickness, decreased size of follicles, and increased hyalinization of vessels. Rituximab shows promise in neoadjuvant treatment of unresectable or partially resectable unicentric Castleman disease.