Respiratory medicine
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Respiratory medicine · Sep 2005
Multicenter StudyEtiology of community acquired pneumonia among adult patients requiring hospitalization in Taiwan.
There has not been a comprehensive multi-center study investigating the microbial profile of community acquired pneumonia (CAP) in Taiwan. ⋯ S. pneumoniae was the most common etiology agent in adult patients hospitalized due to CAP in Taiwan and the spectrum of other major pathogens was similar to studies conducted elsewhere in the world. Empiric treatment recommendations developed in other parts of the world may be appropriately adapted for local use after taking into account local resistance profiles. Our data also support the recommendation that urine antigen test be added as an adjunct to adult CAP etiology diagnosis protocol.
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Respiratory medicine · Sep 2005
Is maternal smoking more determinant than paternal smoking on the respiratory symptoms of young children?
It is generally accepted that maternal smoking has more detrimental effects than paternal smoking on the respiratory health of children. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of postnatal exposure due to the smoking behaviour by father and mother in the home, and prenatal exposure from maternal smoking during pregnancy, on the respiratory symptoms in children. ⋯ Our results underline a greater influence of exposure to maternal smoking (prenatal and postnatal) than postnatal paternal smoking on the development of respiratory symptoms in young children.
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Respiratory medicine · Sep 2005
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyComparison of BALF concentrations of ENA-78 and IP10 in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and nonspecific interstitial pneumonia.
Epithelial neutrophil-activating peptide 78 (ENA-78) and interferon gamma-inducible protein 10 (IP10) belong to the CXC chemokine family and are considered to be important factors in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Idiopathic nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) and IPF are the two largest subsets of idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIP). In patients with NSIP, the prognosis is generally good compared with IPF. Therefore, the pathogenesis of NSIP seems to be different from that of IPF, but this remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the contribution of ENA-78 and IP10 in the two diseases. ⋯ Our results show distinct profiles of CXC chemokines in IPF and NSIP, and suggest that these chemokines play an important role in inflammatory cell recruitment into the lung in patients with IIP.
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Spontaneous pneumomediastinum (SP) is a rare disorder. ⋯ SP is an entity that evolves correctly without treatment and has no long-term relapses. Once other occasionally associated entities are ruled out, outpatient management can be employed.
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Respiratory medicine · Sep 2005
Case ReportsA rare complication of pneumonectomy: diagnosis made by a literature search.
This case describes platypnoea-orthodeoxia syndrome in a patient 2 months after a right pneumonectomy for adenocarcinoma of the lung. The patient complained of platypnoea (breathlessness in the upright position) and was noted to have orthodeoxia (arterial desaturation on standing) on clinical examination. ⋯ The authors had no previous experience of this very rare complication of pneumonectomy. The diagnosis was made after a literature search using PubMed/Medline, underlining the direct clinical benefit provided by these databases.