Chest
-
Pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (PPFE) is a progressive and frequently fatal interstitial lung disease that involves the upper lobes. Although its cause remains unknown, the histopathologic evidence underlying PPFE bears striking resemblance to that of the pulmonary apical cap (PAC), a relatively common and benign entity. ⋯ Given the histologic similarity between these two conditions, we propose that these two entities underlie common biologic pathways of abnormal response to lung injury, with the presence of a PAC increasing susceptibility to the development of PPFE in the face of ongoing inflammatory insults. This case describes the histopathologic evolution of PAC to PPFE before and after an inciting injury.
-
A 63-year-old, non-smoking Asian woman presented to our hospital due to abnormal findings on chest radiography. She had no history of dust exposure. Chest radiography and CT imaging showed patchy ground-glass attenuation (GGA) in the bilateral lower lung lobes, a ground-glass nodule in the right lower lung lobe (diameter, 9.8 mm), and some thin-walled cysts in both lungs (Fig 1). ⋯ Simultaneously, the lung background showed diffuse lymphocytic infiltration in the alveolar septum and peribronchovascular interstitium (Fig 2). There were no symptoms suggestive of autoimmune diseases such as dryness, arthralgia, skin rash, or fever. The patient was followed up without treatment for the interstitial lung disease.
-
A 19-year-old pregnant woman at week 32 of gestation was referred to our clinic with progressive shortness of breath for the further evaluation and treatment of high-risk pregnancy. Her complaints had been existing since her childhood. ⋯ She had never smoked or drunk alcohol. Her clinical condition had deteriorated progressively with the pregnancy.
-
A 44-year-old woman with a history of renal cell carcinoma and thyroid cancer was referred to our institution for evaluation of cystic lung disease. She was an active smoker with a 15-pack-year of tobacco use. Two years before her presentation, she underwent a left nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma, clear cell type. ⋯ There was no family history of pneumothorax. She complained of mild shortness of breath with exertion and occasional nonproductive cough. As part of her oncologic work up, she underwent a chest CT scan of the lungs (Fig 1).
-
Current techniques for measuring absolute lung volumes rely on bulky and expensive equipment and are complicated to use for the operator and the patient. A novel method for measurement of absolute lung volumes, the MiniBox method, is presented. ⋯ TLC as measured by the novel MiniBox system is not significantly different from TLC measured by conventional whole body plethysmography, thus validating the MiniBox method as a reliable method to measure absolute lung volumes.