Internal medicine
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The aims of this study were to evaluate the efficacy and safety of continuous morphine infusion for dyspnea in patients with acute exacerbation (AE) of end-stage interstitial pneumonia (IP). ⋯ We conclude that continuous morphine infusion is an effective and safe therapy for severe dyspnea in terminal AE-IP patients without any serious adverse events.
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Objective Although chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by systemic inflammation, the association between the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR; an indicator of inflammation) and the clinical status of COPD has not been well studied. We hypothesized that the NLR is associated with disease severity and exacerbation in COPD patients. Methods We performed blood testing, pulmonary function testing, chest computed tomography, a body composition analysis, and a 6-minute walk test and applied the modified Medical Research Council (MMRC) dyspnea scale for 141 stable COPD patients. ⋯ The NLR was significantly higher at exacerbation compared to the stable state (p<0.001). Conclusion The NLR was associated with disease severity and exacerbation in COPD patients. Therefore, the usefulness of the NLR in COPD patients should be elucidated in clinical settings in future investigations.
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Composite pheochromocytoma (cPC) is extremely rare, arising in the adrenal medulla as a mixture of PC and other tumors of neural origin. We herein report on a case of adrenal incidentaloma post-operatively diagnosed as cPC with ganglioneuroblastoma (GNBL). ⋯ Tumor cells of both components were stained positively for extracellular signal-regulated kinase 5 and ankyrin repeat domain 1. The aberrant activation of growth signaling may play a role in the marginal malignancy of cPC.
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The patient was a 68-year-old man presenting with body weight loss and exertional dyspnea. High-resolution computed tomography of the chest showed dense subpleural consolidation with traction bronchiectasis and volume loss predominantly in bilateral apical lesions and upper lobes. ⋯ The effect of pirfenidone was satisfactory, and a decline in forced vital capacity was inhibited during treatment. This is the first case report suggesting the efficacy of pirfenidone for patients with IPPFE.
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Case Reports
IgG4-related Lung Disease Associated with Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia: A Case Report and a Literature Review.
We herein report a case of IgG4-related lung disease (IgG4-RLD) associated with autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA). A 73-year-old Japanese female visited our hospital for an examination following an abnormal chest X-ray in 1999. She was diagnosed with bronchiolitis and AIHA, and treatment with prednisolone was started. ⋯ Furthermore, the patient's serum IgG4 level was high, and her CT findings did not show any obvious abnormal findings in the any organs other than the lungs. She was diagnosed with IgG4-RLD based on the findings. We believe that this case report of IgG4-RLD associated with AIHA is clinically helpful for a better understanding of these diseases, although there are five reported cases of IgG4-related disease associated with AIHA.