Peripheral Blood Eosinophilia and Neutrophil Lymphocyte Ratio in the Choice of Antibiotic and/or Steroid in Patients Hospitalized with Acute Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

OBJECTIVE: The choice of steroids and antibiotics is optional for the management of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pul- monary diseases according to international guidelines. The study hypothesized that the steroid and antibiotic choice can be decided by using the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and peripheral blood eosinophilia in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. This would reduce the rate of re-hospitalization in 28 days. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients were hospitalized due to acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases from February 1, 2018, to January 31, 2019. Patients were divided into 2 groups: Sureyyapasa protocol group and conventional group. In the Sureyyapasa protocol group, patients were divided into 4 subgroups according to peripheral blood eosinophilia and neutrophil-lympho- cyte ratio values. Treatment success was defined as 5-7 days acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases treatment was enough to discharge and no re-hospitalization within 28 days. Treatment failure was defined that the hospital stay was longer than 7 days or transport to intensive care and death or readmission to the hospital due to acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases within 28 days after discharge. RESULTS: The Sureyyapasa protocol group (n = 96) and the conventional group (n = 95) were randomly selected. The conventional group and Sureyyapasa protocol group had similar hospital stay (P = .22), and antibiotic and steroid uses were significantly higher in the conventional group than the Sureyyapasa protocol group (antibiotic use 100% vs. 83%, P < .001 and steroid use 84% vs. 29%, P < .001, respectively). Treatment failure in the conventional Group (n = 23, 24%) is higher than the Sureyyapasa protocol group (n = 17, 18%). CONCLUSIONS: Initiating treatment by evaluating eosinophilia and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases in the ward reduces unnecessary antibiotic and steroid use and cost rates in hospitalizations.

The utility of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio determined at initial diagnosis in predicting disease stage and discriminating between active and stable disease in patients with sarcoidosis: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the utility of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) determined at initial diagnosis in predicting advanced disease stage and discriminating between active and stable disease in sarcoidosis. METHODS: A total of 465 patients with biopsy-proven sarcoidosis (age: 47 years, 70.5% females) were included in this retrospective cross-sectional study. Data on patient demographics, sarcoidosis stage, clinical status (stable and active), anti-inflammatory treatments, complete blood count, and inflammatory markers including erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet/mean platelet volume (MPV) ratio were recorded. NLR values were compared by subgrouping the patients according to the stage of sarcoidosis and clinical status, while the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve was plotted to determine the role of NLR in the identification of disease activity with the calculation of area under the curve (AUC) and cutoff value via ROC analysis. RESULTS: Overall, active, and stable disease was evident in 36 (7.8%) and 427 (92.2%) patients, respectively. Median NLR values were significantly higher in patients with active disease compared with stable disease (3.31 (2.34-4.31) vs. 2.29 (1.67-3.23), p = 0.005). Advanced sarcoidosis stage was associated with significantly higher NLR values at stages 0, I, II, III and IV, respectively (p = 0.001). ROC analysis revealed an NLR cutoff value of ≥2.39 (AUC (95% CI): 0.70 (0.62-0.79), p < 0.001) to discriminate between active and stable clinic with a sensitivity of 72.0% and specificity of 52.0%. The significantly higher percentage of patients with active vs. stable disease had NLR values ≥2.39 (74.0 vs. 47.0%, p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate the potential utility of on-admission NLR values to predict the risk of advanced disease stage and to discriminate between active and stable disease in sarcoidosis. Measured via a simple, readily available, and low-cost test, NLR seems to be a valuable marker for monitoring disease activity and progression.

Can red blood cell distribution width (RDW) level predict the severity of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD)?

BACKGROUND: Elevated red blood cell distribution width (RDW) levels were associated with mortality in patients with stable chronic obstructive lung pulmonary diseases (COPD). There are limited data about RDW levels in acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD). AIM/OBJECTIVE: The association of the RDW levels with the severity of AECOPD was evaluated according to admission location, (outpatient-clinic, ward and intensive care unit (ICU)). METHODS: Cross sectional retrospective study was designed in tertiary care hospital for chest diseases in 2015. Previously COPD diagnosed patients admitted to hospital outpatient-clinic, ward and ICU due to AECOPD were included in the study. Patients demographics, RDW, biomarkers (CRP, RDW, Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet to mean platelet volume (PLT-MPV)) C-CRP, biochemistry values were recorded from hospital electronic system. RDW values were subdivided below 0.11% (low), above and equal 0.15% (high) and between 0.11%-0.15% (normal). Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet to mean platelet volume (PLT-MPV) were also calculated. Biomarker values were compared according to where AECOPD was treated. RESULTS: 2771 COPD patients (33% female) and 1429 outpatients-clinic, 1156 ward and 186 ICU were enrolled in the study. The median RDW values in outpatients-clinic, ward and ICU were 0.16 (0.09-0.26), 0.07 (0.01-0.14) and 0.01 (0.00-0.07) respectively (P < .001). In outpatient to ward and ICU, low RDW values were significantly increased (31%, 66%, 83%, respectively) and high RDW values significantly decreased (54%, 24%, 10%) (P < .001). According to attack severity, low RDW values were determined. CONCLUSION: Patients with AECOPD, lower RDW values should be considered carefully. Lower RDW can be used for decision of COPD exacerbation severity and follow up treatment response.

Validity and Reliability of the Assessment Tool for Asthma (ATA) Questionnaire: the ATA Study.

OBJECTIVES: A multicenter trial was designed to validate the "Assessment Tools for Asthma (ATA)" questionnaire, a newly developed questionnaire, which evaluates both asthma control and risk factors associated with asthma control with a single instrument. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study involved 810 cases from 14 clinics in 9 Turkish cities. The ATA questionnaire and Asthma Control Test (ACT) were administered. The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) was used to evaluate the control status of 100 randomized cases. ATA is an eight-item physician-administered questionnaire. It comprises the following two sections-ATA1, assesses symptomatic control criteria, and the remaining section, queries the flare-up of asthma, control of comorbidities, treatment adherence, and inhaler technique. RESULTS: The mean scores for ATA1, ATA total, VAS, and ACT were 24.7±14.8, 53.8±19, 7.1±3, and 18.8±5.5, respectively. According to the ATA questionnaire, among all patients, 34.3% had controlled, 18.8% had partly controlled, and 46.9% had uncontrolled asthma. Furthermore, 16.6% patients had flare-ups between visits, 96.4% patients had uncontrolled comorbidity, 17% patients had irregular asthma treatment, and only 8.4% patients used the incorrect inhaler technique. The ATA questionnaire showed internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficient=0.683). ACT, ATA1, and two specialists' evaluations using VAS correlated strongly with the ATA total scores (Spearman correlation coefficient (r) values: 0.776, 0.783, and 0.909, respectively; p-values: p<0.001, p<0.001, and p<0.001, respectively). According to Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis, the cut-off value of ATA was 50 (sensitivity=84.4%, specificity=82.40%). CONCLUSION: The validated ATA questionnaire may be a practical tool for physicians in asthma management.

Hyponatremia prolongs hospital stay and hypernatremia better predicts mortality than hyponatremia in hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia.

INTRODUCTION: Dysnatremia is reported to have a prognostic effect in various diseases. A limited number of studies have been published on dysnatremiarelated parameters and clinical outcome in patients with pneumonia. The aim of the study is to analyze the factors related to baseline dysnatremia and to evaluate the clinical outcome of dysnatremia on hospital stay, 30-day and 1-year mortality in hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study is a two-centre, retrospective, crosssectional study. According to the baseline corrected sodium values, hospitalized patients with CAP were grouped as hyponatremia (<135 mmol/L), normonatremia (135-145 mmol/L) and hypernatremia (> 145 mmol/L). RESULT: Of all the 471 patients included, 119 (25.3%) had hyponatremia and 25 (5.3%) had hypernatremia. Higher leucocytes and lower albumin values correlated with hyponatremia while female gender, higher leucocytes and urea levels correlated with hypernatremia. Baseline hyponatremia prolonged hospital stay (9.2 ± 5.6, vs. 7.5 ± 4.6, respectively, p= 0.001) and increased 1-year mortality. On the other hand, hypernatremia predicted 30-day (40%, vs. 10%, p<0.001) and independently predicted 1-year mortality (p< 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In hospitalized patients with CAP, baseline hyponatremia prolongs hospital stay while hypernatremia signals a worse outcome both in the short term and long term.

An Uncommon Coexistence of Sarcoidosis and Cutaneous Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis in an Adult.

The skin is the second most commonly involved organ after pulmonary system in sarcoidosis, a multisystemic granulomatous disease. Cutaneous small-vessel vasculitis (leukocytoclastic vasculitis [LCV]) is a disorder characterized by neutrophilic inflammation of small blood vessels. Although the skin is the organ where LCV is seen most frequently, extracutaneous involvements are also seen. Herein, we present a coexistence of sarcoidosis and cutaneous LCV, which is an uncommon condition in adult.

Endobronchial Mucosal Neuroma with Sarcoidosis.

A first case of endobronchial mucosal neuroma with sarcoidosis is hereby reported. A 67-year female patient, who was diagnosed as sarcoidosis previously, was admitted to our hospital with symptoms of dyspnea, chest pain and fatigue. Middle lobe atelectasis and endobronchial lesion were observed in thorax computed tomography (CT). Fiberoptic bronchoscopy revealed polypoid lesions and histopathological examination of biopsy material showed clustered nerve bundles consistent with mucosal neuroma and non-necrotising granulomas consistent with sarcoidosis. Mucosal neuromas are pathognomonic features of multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) type 2B. But other components of MEN type 2B such as medullary tyroid carcinoma or pheochromocytoma were not detected in our patient. Hence, a diagnosis of solitary mucosal neuroma and sarcoidosis in the bronchi was made.

Behaviours and opinions of adolescent students on smoking.

INTRODUCTION: Smoking is one of the major causes of preventable diseases, disability and death in the globe and Turkey. In our study, the knowledge of students about smoking addiction and which organ in the body is damaged due to smoking are aimed to be determined. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Surveys were applied to students of private university preparatory training center on the Anatolian side of Istanbul. In the conducted survey, the questions related with students' demographic characteristics, themselves, their families and friends smoking addiction, the reasons to start smoking, whether they want to quit smoking, whether they try to quit smoking and which of the organs that they know smoking is harmful were asked. The data obtained were transferred to the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows. RESULT: Out of 358 students who answered the survey completely, 152 students (42.4%) were male, 206 (57.6%) were female. Students were between the ages of 16-20 and the mean age was 18 ± 1.15. When asked about their smoking addiction, 84 (23.5%) of total actively continued to smoke. Total of 14 students (3.9%) smoked and then stopped smoking, 260 students (72.6%) have never smoked. Curiosity was the most commonly reported reason to start smoking (39%) and for the second row, they indicated to start smoking due to tobacco user friends (30.6%). CONCLUSIONS: More and more young people begin smoking at an earlier age and they transfer the problems of this bad addiction to the later years of their lives. There should be fight resolutely against actions and conditions encouraging smoking both as a state and society and in order to rescue young people from this bad addiction, it should continue to take steps which facilitate accessibility to supportive institutions.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor: a rare tumor of the lung.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a rare lesion, representing 0.04-1.2% of all lung tumors. Brunn first described it in 1939, but its etiology remains uncertain. A 16-year-old patient was admitted to our hospital for further examination following abnormal radiological findings. The physical examination showed no abnormality, and routine hematological and biochemical parameters were within normal range. Chest radiograph revealed homogenous opacity of the right upper lobe with regular margins. Thoracic CT showed a nodular lesion, 30×26 mm in dimensions, with lobular contours in the right hilar. Bronchoscopic examination showed a vascular endobronchial lesion in the anterior right upper lobe, with bleeding when palpated. She underwent right thoracotomy for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes since bronchoscopic biopsy failed because of bleeding. With a pathological diagnosis of IMT, the present report discusses her case accompanied by relevant literature as it is a very rare type of lung tumor. IMT is a rare benign tumor. The diagnosis is difficult to make before surgery since its clinical and radiological features are variable and nonspecific. Although it is a benign lesion, it should be completely resected and patients should be closely monitored following the resection in order to avoid local invasion and recurrence.

The functional SLC11A1 gene polymorphisms are associated with sarcoidosis in Turkish population.

Sarcoidosis (SA) is an immune-mediated multisystemic disorder of unknown etiology characterized by the accumulation of lymphocytes, mononuclear phagocytes and epithelioid cell granulomas involved in different organs and tissues. The belief that genetics contribute to SA etiology is supported by twin studies, disease clustering in families and racial differences in incidence rates. Involvements of SLC11A1 in macrophage function and activation, makes it an attractive candidate gene for immune-mediated and infectious diseases. We investigated the association between SA and four polymorphisms of the SLC11A1 gene, including a single nucleotide change in intron 4 (INT4); a nonconservative single-base substitution at codon 543 (D543N); a TGTG deletion in the 3' untranslated region; and the functional (GT)(n) repeat polymorphism in the 5' region, in 95 Turkish SA patients and 150 healthy controls, by using amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction and sequencing. We found significant association between SA and INT4 G/C allele frequency (P = 0.0000; odds ratio 2.75; 95% confidence interval 1.68-4.52) and 5'(GT)(n) allele 2/3 frequency (P = 0.0000; odds ratio 2.69; 95% confidence interval 1.61-4.47) suggesting that SLC11A1 might be a plausible candidate gene for SA.

Clinical presentations and diagnostic work-up in sarcoidosis: a series of Turkish cases (clinics and diagnosis of sarcoidosis).

Sarcoidosis is an idiopathic granulomatous disease. It usually affects the lung. The diagnosis may be problematic since the known causes of granulomatous inflammation must be excluded. This multicenter study aimed to evaluate the clinical presentations and diagnostic approaches of sarcoidosis. The study protocol was sent via internet, and the participants were asked to send the information (clinical, radiological and diagnostic) on newly diagnosed sarcoidosis cases. 293 patients were enrolled within two years. Pulmonary symptoms were found in 73.3% of the patients, and cough was the most common one (53.2%), followed by dyspnea (40.3%). Constitutional symptoms were occured in half of the patients. The most common one was fatigue (38.6%). The most common physical sign was eritema nodosum (17.1%). The most common chest radiograhical sign was bilateral hilar lymphadenomegaly (78.8%). Staging according to chest X-ray has revealed that most of the patients were in Stage I and Stage II (51.9% and 31.7%, respectively). Sarcoidosis was confirmed histopathologically in 265 (90.4%) patients. Although one-third of the bronchoscopy was revealed normal, mucosal hyperemi (19.8%) and external compression of the bronchial wall (16.8%) were common abnormal findings. The 100% success rate was obtained in mediastinoscopy among the frequently used sampling methods. Transbronchial biopsy was the most frequently used method with 48.8% success rate. Considering sarcoidosis with its most common and also rare findings in the differential diagnosis, organizing the related procedures according to the possibly effected areas, and the expertise of the team would favour multimodality diagnosis.

Extrapulmonary involvement in patients with sarcoidosis in Turkey.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Extrapulmonary sarcoidosis is common, and is almost always associated with concomitant thoracic involvement. Extrapulmonary manifestations vary on the basis of gender, age at presentation and ethnicity. The aim of this study was to investigate extrapulmonary involvement in patients with sarcoidosis in Turkey. METHODS: This study was conducted by Turkish Thoracic Society Clinical Problems Study Group. New cases of sarcoidosis between 1 June 2004 and 31 May 2006 were recorded on electronic case record forms sent to all potential investigators and information about extrapulmonary involvement was collected. RESULTS: One hundred and nineteen of 293 patients (83 female, 36 male, mean age = 45 ± 12 years) had extrapulmonary involvement in this study (40.6%). The median time to diagnosis was 6 months and this was longer than patients with just thoracic sarcoidosis (P = 0.001). Extrapulmonary symptoms were present in 181 (61.8%) patients, and skin lesions, arthralgia and back pain were the commonest (33.4%, 20.8% and 16.4%, respectively). Incidence of organ involvement was independent of age with the exception of ocular involvement, which was higher in those under the age of 40 years (P = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: Skin and peripheral lymph node involvement were the most common sites of extrapulmonary involvement and ocular involvement was more common in those under the age of 40 years in patients with sarcoidosis in a Turkish population.

CT-guided transthoracic fine needle aspiration of pulmonary lesions: accuracy and complications in 134 cases.

The aim of this study was to perform a prospective evaluation of the effectiveness of computed tomography (CT)-guided transthoracic fine needle aspiration (TFNA) in the diagnosis of pulmonary lesions and to determine the complication rate of this procedure. A prospective review was conducted of 134 patients who underwent CT-guided TFNA at our center between December 2003 and August 2005. All fine needle aspirations were performed with a 22-gauge single-pass Chiba needle under CT guidance. The biopsies were performed by one pulmonologist. Two hundred twenty two (91%) malignant lesions and 12 (9%) benign lesions were reviewed in the present study. An accurate diagnosis was made in 107 (88%) of the 122 malignant lung lesions and a specific diagnosis was obtained in 42% of the benign lesions. The sensitivity of TFNAs for the detection of malignancy was 83%, and the overall accuracy of TFNA for diagnosing malignancy was 84%. Pneumothorax occurred in 22 of the 134 patients (16%). Pneumothorax was more frequently observed in centrally located lesions (p= 0.001). Our results suggest that CT-guided TFNA has a high diagnostic accuracy and an acceptable rate of complications. Moreover, we suggest that the most important factor increasing the risk of pneumothorax is an increase in the depth of aerated lung traversed for sampling.

Bronchogenic carcinoma developing during a long-term course of pulmonary Langerhans' cell histiocytosis.

A 30-year-old man patient was admitted to our clinic with complaints including cough, dyspnea, and chest pain. He had been diagnosed with pulmonary Langerhans' cell histiocytosis (LCH) 9 years previously. HRCT of the thorax demonstrated the presence of diffuse emphysematous areas in both lungs with a honeycomb appearance, an increase in reticular density at the lower lobes, a mass lesion in the left hilus, and a mass lesion at the lower lobe of the left lung. Histological diagnosis of TBNA from the right lower paratracheal and subcarinal lymph nodes was adenocarcinoma. Chemotherapy was begun, but the patient died due to respiratory failure after two courses of chemotherapy. We present this case as an example of the rare development of bronchogenic carcinoma during the long-term course of LCH.

Comparison of bronchoscopic washing and gastric lavage in the diagnosis of smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic contribution and utility of bacteriologic surveys using bronchoscopic washing and gastric lavage in cases of radiologically suspected tuberculosis with no detectable acid-fast bacilli (AFB) in the sputum. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This prospective study performed bronchoscopic lavage following gastric washing in suspected pulmonary tuberculosis patients. The presence of AFB was determined via direct microscopy and materials were cultured in Löwenstein-Jensen medium. RESULTS: Thirty-eight consecutive patients were enrolled in the study (30 males and 8 females; mean age, 33.8 +/- 10.9 years). Three patients could not give sputum. In 23 of 35 cases (66%), sputum cultures (SC) were positive. In 17 cases (49%), gastric lavage cultures (GLC) were positive. Eighteen cases (55%) had positive bronchoscopic washing cultures (BWC). No statistically significant difference was observed when SC positivity was compared to GLC and BWC, and no difference was observed when the GLC results were compared with BWC. Tuberculosis was confirmed in 30 of 38 (79%) patients when SC and GLC were evaluated together, in 33 of 38 patients (87%) when SC and BWC were evaluated together, and in 36 of 38 (95%) when SC, GLC, and BWC were evaluated together (P = 0.016, P = 0.002, and P = 0.0001, respectively). The increase in positive cultures was statistically significant when gastric lavage was evaluated together with bronchoscopic washing (P = 0.004). CONCLUSION: Adding gastric lavage and bronchial washing to sputum culture could increase culture positivity for M tuberculosis bacilli in suspected pulmonary tuberculosis patients with AFB-negative sputum smears.

A primary tracheal carcinoid tumor masquerading as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Primary tumors of the trachea are rare and can be missed because of the paucity of symptoms and findings and the difficulty in detecting them with chest radiographs. A 31-year-old male patient was admitted with complaints of shortness of breath, coughing, phlegm, and blood in the sputum. He stated that he was being treated for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy revealed a vegetative mass with a wide base on the posterolateral wall of the distal one-third of the trachea. Postoperative histopathological examination revealed a typical carcinoid tumor. In patients with an unexplained cough, dyspnea, infrequent hemoptysis, and normal pulmonary imaging findings, tracheal carcinoma should be suspected. In such cases, early thoracic computed tomography and bronchoscopic examination can provide a rapid diagnosis and treatment options and prevent a false diagnosis.

Pleural effusion as the first sign of multiple myeloma.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a rare disorder that affects all tissues, except reticuloendothelial tissues, and seldom causes a myelomatous pleural effusion. A 56-year-old male patient attended our clinic complaining of shortness of breath and fatigue for the past month. A posteroanterior chest radiograph revealed a left pleural effusion, which was subsequently assessed as being exudative in nature. Protein electrophoresis demonstrated hypergammaglobulinemia. Serum and pleural fluid immunofixation electrophoresis showed an increase in the IgG and kappa fractions. The Bence-Jones protein level in the 24-hours urine was high. Pleural biopsy showed plasmocyte infiltration. Bone marrow biopsy revealed atypical plasma cell infiltration, some with immature morphology, carrying IgG/Kappa clonality in a diffuse pattern. The patient was diagnosed with IgG/k type MM and underwent chemotherapy with vincristine, doxorubicin, and prednisolone. Complete regression of the pleural effusion was achieved after one round of chemotherapy, and the patient has been followed for 18 months.

[Value of transbronchial needle aspiration in the diagnosis of endobronchial malignant lesions]. / Endobronsiyal malign lezyonlarin tanisinda transbronsiyal igne aspirasyonunun degeri.

Aim of our study was to investigate the sensitivity of transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) and its contributions to conventional diagnostic methods (CDM) in the endobronchial lesions of the patients who underwent TBNA during fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) and had final diagnosis of lung cancer. Bronchoscopy records of 1194 patients, who underwent FOB for uncertain lung cancer in our clinic, were reviewed retrospectively. Eighty-one patients with final histopathological diagnosis of primary lung cancer who underwent TBNA, were included to study. Endobronchial lesions were divided into three groups as endobronchial mass, submucosal lesions and peribronchial diseases. Other CDMs performed during bronchoscopy such as forceps biopsy, bronchial brushing and bronchial lavage were also recorded. Sixty-six (82%) of 81 patients were diagnosed by means of FOB. Remaining 15 (18%) patients were diagnosed by means of other methods than FOB. The diagnostic successes of TBNA and CDMs alone and together, were compared according to the types, locations and histopathological types of the lesions. By the addition of TBNA to CDMs, histopathological diagnosis was made in 17 (21%) additional patients and diagnostic sensitivity of bronchoscopy was increased from 60% to 82% (p= 0.001). By the addition of TBNA to CDMs, a statistically significant increase in the sensitivity in the submucosal lesion group was observed (p= 0.008). By the addition of TBNA to CDMs, diagnostic success was increased from 52% to 76% in the non-small cell lung cancer group and from 81% to 95% in the small cell lung cancer group (p= 0.001 and p= 0.250, respectively). Although the diagnostic success was increased in all localizations by the addition of TBNA to CDMs, statistically significant increase was observed only for the lesions located at trachea and the main bronchi (p= 0.008). Joining TBNA to CDMs, especially for the submucosal lesions, may improve the diagnostic success of bronchoscopy.

A rare association: Castleman's disease and pemphigus vulgaris.

Castleman disease is a reactive lymph node hyperplasia of unknown origin that often involving the thorax although it may involve all parts of the body. It is usually seen in young adults and presents an asymptomatic course. It is usually located to anterior and middle mediastinum. Pemphigus vulgaris is a bullous skin disease in which immune mechanisms take place in the pathogenesis. Mouth and oropharynx are the most commonly involved structures. IgG antibodies against the epidermal intracellular structures are essential in the diagnosis. We have wanted to discuss a 28 years old female with the literature review since the association between pemphigus vulgaris and Castleman's disease is rare.