Pulmonary barotrauma during hookah diving: a case report.

When commercial sea harvesters have dive accidents, it is sometimes difficult to obtain an accurate dive history and make a definitive diagnosis. We report a sea harvest diver who dived to collect sea snails (Rapana venosa) by using a hookah dive system. He experienced mediastinal and subcutaneous emphysema due to interruption of breathing airflow. Thoracic computed tomography performed one year prior to the accident revealed paramediastinal subpleural blebs on both lung apices. Emphysema was resolved by administering normobaric oxygen.

An uncommon cause of multiple pulmonary nodules; hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia.

Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), or Rendu-Osler-Weber syndrome (ROWS) is a very rare hereditary disease. The diagnosis is based on the clinical findings such as recurrent epistaxis, telangiectases, visceral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) and family history. AVMs are found in the liver, lung or brain and could mimick the masses of these organs. Radiologic evaluation plays a critical role during diagnostic and therapeutic management of ROWS. Hence, radiologists should be aware of the diagnosis of HHT in the patients with AVMs, history of epistaxis and family history. We report a patient with multiple pulmonary AVMs secondary to HHT who has referred to our interventional radiology department for computed tomography guided transthorasic lung biopsy procedure with suspicious of malignancy.

Pancreatic involvement in small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Few data are available concerning incidence, clinical picture, and prognosis for pancreatic metastases of small cell lung carcinoma. In this paper we review the related literature available in English language. CONCLUSIONS: Although pancreatic metastases are generally asymptomatic, they can rarely produce clinical symptoms or functional abnormalities. The widespread use of multi-detector computerised tomography (CT) in contemporary medical practice has led to an increased detection of pancreatic metastases in oncology patients. Tissue diagnosis is imperative because radiological techniques alone are incapable of differentiating them from primary pancreatic tumours. Pancreatic metastases occur in the relative end stage of small cell lung cancer. The main complications of these lesions, although rare, are acute pancreatitis and obstructive jaundice. Early chemotherapy can provide a survival benefit even in patients with mild acute pancreatitis or extrahepatic biliary obstruction.

[Paradoxical radiologic progression despite appropriate anti-tuberculous therapy]. / Uygun Antitüberküloz Tedaviye Ragmen Paradoks Radyolojik Progresyon.

Clinical or radiological deterioration of tuberculosis despite appropriate anti-tuberculous therapy is defined as paradoxical response. Since identification of paradoxical response presents difficulties, this issue is not only of medical importance but also of legal importance. In this report, a tuberculosis case who got worse paradoxically during the course of anti-tuberculous therapy, was presented. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative 68-year-old male patient was admitted to the hospital with the complaints of cough, chest pain, and weight loss. Computed tomography of the chest revealed an irregular non-homogenous opacity involving the apical and posterior segments of superior lobe of the right lung. Since acid-fast bacilli were detected in the sputum sample, active pulmonary tuberculosis was diagnosed and four-drug regimen treatment (isoniazid 300 mg/day, rifampicin 600 mg/day, pyrazinamide 2 g/day, etambutole 1.5 g/day) was initiated. At the end of the first month of therapy radiological lesions increased. There was no endobronchial lesion on bronchoscopy, and no acid-fast bacilli in bronchial lavage fluid. Therapy protocol was not changed, however radiological lesions regressed gradually. It was concluded that temporary deteriorations might occur in previous pulmonary infiltrates in patients who were under appropriate anti-tuberculous therapy. The gold standard for monitorization of anti-tuberculous therapy is microbiological methods rather than the radiological ones. Comorbid conditions, drug reactions, patient compliance and treatment failure are important parameters in the differential diagnosis. This case was presented to emphasize the importance of tuberculosis which is still prevalent in Turkey.

Evaluation of the Hospitalized Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients in First 3 Months of the Pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: Data about Turkish coronavirus disease 2019 patients are limited. We evaluated hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 patients who were followed up in the first 3 months of the pandemic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This retrospective, single-center, observational study included 415 confirmed hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 patients. The patients were divided into groups, namely, mild, moderate, and critically ill patients. Symptoms at the time of admission, clinical, laboratory, and imaging findings were examined. RESULTS: In our study, 6.74% of coronavirus disease 2019 patients had severe disease, 59.5% were male, and the mortality rate was 11.3%. Diabetes mellitus and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were more frequently seen in critically ill patient groups and hypertension in moderate patient groups. Anemia and aspartate aminotransferase levels were higher in non-survivors among mild coronavirus disease 2019 patients. In the moderate patients' group, aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, international normalized ratio, ferritin, and D-dimer levels were higher and lymphocyte, hemoglobin levels were lower; in the critically ill patients' group, platelets were lower and uric acid levels were higher in non-survivor patients. CONCLUSION: In mild patients, anemia, lymphopenia, and increased aspartate aminotransferase levels; in moderate patients, leukopenia, anemia, and increased aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, international normalized ratio, ferritin, and D-dimer levels; in the critically ill patient group, lower platelet and increased uric acid levels should be followed closely as they are mortality predictors.

Cement Pulmonary Embolism Due to Percutaneous Vertebroplasty.

BACKGROUND: Bone cement is an uncommon cause of foreign-body pulmonary embolism. CASE PRESENTATION: A 65-year-old woman with wheeze presented with multiple linear opacities with bone density on chest x-ray. She reported percutaneous vertebroplasty 4 months prior. Non-- contrast chest computerized tomography showed peripheral cement emboli in the pulmonary arteries. The patient received conservative treatment. CONCLUSION: Clinicians should be aware of this potential complication following vertebroplasty. It is necessary to perform a chest x-ray after the procedure.

Middle Lobe Syndrome Associated with Bronchial Anthracofibrosis.

Bronchial anthracofibrosis has been defined as airway narrowing associated with dark pigmentation on bronchoscopy without an appropriate history of pneumoconiosis or smoking. We present a case of a 67-year-old, non-smoking female patient who was referred to our clinic for two years of persistent cough. Spirometry was within normal limits. Radiological evaluation showed right middle lobe atelectasis and positron emission tomography-positive mediastinal lymph nodes. Bronchoscopy revealed black airway discoloration and distortions. In conclusion, we propose monthly radiological controls before an invasive procedure in such cases if a strong suspicion of malignancy/tuberculosis is not present.

Eosinophilic bronchitis without asthma.

BACKGROUND: Eosinophilic bronchitis without asthma causes chronic coughs without the physiologic features of asthma. The aim of this study was to review the clinical features, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of this condition. METHODS: The current literature was reviewed using Pubmed for all studies published in the English language using the search term 'eosinophilic bronchitis'. RESULTS: Eosinophilic bronchitis presents as normal spirometry, without evidence of airway hyperresponsiveness, and normal peak expiratory flow variability. When compared with asthma, mast cell recruitment to the superficial airways and mast cell activation appear to be a feature of eosinophilic bronchitis. In contrast, mast cell infiltration in the smooth muscle is significantly higher in asthma patients than in either eosinophilic bronchitis patients or healthy control subjects. In this condition, the absence of high IL-13 expression can contribute to the normal airway reactivity. The cough usually responds well to inhaled corticosteroids but dose and duration of treatment remain unclear. The condition can be transient, episodic or persistent unless treated, and occasionally, patients may require long-term treatment with oral corticosteroids. CONCLUSIONS: The condition is an important cause of chronic coughs which are corticosteroid responsive. The study of eosinophilic bronchitis suggests that eosinophil-dependent mechanisms are generally not important in the pathogenesis of asthma.

Pleural fluid findings as prognostic factors for malignant pleural mesothelioma.

The aim of this study was to determine the prognostic value of pleural fluid glucose, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), albumin, total protein, and total leukocyte levels in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. We retrospectively analyzed 71 consecutive patients (33 men and 38 women) who were referred to the department of chest diseases in a university hospital. Pleural fluid glucose levels, the ratio of pleural fluid to serum LDH>1.0, and total leukocyte count were significant predictors for the survival in univariate analysis. However, none of these variables emerged as statistically significant from the multivariate Cox model. In conclusion, our results showed that there is an inverse correlation between the intensity of inflammation and survival.

The changing epidemiological trends for carcinoma of the lung in Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: To compare epidemiological parameters for lung cancer in the last 2 decades (1986-1995 versus 1996-2005). METHODS: Data on demographic characteristics, and histological subtype of lung cancer patients were retrospectively collected by a chart review in Cumhuriyet University Hospital, Sivas, Turkey for the period of 1993-2005. All other full-text papers that report epidemiological data for lung cancer in Turkey were also searched for meta-analysis. RESULTS: A total of 25,604 patients were analyzed in the last 2 decades. The mean age at the time of diagnosis was 59.4 years, and 92.5% of the patients were males. In the last decade, the rate of squamous cell carcinoma decreased from 61-50%, however, the rate of small cell carcinoma increased from 19-24%, and the rate of adenocarcinoma from 20-26%. CONCLUSION: There was a shift in the male/female ratio in Turkey. The rate of squamous cell carcinoma decreased, however, small cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma increased progressively.

[Sternal tuberculosis]. / Sternum tüberkülozu.

Isolated involvement of the sternum is rare, representing less than 1% of tuberculous osteomyelitis. In this report, a 51-years-old woman who was admitted to the hospital with a localized solid mass in the sternum has been presented. A soft, painful mass measuring 3 cm in diameter in the lower sternum was detected during physical examination. Radiological investigation revealed presternal soft tissue and bone expansion in the posterior side of lower sternum. The patient was treated with non-specific antibiotics for a suspected diagnosis of osteomyelitis but the lesion did not show any regression. Since the microbiological analysis of fine needle aspiration fluid demonstrated acid-fast bacilli in direct microscopy and Mycobacterium tuberculosis was isolated from the culture, anti-tuberculous therapy consisting of isoniazid (INH), rifampicin (RIF), pyrazinamide (PZA), and ethambutol (ETM) was started. Sputum and urine cultures of the patient yielded negative results in terms of tuberculosis. After the first month of the therapy, her skin lesion was completely healed. Since the strain was found to be resistant to isoniazid, the maintenance therapy has been applied as INH + RIF + PZA for nine months. The history of the patient indicated that one of her relatives had skin tuberculosis on the face. As a result the patient has been successfully treated with anti-tuberculosis combination therapy together with surgical debridement.

A Retrospective Analysis of Nutritional Parameters in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease between Sexes.

The aim of this study was to reveal the relationships between nutritional parameters and pulmonary functions in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in both sexes. Spirometric, laboratory, and demographic data of 450 consecutive patients were analysed retrospectively. Males had significantly greater pack-years of smoking, more severe airway obstruction, and lower body mass index (BMI). In non-smokers, BMI was significantly lower in men independent of age and pulmonary functions. Creatine kinase levels showed no correlation with any pulmonary function parameters. Serum albumin levels correlated better than BMI with pulmonary functions. In conclusion, females with COPD were maintained weight better than men.

[Resistance rates to antituberculous drugs in Sivas province]. / Sivas ilinde antitüberküloz ilaçlara direnç oranlari.

Infections caused by drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains represent a serious public health problem in recent years. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the resistance rates of M. tuberculosis complex strains isolated from clinical specimens in the laboratories of Cumhuriyet University and Numune State Hospitals in Sivas province (located in the middle Anatolia), between May 2004-May 2006 period, to the major antituberculous drugs. A total of 158 M. tuberculosis complex strains which were isolated from sputum, bronchial lavage fluid, stomach fluid, urine, pus, peritoneal fluid and cerebrospinal fluid samples, each of which from different patients were included to the study. The identification of the isolates and antituberculosis drug susceptibility testing were performed by MGIT (Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube) 960 system in both of the laboratories. Of 158 isolates 42 (26.6%) were found resistant to at least one of the drugs, while 116 (73.4%) were susceptible to all of the tested antimycobacterials. The overall resistance rates were found as 17.7% (28/153) for isoniazid, 11.4% (18/153) for streptomycin, 4.4% (7/153) for rifampicin, and 5.1% (8/153) for ethambutol. The rate of multidrug resistant isolates characterized with resistance to isoniazid+rifampicin were 3.8% (6/158). As a result, the most common resistance patterns observed in our region were found as single isoniazid resistance (13/158; 8.2%), single streptomycin resistance (8/158; 5.1%) and combined isoniazid+streptomycin resistance (8/158; 5.1%), respectively, with lower resistance rate to rifampicin (4.4%) in comparison to the previous results reported from Turkey.

Comorbidity as a prognostic factor in small cell lung cancer.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: Many factors have prognostic significance in small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The aim of this study was to define the prognostic factors influencing the response to therapy and the survival in SCLC. METHODS: A consecutive series of 90 patients with SCLC was analyzed retrospectively using 32 pretreatment and 3 treatment-related prognostic factors with respect to their influence on survival. Prognostic factors were evaluated by univariate analysis and by the Cox multivariate regression model. Patients who survived more than 2 months were included in the univariate analysis. RESULTS: The median survival of the whole population was 7 months, with a 1-year survival rate of 20%. In univariate analysis, prognosis was significantly influenced by gender, comorbidity, thoracic irradiation, receipt of more than 3 cycles of chemotherapy, response to chemotherapy, and performance status. The Cox model identified comorbidity (P = 0.03), receipt of more than 3 cycles of chemotherapy (P = 0.003) and response to chemotherapy (P = 0.002) as the only significant factors. CONCLUSIONS: The prognosis of SCLC is poor, and comorbidity information should be included in prognostic studies.

Major anatomical variations of the tracheobronchial tree: bronchoscopic observation.

Fiberoptic and rigid bronchoscopy are widely used diagnostic and therapeutic tools in pulmonary medicine. Investigators often neglect the bronchial variations; however, bronchial variations may have important implications for bronchoscopy, brachytherapy, pulmonary resections and intubations. It is accepted that anatomic variations of the airways are due to anomalies in the development of the lungs. As a result, lung buds grow to an inappropriate number or arise at atypical sites. In the present study, we tried to determine the incidence of bronchial variations in our region. We investigated 2550 consecutive reports of bronchoscopy retrospectively. Major variations of the tracheobronchial tree were found in 2.6% of patients examined by bronchoscopy. The most frequent finding was a bifurcate pattern in the right upper lobe (47.7%). The variations were localized to the right upper lobe in 71.6% of patients. Male predominance was observed in all anatomic variations except one.

The prevalence of sleep related disorders in Sivas, Turkey.

The prevalence of sleep-related disorders (SRD) in adults in Turkey is unknown. The main objective of our study was to assess the prevalence of SRD in Sivas, Turkey. Adults living in Sivas, a city of Turkey from the central region of Anatolia at 20-107 years of age, in both genders, of the 5339 persons, who attended the survey 2638 (49.4%) were male and 2701 (50.6%) were female. The prevalence of insomnia, habitual snoring, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and day time hyper somnolence was 40.3%, 37.0%, 6.4%, 24.0% respectively. The prevalence rates of narcolepsy and nocturnal myoclonus was 30.6%, 40.1% respectively. There was a statistical significance between the persons of above 60 years old and another age groups (p< 0.05). But we did not find any significant difference between smokers and non-smokers, also between males and females about SRD prevalence (p> 0.05). However, sleep apnea prevalence was about 9 times higher in the persons suffering from hypertension than without hypertension. Also sleep apnea prevalence was 12 times higher in the persons suffering from overweight. This study has shown that sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) prevalence in Turkey is as high as in other countries and may be more common.

Antibiotic susceptibility patterns among respiratory isolates of Gram-negative bacilli in a Turkish university hospital.

BACKGROUND: Gram-negative bacteria cause most nosocomial respiratory infections. At the University of Cumhuriyet, we examined 328 respiratory isolates of Enterobacteriaceae and Acinetobacter baumanii organisms in Sivas, Turkey over 3 years. We used disk diffusion or standardized microdilution to test the isolates against 18 antibiotics. RESULTS: We cultured organisms from sputum (54%), tracheal aspirate (25%), and bronchial lavage fluid (21%). The most common organisms were Klebsiella spp (35%), A. baumanii (27%), and Escherichia coli (15%). Imipenem was the most active agent, inhibiting 90% of Enterobacteriaceae and A. baumanii organisms. We considered approximately 12% of Klebsiella pneumoniae and 21% of E. coli isolates to be possible producers of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase. K. pneumoniae isolates of the extended-spectrum beta-lactamase phenotype were more resistant to imipenem, ciprofloxacin, and tetracycline in our study than they are in other regions of the world. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that imipenem resistance in our region is growing.

Retrospective analysis of antibiotic susceptibility patterns of respiratory isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a Turkish University Hospital.

BACKGROUND: Lower respiratory tract infections due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa have a high mortality rate. Antibacterial activity of various antibiotics against P. aeruginosa isolated from each hospital depends on the variety or amount of antibiotics used in each hospital. METHOD: A total of 249 respiratory isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Sivas (Turkey) were included between January-1999 and January-2002. Isolates were tested against 14 different antibiotics by a disc diffusion method or standardized microdilution technique. RESULTS: Organisms were cultured from the following specimens: sputum (31.3%), transtracheal/endotracheal aspirates (37.8%), and bronchial lavage (30.9%). Isolates in bronchial lavage were highly susceptible to cefoperazone and aminoglycosides. Resistance to ampicillin/sulbactam was 98.8%, ticarcillin 40.1%, ticarcillin/clavulanic acid 11.2%, piperacillin 21.8%, aztreonam 66.6%, cefotaxim 75.4%, ceftriaxone 84.2%, cefoperazone 39.0%, ceftazidime 50.8%, gentamicin 57.5%, tobramycin 58.4%, amikacin 25.4%, ciprofloxacin 16.1%, and imipenem/cilastatin 21.6%. The term multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa covered resistance to imipenem, ciprofloxacin, ceftazidime, gentamicin, and piperacillin. 1.2% of isolates were multidrug-resistant. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that amikacin resistance increases progressively in Turkey. Piperacillin and ticarcillin/clavulanate were the most active agents against both imipenem- and ciprofloxacin-resistant isolates in our region.