1/27. bronchiectasis: the 'other' obstructive lung disease.bronchiectasis belongs to the family of chronic obstructive lung diseases, even though it is much less common than asthma, chronic bronchitis, or emphysema. Clinical features of these entities overlap significantly. The triad of chronic cough, sputum production, and hemoptysis always should bring bronchiectasis to mind as a possible cause. Chronic airway inflammation leads to bronchial dilation and destruction, resulting in recurrent sputum overproduction and pneumonitis. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, any potential predisposing conditions should be aggressively sought. The relapsing nature of bronchiectasis can be controlled with antibiotics, chest physiotherapy, inhaled bronchodilators, proper hydration, and good nutrition. In rare circumstances, surgical resection or bilateral lung transplantation may be the only option available for improving quality of life. prognosis is generally good but varies with the underlying syndrome.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = emphysema (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/27. Spontaneous pneumomediastinum with subcutaneous emphysema: unusual presenting feature of a common condition.Pneumomediastinum refers to the presence of free air in the mediastinum and is frequently associated with subcutaneous emphysema. It is known that a number of medical and surgical conditions may be complicated by pneumomediastinum. However, here we report the case of a young female in whom pneumomediastinum was the presenting feature of a widespread medical condition rather than its complication.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 5keywords = emphysema (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/27. clinical conference: Severe obstructive lung disease in a 14-year-old girl with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.Severe, largely irreversible obstructive lung disease, compatible with emphysema, was found in a 14-yr-old white girl who had been considered to have chronic asthma. She also presented a serum alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. serum values for alpha-1 antitrypsin on two occassions were 95 and 105 mg/100 ml; Pi type was SZ. A family survey disclosed a 13-yr-old brother with the same pattern of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. His serum value was 122.5 mg/100 ml; Pi type was SZ. He was asymptomatic and showed minimal pulmonary function abnormalities.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = emphysema (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/27. rhabdomyolysis triggered by an asthmatic attack in a patient with McArdle disease.We describe a patient with McArdle disease who developed rhabdomyolysis triggered by a bronchial asthmatic attack. A 64-year-old man had chronic pulmonary emphysema with asthma, and an asthmatic attack led to severe rhabdomyolysis that required continuous hemodiafiltration. After 2 years, a physical examination revealed atrophy of the extremities compared with previous examinations, especially of the intercostal muscles. During that time, he suffered two severe bronchial asthmatic attacks. His serum level of creatinine kinase remained between 4,000 and 7,000 IU/l when he did not suffer from asthmatic attacks and rhabdomyolysis had abated. Therefore, we suspected that his recent muscle atrophy was caused by asthmatic attacks, and discussed the possibility of his respiratory muscle weakness due to McArdle disease in relation to his severe bronchial asthmatic attacks as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = emphysema (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/27. Pneumomediastinum and pneumopericardium: unusual and rare complications of asthma in a 4 years old girl.We describe a 4-year-old girl with asthma who presented with pneumomediastinum, pneumopericardium and subcutaneous emphysema. She was admitted to our hospital with dyspnea, chest pain, palpitation and cough of two days duration. She had attacks of cough, dyspnea and wheezing from two years of age, but she did not have a diagnosis of asthma previously. She was dyspneic and had subcutaneous emphysema in the neck, axilla and thorax. In the skin prick test (Center Lab. USA) she had positive reaction to dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, dermatophagoides farinae, mold mix, tree mix and grass mix. Pulmonary function tests could not be performed. In the chest X-ray air was seen in mediastinum and subcutaneous area and the epicardium was surrounded completely with air. She was treated successfully with inhaled salbutamol and budesonide. Radiological signs of pneumopericardium and pneumomediastinum disappeared completely in ten days period. In the light of this case we want to mention that early diagnosis and treatment of asthma should be done to prevent serious complication of asthma.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = emphysema (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/27. Occupational asthma after inhalation of dust of the proteolytic enzyme, papain.papain is a proteolytic enzyme widely used by biochemists. In experiments on animals papain has been shown to cause emphysema either when they inhaled a single small dose or after intratracheal inhalation. Four food technologists were occupationally exposed to heavy concentrations of papain dust in air. Subjects 1 and 2 developed an immediate acute asthmatic reaction, and symptoms of obstructive airways disease persisted for some months while each remained in the same working area, presumably exposed to small gradually diminishing amounts of residual papain dust. Tests of respiratory function were carried out on all four subjects 1 1/2 years later and showed in subjects 1 and 3 minimal abnormality of bronchial reactivity and of ventilation distribution. review of the literature reveals only two reports of asthma resulting from papain inhalation, although its antigenic and skin sensitizing qualities have been known and described for many years. It seems remarkable that a substance such as papain, shown to be a potent cause of lung damage in experimental animals, should have produced so little evidence of abnormality in our subjects after considerable exposure. Follow-up ventilatory function tests may cast further light on this but we postulate that the asthmatic response may be biologically protective and those lacking this reaction could later develop emphysema as a long-term outcome.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = emphysema (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/27. COPD: clinical phenotypes.Different phenotypic presentations in advanced stages of COPD are less common than in years past because of therapies that alter the manifestations of disease. Early stages of COPD are often asymptotic, but may present as asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema or combinations. Unusual presentations at young age are not common, but may be dramatic.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = emphysema (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/27. hypercapnia: what is the limit in paediatric patients? A case of near-fatal asthma successfully treated by multipharmacological approach.We describe a case of prolonged severe hypercapnia with respiratory acidosis occurring during an episode of near-fatal asthma in an 8-year-old boy, followed by complete recovery. After admission to the intensive care unit, despite treatment with maximal conventional bronchodilatative therapy, the clinical picture deteriorated with evident signs of respiratory muscle fatigue. The child was sedated, intubated and mechanically ventilated. magnesium sulphate, ketamine and sevoflurane were gradually introduced together with deep sedation, curarization and continuous bronchodilatative therapy. Ten hours after admission, arterial pCO2 reached 39 kPa (293 mmHg), pH was 6.77 and pO2 8.6 kPa (65 mmHg). Chest radiograph showed severe neck subcutaneous emphysema, with signs of mediastinal emphysema. No episode of haemodynamic instability was seen despite severe prolonged hypercapnia lasting more than 14 h. Oxygenation was maintained and successful recovery followed without neurological or cardiovascular sequelae. This case shows the cardiovascular and neurological tolerance of a prolonged period of supercarbia in a paediatric patient. The most important lesson to be learned is the extreme importance of maintaining adequate tissue perfusion and oxygenation during an asthma attack. The second lesson is that when conventional bronchodilators fail, the intensivist may resort to the use of drugs such as ketamine, magnesium sulphate and inhalation anaesthesia. In this context deep sedation and curarization are important not only to improve oxygenation, but also to reduce cerebral metabolic requirements.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = emphysema (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/27. Spontaneous pneumopericardium, pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema: unusual complications of asthma in a 2-year-old boy.A 2-year-old boy presented to the emergency department with a history of sudden onset of cough, dyspnoea and a slight expiratory wheeze on the right lung base. He also had subcutaneous emphysema on the left side of the chest anteriorly. Chest x ray confirmed subcutaneous emphysema and also revealed pneumomediastinum and pneumopericardium. He had had no previous episode and was not known to have asthma. He was apyrexial but had a raised white cell count. The eosinophil count was within normal limits. He was successfully treated with nebulised salbutamol, steroids, antibiotics and high flow oxygen. He made a good recovery and was discharged after 7 days. This case highlights the need for a high index of suspicion of asthma in very young children presenting for the first time with such complications.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 6keywords = emphysema (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/27. Spontaneous pneumorrhachis in bronchial asthma.We report on an 18-year-old male with bronchial asthma who presented with swelling over the neck and upper chest after a mild episode of bronchospasm. physical examination was suggestive of subcutaneous emphysema, which was subsequently confirmed on a radiograph. Computed tomography in addition revealed pneumomediastinum and air within the epidural space of the spinal canal. Although spontaneous pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema have been described in a variety of situations, including patients with asthma, spontaneous pneumorrhachis in asthmatics is a very rare entity.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = emphysema (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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