Chest
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Radiographic end points commonly are included in therapeutic trials for systemic sclerosis (SSc)-interstitial lung disease (ILD); however, the relationship between these outcomes and long-term mortality is unclear. ⋯ Data from two independent clinical trial cohorts with extensive long-term follow-up demonstrated that radiographic progression of ILD over 12 to 24 months, in both treatment and placebo arms, can predict increased risk for long-term mortality in patients with SSc. These findings suggest that radiographic end points may serve as surrogates for mortality in SSc-ILD.
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A 16-year-old girl presented to the ED with complaints of loose stools, abdominal pain, and rash over her legs for the last 7 days. There was no history of fever, vomiting, oral ulcers, or mucosal bleeds. ⋯ There was a history of significant but undocumented weight loss. On day 3 of hospital admission, she developed numbness over her right foot.
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Case Reports
Middle Mediastinal Mass Compressing the Pulmonary Trunk in a Patient With a History of Breast Cancer.
A 61-year-old White woman, nonsmoker, was referred to Respirology for evaluation of small pulmonary nodules discovered incidentally on surveillance imaging 3 years after breast cancer treatment. She had a remote left breast ductal carcinoma in situ treated with lumpectomy followed by radiation therapy, and recurrent stage 1 breast cancer (estrogen receptor/progesterone receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative) treated with mastectomy, axillary lymph node dissection, and reconstructive surgery, followed with adjuvant chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and letrozole maintenance. Her other medical conditions included compensated cirrhosis secondary to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, OSA, restless legs syndrome, obesity, anxiety, and depression. She reported no dyspnea or constitutional symptoms.
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Congenital tracheoesophageal fistula is usually diagnosed at an early age, but may remain undetected into adulthood if atresia is absent and if the fistula is small. A tracheoesophageal fistula should be suspected in patients with unexplained episodes of respiratory distress or pneumonia; however, more subtle signs can be an important symptom for early recognition of the disease. ⋯ In the present case, air movement between the esophagus and the trachea through the fistula caused a high-pitched sound, which the patient described as a "catlike cry." The high-pitched sound ceased after surgical closure of the fistula. We report here the symptom of "catlike cry" as one manifestation of tracheoesophageal fistula.