[Lymphangiomatosis: Rare Cause of Pleural Effusion]. / Lymphangiomatose − seltene Ursache eines Pleuraergusses.

A 33-year-old man presented to us with slowly progressive dyspnea. At the physical examination we found pleural effusion on the right side, lymph edema of the left lower limb and foot and blotchy map-like skin changes. The pleural puncture revealed a chylous effusion. In whole body MRI we saw the pleural effusion on the right, an increase in lymph vessels in the pelvis and paraaortic, and prominent chylous vessels. There was no bone involvement. The abdominal thoracic duct was enlarged by up to 3 mm. We diagnosed a general lymphatic anomaly (GLA) - lymphangiomatosis. GLA is a rare disease of unknown origin with dysplasia of the lymphatic system. The thoracic manifestation is often the development of chylous pleural effusions. However, many other organs can also be involved. Therapy includes in most cases symptomatic relief and the attempt to slow the progression of the disease.

[Lung Cancer with Prominent Mediastinal Lymphadenopathy - Who Thinks of NUT Carcinoma?] / Lungenkarzinom mit ausgeprägter mediastinaler Lymphadenopathie ­ wer denkt an ein NUT-Karzinom?

A 39-year-old woman presented with back pain at an orthopaedic clinic. Magnet resonance tomography revealed a spinal tumour. Further imaging also showed a pulmonary tumour, massive mediastinal lymphadenopathy as well as unilateral pleural effusion. Histology from biopsies from the spinal tumour and from a mediastinal lymph node revealed NUT carcinoma. The NUT carcinoma that earlier has been named NUT midline carcinoma is a very rare, aggressive tumour with a poor prognosis. Initially, the NUT carcinoma was thought to develop from organs in the midline such as upper airways or mediastinal cavity. However, the NUT carcinoma is not limited to structures in the midline. NUT carcinoma often affects young patients. Due to its low incidence, a standardized therapy could not be established until now.

[Granular Cell Tumor of the Lung - a Visual Diagnosis on Bronchoscopy?] / Granularzelltumor der Lunge ­ eine bronchoskopische Blickdiagnose?

A 38 years old patient presented with a progressive reduction of his general condition and weight loss. Chest imaging revealed consolidations and cavities suggesting a mycobacterial infection. For further diagnosis, a bronchoscopy was performed. In fact, a nontuberculous mycobacterial infection was found. As an incidental finding, we saw a white polypoid tumor in the middle lobe bronchus. The histology of this tumor revealed a granular cell tumor (GCT). The GCT is a rare tumor entity which occurs at different anatomical locations. In the lungs, the GCT may become symptomatic as it can cause bronchial obstruction. In chest imaging, it can manifest as infiltration, atelectasis or nodule. Likewise, GCT can be found as an incidental finding in bronchoscopy. First choice treatment is surgical resection of the tumor.

[Sleep Apnea and Mechanical Ventilation - Impact on Clinical Course and Perioperative Management]. / Schlafbezogene Atmungsstörungen bei beatmungspflichtigen Patienten ­ Relevanz für das perioperative und das intensivmedizinische Management.

There is a high prevalence of sleep related breathing disorders in critical ill patients and in perioperative settings. Nevertheless, less is known about their impact on clinical course and therapeutic strategies in this context. Intensive care physicians should be aware of difficult airway, weaning- and post-extubation failure and negative impact of SRBD on hemodynamics. Sedatives and analgetics might worsen SRBD and their use should be restricted as far as possible, furthermore the use of NIV might be beneficial. However, there is a lack of evidence with regard to this strategies.

[Bronchitis Plastica - Acute Dyspnea and Branching Airway Casts]. / Bronchitis plastica ­ Akute Luftnot und bronchiale Ausgusspräparate.

A 65 year old female presented to the emergency department with dyspnea and progressive cough with very viscous elongated secretion plugs. She suffered from multiple cardiac comorbidities and chronic heart failure. The CT scan of the thorax demonstrated extensive pulmonary infiltrates, unspecific mediastinal lymphadenopathy and enlargement of pulmonary lymph vessels. Bronchoscopy was performed and showed extensive occlusive bronchial casts. We diagnosed a case of bronchitis plastica. Therapy with inhalative heparin led to clinical improvement. CONCLUSION: bronchitis plastica is a rare disease with formation of occlusive bronchial casts. They are often found in cardiac disease or lymphatic disease.

[Non-CPAP therapies in obstructive sleep apnoea: an overview]. / Die Nicht-CPAP-Therapie des obstruktiven Schlafapnoe-Syndroms: ein Überblick.

Optimal treatment of the obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) requires an individually designed and interdisciplinary approach. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is accepted as the first line therapy for patients with OSAS. However, non-CPAP therapies may be indicated as supportive therapeutical approach in CPAP failure or as an alternative approach in CPAP intolerance. Overall, the level of evidence for the majority of non-CPAP therapies is low. Mandibular advancement devices as a medical non-CPAP treatment have proven to reduce respiratory disturbances to a level which may be sufficient in mild to moderate sleep apnoea. Apnoea triggered neurostimulation of upper airway muscles is an innovative approach that has shown promising results in preclinical studies. Surgical treatment has previously been performed as single level surgery of the nasal, the oropharyngeal or hypopharyngeal level. However, only tonsillectomy in the presence of tonsillar hypertrophy and maxillomandibular advancement are recommended in carefully selected cases. Due to low success rates for single level surgery, multilevel surgery has been proposed as the surgical approach for the future.

Impaired red blood cell deformability in patients with coronary artery disease and diabetes mellitus.

Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) have an increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. There is increasing evidence that diabetes mellitus is associated with pathological hemorheological alterations, which might contribute to impaired coronary blood flow in coronary artery disease (CAD). We hypothesize that red blood cell (RBC) deformability is impaired in diabetic patients with CAD in comparison to nondiabetic patients with CAD. RBC deformability was measured in 21 patients with CAD and type 2 diabetes mellitus (CAD + DM) and 24 patients with CAD (CAD - DM). RBC deformability was measured by the Laser-assisted optical rotational cell analyzer by determining the elongation index (EI). RBC deformability was reduced in patients with CAD + DM in comparison to patients with CAD - DM (EI @ 1.12 Pa 0.236 ± 0.008 vs. 0.260 ± 0.005, p=0.007). Inverse univariate correlations were found between the EI @ 1.12 Pa and plasma glucose concentration (r= - 0.57; p<0.001) and HbA1c (r= - 0.45; p=0.002). Multivariate linear regression analysis identified plasma glucose concentration as the independent predictor of RBC deformability (ß= - 0.58; p=0.007) thereby indicating that increased glucose concentrations determine RBC deformability in diabetic patients with CAD. In patients with CAD, diabetes mellitus leads to an impairment of RBC deformability which might contribute to increased morbidity of diabetic patients with CAD.

Sleep apnea in heart failure patients.

Growing evidence suggests that there may be a strong pathophysiologic link between congestive heart failure (CHF) and nocturnal breathing disorders due to nocturnal oxygen desaturation, intrathoracic pressure swings and sympathetic activation. It seems that sleep apnea contributes to systolic and diastolic heart failure, reduced left and right ventricular function and arrhythmia (e.g. atrial fibrillation). Therefore treatment of sleep apnea might alleviate cardiac symptoms and improve cardiac function. Nevertheless, the exact role of long term treatment of sleep apnea in heart failure patients remains to be elucidated.