Pulmonary coccidioidomycosis in Kentucky.

Coccidioidomycosis is a highly infectious disease caused by the dimorphic fungus, Coccidioides immitis that is endemic to the arid and semiarid regions of the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America. The majority of infections from C immitis are asymptomatic; however, approximately 40% of infected individuals present with symptoms ranging from a mild flu-like respiratory infection to acute pneumonia that may lead to chronic progressive pulmonary infection or occasionally disseminated disease. Due to the mobility of the population, increasing numbers of cases are being recognized outside endemic areas. We report five patients with coccidioidomycosis diagnosed at the University of Kentucky Medical Center during the period from 1984 to 1993 in order to illustrate the clinical and radiographic spectrum of findings that may be encountered with the disease. In a patient with unexplained pulmonary symptoms, a history of recent travel to or immigration from an endemic area may be an early clue to the diagnosis of coccidioidomycosis.

Matched ventilation-perfusion becomes mismatched ventilation-perfusion lung imaging after resolution of carcinoma of the bronchus.

Airway occlusion results in regional alveolar hypoxia followed by reflex hypoxic pulmonary arterial constriction. Ventilation-perfusion imaging demonstrates matched defects. In the two patients reported, occlusion of the main bronchus by bronchogenic carcinoma was resolved--in one case by radiation therapy, and in the other by removal of the tumor mass in the bronchus by bronchial slitted biopsy. The initially matched ventilation-perfusion findings became mismatched. While ventilation was presumed to be normal, pulmonary perfusion was not completely reversed.

Tc-99m HM-PAO pulmonary imaging of large cell carcinoma in the lung of a smoker showing a rounded photon deficient area.

Tc-99m HM-PAO has been used as a tumor-imaging agent because this radiopharmaceutical localizes in tumor masses, including lung carcinoma. We present a smoker with giant-cell-carcinoma of the lung whose Tc-99m MAA and Tc-99m HM-PAO lung images showed a photon-deficient area corresponding to the tumor mass. Rapid growth of large cell carcinoma leading to tumor necrosis and interruption of blood flow resulted in a localized photon deficient area in diffuse lung uptake secondary to a long smoking history on a Tc-99m HM-PAO lung images.

Lung uptake of Tc-99m HMPAO in cigarette smokers expressed by lung/liver activity ratio.

Tc-99m HMPAO, a lipophilic radiopharmaceutical used for brain imaging, has been reported to localize in smokers' lungs. To quantitate this uptake in the lung, 55 patients, who were referred for brain imaging for dementias or strokes, also underwent lung imaging (anterior lung imaging includes a large part of the liver) after IV injection of the radiopharmaceutical. Regions of interest over the liver and the lung were calculated. Of the 55 patients (ages 13-79), 30 were smokers and 25 were nonsmokers. The smokers had been smoking from 6-59 years, and daily cigarette consumption ranged from 8-50 cigarettes. The mean lung/liver ratio for smoking patients were 0.792 +/- 0.042 (SE); the mean lung/liver ratio for nonsmoking patients was 0.408 +/- 0.019 (SE). Lung/liver ratio uptake was significantly higher in the smoking patients (P < 0.01) than in the nonsmokers. Thus, lung/liver uptake of Tc-99m HMPAO may be used as an indicator of cigarette smoking.

A nursing guide for patient care after percutaneous cardiopulmonary support.

Information is presented about a relatively new procedure being used in the critical care area. The percutaneous insertion technique for the initiation of cardiopulmonary bypass support (PCPS) has given new hope for patients who are considered high risk for elective coronary angioplasty and to those who suffer cardiopulmonary arrest in the cardiac catheterization laboratory or critical care unit. The initiation process of cardiopulmonary bypass support and the criteria for elective cases are reviewed and two case studies follow. Specific attention is given to the immediate postprocedural phase, where nursing responsibilities and prioritization of patient care are addressed. A nursing care guide is included.

Mycobacterium fortuitum pulmonary infection complicating achalasia.

Achalasia is a cause of chronic aspiration pneumonia that may be complicated by pulmonary infection with Mycobacterium fortuitum. In any patient with achalasia, the presence of a pulmonary infiltrate that does not respond to routine antibiotic therapy should suggest the possibility of M fortuitum pulmonary infection, and sputum should be cultured for these organisms.

Mediastinal epithelioid hemangioendothelioma.

An epithelioid hemangioendothelioma arising from the innominate vein in the anterior superior mediastinum of a 62-year-old man was treated by wide local excision followed by radiotherapy. This clinicopathologic entity is a rare cause of mediastinal mass and is characterized by an intermediate malignant potential. To our knowledge, very few cases have been reported in the mediastinum; those cases are listed in this report. Gross and microscopic distinguishing features of epithelioid hemangioendothelioma, as well as differential diagnosis, are reviewed from the literature. Finally, clinical behavior is discussed and treatment options are suggested.

Air-filled, multilocular, bronchopulmonary foregut duplication cyst of the mediastinum. Unusual computed tomography appearance.

Mediastinal bronchopulmonary foregut duplication cysts are usually identified on computed tomography (CT) as well-defined masses of water density that may contain rim calcification. Occasionally they are heterogenous in attenuation or are of intermediate or high attenuation due to contained calcium. Communication with the tracheobronchial tree or esophagus is rare. We report a bronchogenic cyst that communicated with the trachea and was identified by CT as a multilocolor, completely air-filled cyst adjacent to the trachea and esophagus. This appearance of a bronchogenic cyst has received little attention in the literature.

Application of I-123 HIPDM as a lung imaging agent.

N,N,N'-Trimethyl-N'-(2-Hydroxyl-3-Methyl-5-123I Iodobenzyl)-1,3-Propanediamine.Hcl (123I-HIPDM) has been used for diagnosis of patients with strokes and dementias. Since this radiopharmaceutical is also accumulated in the lung, we routinely performed a lung image or images immediately prior to cerebral planar and SPECT images after a 3-5 mCi 123I-HIPDM injection. During the past 14 months, we obtained 78 (age from 41 to 92 years, average 66.7 +/- 8.9 years; 64 males, 14 females) suspected stroke or dementia patients' lung images. All lung images were correlated to chest X-ray (CXR) or CT and other clinical data. Sixty five of 78 patients had normal lungs showing homogeneous distribution of activity throughout the lungs which correlated well to normal CXR and/or CT studies. Abnormal scintigraphic patterns of the 13 patients included lung defect (5 bronchogenic carcinoma with or without atelectasis) and decreased uptake in apices (8 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). The findings of pulmonary intrathoracic pathologies on lung images with 123I-HIPDM suggests further evaluation of the agent for detection of localized pulmonary diseases and pulmonary physiological studies relating to amine metabolism.

Roentgenographic features of pulmonary disease caused by atypical mycobacteria.

In a retrospective evaluation of chest roentgenograms and medical records of 40 patients with non-M tuberculosis (atypical) mycobacterial pulmonary disease, 34 had M avium-intracellulare, five had M kansasii, and one had M fortuitum. The roentgenologic spectrum of disease closely resembled that of M tuberculosis. One third of the patients had predisposing factors, and the disease predominated in middle-aged and elderly men. Two thirds of the patients had slow progression of the disease, with an average of 6.4 years before roentgenographic changes occurred. The diagnosis was frequently missed, and in most of the patients it was delayed from one to 16 years. Only after chronic, slow disease progression was atypical mycobacteriosis suspected clinically. The more widespread application of multiple simultaneous skin tests for atypical mycobacteria may improve the diagnosis and prognosis of this disease.

Demonstration of pulmonary mass defect by iodine-123 N,N,N'trimethyl-N'[2-hydroxy-3-methyl-5-iodobenzyl]-1,3-propanediamine lung imaging.

A patient whose huge lung mass was demonstrated as a large defect on I-123 N,N,N'trimethyl-N'[2-hydroxy-3-methyl-5-iodobenzyl]-1,3-propanediamine (HIPDM) lung imaging is presented. I-123 HIPDM, a lipophilic agent, is designed for early detection of abnormal cerebral perfusion. Since up to 50% of the administered agent is accumulated and perhaps metabolized in the lung, the radiopharmaceutical may be potentially useful for detection of pathology of the lung in addition to evaluation of pulmonary amine metabolism.

False-positive radiocolloid liver image due to a subphrenic abscess.

A false-positive radiocolloid liver image can occur in various disease processes from extrinsic structures adjacent to the liver. A patient whose radiocolloid liver imaging showed an apparent photopenic area in the liver is presented; the abdominal CT demonstrated a low-density lesion located anterior to the liver, and at surgery the lesion was confirmed to be a right anterior subphrenic abscess.

Update: the radiographic features of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Pulmonary tuberculosis produces a broad spectrum of radiographic abnormalities. During the primary phase of the disease these include pulmonary consolidation (50%), which often involves the middle or lower lobes or the anterior segment of an upper lobe; cavitation (29%) or pneumatocele formation (12%); segmental or lobar atelectasis (18%); pleural effusion (24%); hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy (35%); disseminated miliary disease (6%); and a normal chest radiograph (15%). During the postprimary phase of the disease, common abnormalities include exudative and/or fibroproductive parenchymal densities (100%), predominantly in the apical and posterior segments of the upper lobes (91%); cavitation (45%) with bronchogenic spread of disease (21%); marked fibrotic response in the lungs (29%); and pleural effusion, empyema, and fibrosis (18%, 4%, and 41%, respectively). Upper-lobe masslike lesions are seen occasionally (7%); spontaneous pneumothorax and intrathoracic lymphadenopathy are rare (5% each). Common causes of a missed diagnosis of tuberculosis are (1) failure to recognize hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy as a manifestation of primary disease in adults, (2) exclusion of tuberculosis because disease predominates in or is limited to the anterior segment of an upper lobe or the basilar segment of a lower lobe, (3) overlooking of minimal fibroproductive lesions or reporting them as inactive, (4) failure to recognize that an upper-lobe mass surrounded by satellite fibroproductive lesions might be tuberculous, and (5) failure to consider healed sequelae of primary disease or a positive purified protein derivative skin test as contributory to identifying the patient's pulmonary disease.

Progression of mediastinal tuberculosis and superior vena caval obstruction demonstrated by gallium-67 citrate and radiocolloid liver scintigraphy.

Most causes of superior vena caval (SVC) obstruction are caused by malignant mediastinal neoplasms, especially bronchogenic carcinoma. Less frequently SVC obstruction results from a non-malignant lesion such as mediastinal goiter or tuberculosis. We present a case of mediastinal tuberculosis which progressively enlarged as shown in consecutive Ga-67 citrate studies. As a result, SVC obstruction developed, exhibited by radionuclide SV Cavagram, and demonstrated "hot" spots in the radiocolloid scans.

Unusual persistence of Tc-99m MDP uptake in the incisional scar after thoracotomy.

Postoperative scar is one of the causes of extraosseous localization of Tc-99m phosphonate bone agents. Usually, an incisional scar will not be visualized in a Tc-99m phosphonate skeletal image two weeks after surgery. A case is reported with an unusually persistent localization of radiotracer in the scar of a thoracotomy seen in three consecutive bone images done beyond two weeks postoperatively. This patient suffered from "pulmonary insufficiency" before and after the thoracotomy. The abnormal radiotracer localization in the scar is presumably related to his pulmonary insufficiency, with resulting relatively delayed wound healing.

Open rib biopsy guided by radionuclide technique.

When abnormally increased radioactivity is seen in a rib or ribs by bone imaging in a patient with suspected or known malignancy, it frequently is difficult to differentiate fracture from metastatic disease. Histological examination of the lesion is crucial for diagnosis, staging, and planning of therapy. To assess the value of external localization of the site or sites of abnormal uptake in a rib as a guide for open rib biopsy, 10 patients (7 men, 3 women; age range, 34 to 68 years) with known or suspected malignancy were studied. With reference to the oscilloscope image, a cobalt 57 marker was placed on the skin overlying the focus of increased uptake, and the area of increased activity was marked on the skin as a guide to surgical resection. Of ten resected ribs, four showed metastatic disease and five had fractures. (One patient underwent two external marking procedures and two surgical procedures.) Rib biopsy was not performed in 1 patient because prior to the surgical procedure, a small subcutaneous nodule adjacent to the skin marker was excised and confirmed to be carcinoma. Appropriate courses of management (operation, irradiation, chemotherapy) were taken after the biopsies. The surgeon responsible for the biopsy should be present during the skin-marking procedure, and the area beneath the scapula and the region adjacent to the spine should be avoided. Our results indicate that the technique is a very useful aid for approaching open rib biopsies more precisely.

Radiographic manifestations of mediastinal hemorrhage from blunt chest trauma.

The diagnosis of rupture of the thoracic aorta or its major branches depends largely on the recognition of mediastinal hemorrhage from the initial chest radiograph and subsequent thoracic aortography. This review discusses the radiographic manifestations of mediastinal hemorrhage, including widening of the mediastinum; a ratio of mediastinal width to chest width greater than 0.25; abnormalities of aortic contour; opacification of the aortopulmonary window; depression of the left main bronchus; deviation of the trachea to the right; deviation of the nasogastric tube to the right; the apical cap sign; widening of the paraspinal lines; widening of the right paratracheal stripe; and left hemothorax. The relationship of these manifestations to major thoracic arterial injury is examined. Pitfalls in the radiographic evaluation of mediastinal abnormalities are considered, and indications for computed tomography of the thorax and thoracic aortography in the severely injured patient are reviewed.