Chest
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Diaphragm flutter is a rare disorder defined by dyspnea and often thoracoabdominal pain associated with rapid rhythmic involuntary contractions of the diaphragm with no effective treatment. A 35-year-old woman's flutter was triggered by increasing the depth of breathing and by (electrical) stimulation of the diaphragm. Medical therapy, phrenic nerve crush, and diaphragm pacer stimulation were ineffective. ⋯ For 16 months, it has continued to halt flutter with rare episodes when getting out of bed that resolve with up to 40 minutes of NVS. To our knowledge, this is the first case of idiopathic diaphragmatic flutter for which diaphragm rest was used as successful treatment with no adverse effects. This should be tried for future cases.
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Editorial Comment
Misclassification of Lymph Nodes in Lung Cancer Staging: Can We Improve?
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Observational Study
Clinical predictors of hospital mortality differ between direct and indirect acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Direct (pulmonary) and indirect (extrapulmonary) ARDS are distinct syndromes with important pathophysiologic differences. The goal of this study was to determine whether clinical characteristics and predictors of mortality differ between direct or indirect ARDS. ⋯ Despite lower severity of illness and fewer organ failures, patients with direct ARDS had mortality rates similar to patients with indirect ARDS. Factors previously associated with mortality during ARDS were only associated with mortality in direct ARDS. These findings suggest that direct and indirect ARDS have distinct features that may differentially affect risk prediction and clinical outcomes.
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Differentiating pulmonary venoocclusive disease (PVOD) and pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis (PCH) from idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) or heritable pulmonary arterial hypertension (HPAH) is important clinically. Mutations in eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha kinase 4 (EIF2AK4) cause heritable PVOD and PCH, whereas mutations in other genes cause HPAH. The aim of this study was to describe the frequency of pathogenic EIF2AK4 mutations in patients diagnosed clinically with IPAH or HPAH. ⋯ Pathogenic biallelic EIF2AK4 mutations are rarely identified in patients diagnosed with HPAH. Identification of pathogenic biallelic EIF2AK4 mutations can aid clinicians in differentiating HPAH from heritable PVOD or PCH.
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A 28-year-old female patient presented through her primary care physician with symptoms of atypical chest pain and chronic cough. Her pain was described as pleuritic and intermittently radiating to the right arm. Her medical history was significant for recurrent respiratory infections, gastritis, and a left ovarian cyst treated with ipsilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. She denied any history of smoking, known lung disease, or extrapulmonary infections.