1/48. Massive pleural effusions in cryptococcal meningitis.Cryptococcal infection uncommonly presents with pulmonary manifestations and even more rarely so as massive bilateral effusions. Pleural involvement is usually associated with underlying pulmonary parenchymal lesions and is unusual while on antifungal therapy. We report a patient with cryptococcal meningitis who, while on intravenous 5-flucytosine and amphotericin b, developed life-threatening bilateral massive pleural effusions with evidence of spontaneous resolution, consistent with prior hypothesis of antigenic stimulation as the cause of pleural involvement.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/48. Post cardiac injury syndrome--one more cause of false positive IgG, IgM antibodies in pleural fluid against antigen-60 of mycobacterium tuberculosis.Post cardiac injury syndrome (PCIS) is known to occur following myocardial infarction, cardiac surgery, blunt chest trauma, percutaneous left ventricular puncture and pace-maker implantation. The diagnosis is one of exclusion. We report a case of PCIS following cardiac surgery who showed false positive IgG, IgM antibodies to antigen A60 of mycobacterium tuberculosis in pleural fluid.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 5keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/48. Pleural posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disorder following liver transplantation.A case of posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) involving the pleura is reported. The patient was a 57-year-old man who underwent liver transplantation 2 years prior to the development of PTLD. The PTLD was pleural-based and was first detected by radiologic studies as a pleural effusion. Transbronchial biopsy and cytologic examination of 2 pleural fluid specimens were nondiagnostic. Subsequent open-wedge biopsy revealed a monomorphic PTLD, composed of large immunoblasts with plasmacytoid differentiation. Immunohistochemical studies demonstrated B-cell lineage with expression of monotypic cytoplasmic immunoglobulin kappa light chain and CD79a, and absence of T-cell antigens. Immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization studies demonstrated Epstein-Barr virus protein and rna, respectively. No evidence of human herpesvirus 8 dna was detected by polymerase chain reaction. We report this case because pleural-based PTLD is rare. The diagnosis of this entity is made more difficult by the fact that PTLD is often underrepresented in pleural fluid cytology samples.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/48. Spontaneous rupture of mediastinal cystic teratoma into the pleural cavity: report of two cases and review of the literature.The authors report on two female patients aged 12 and 14 years, who spontaneously developed a rupture of benign mediastinal cystic teratoma into the right pleural cavity. They presented with acute onset of severe chest pain and respiratory distress. The tumors were completely resected by thoracotomy. The serum and pleural fluid levels of carcinoembryonic antigens, CA-125 and CA19-9 were invariably elevated, then decreased to normal range after the surgical resection. Rapid diagnosis of this extremely rare complication is important because it may progress to a life-threatening condition.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/48. Expression profile of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) in pyothorax associated lymphoma and in effusion lymphoma.AIMS: Pyothorax associated lymphoma (PAL) occurs in a clinical setting of longstanding pyothorax or chronic inflammation of the pleura. Like primary effusion lymphoma, it has an association with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and is confined to the pleural cavity, but has differing morphological and phenotypic features. Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) has been consistently reported in primary effusion lymphoma. This study examines the immunophenotype of two European cases of PAL, investigates the presence of HHV-8 and its expression profile, and assesses whether PAL is similar to other effusion lymphomas. methods: Material was obtained from two European cases of PAL. Immunocytochemical analysis was performed using antibodies against CD45, CD20, CD79a, CD45RAA, CD3, CD43, CD45RO (UCHL1), CD30, BCL-2, CD68, epithelial membrane antigen (EMA), BCL-6, p53, Ki-67, kappa light chain, lambda light chain, and the EBV antigens latent membrane protein 1 (LMP-1) and EBV encoded nuclear antigen 2 (EBNA-2). The cases were examined for HHV-8 by means of polymerase chain reaction in situ hybridisation (PCR-ISH), solution phase PCR, in situ hybridisation (ISH), and real time quantitative TaqMan PCR to HHV-8 open reading frame 26 (ORF-26) and viral (v) cyclin encoding regions. The expression profile of HHV-8 in PAL and in BC-1 and BC-3 cells was assessed by rna TaqMan PCR to the HHV-8 genes encoding v-cyclin, v-IL-6, and G protein coupled receptor (GPCR). RESULTS: Both cases expressed CD24, CD20, CD79a, BCL-2, light chain restriction, and high Ki-67 staining. EBV was identified by EBER-ISH in one case. HHV-8 was not identified by solution phase PCR, but was detected by PCR-ISH (sensitivity of 1 viral genome copy/cell) in 35% of the cells and by TaqMan PCR, which showed 50-100 HHV-8 copies/2,000 cell genome equivalents (sensitivity of 1 viral genome in 10(6) contaminating sequences). HHV-8 v-IL-6, v-cyclin, and GPCR encoded transcripts were identified using rna TaqMan PCR. v-IL-6 was high in PAL and in BC-1 and BC-3 cells. CONCLUSION: The presence of HHV-8 in one of two patients with PAL raises interesting questions in relation to the pathobiology of the condition. Clearly, the results indicate that HHV-8 is not an obligate pathogen, necessary for the effusion phenotype, but might contribute to it by its secretion of specific cytokines.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/48. False positivity of tumor markers in pleural fluid of traumatic hemothorax.Various biochemical parameters of pleural fluid have been employed to identify malignant effusions. However, many of them are also elevated in patients with nonmalignant conditions. We report on a patient with traumatic hemothorax, showing high pleural fluid concentrations of ferritin, tissue polypeptide antigen, and cancer antigen 125. This patient's pleural fluid also contained high levels of bilirubin and many macrophages containing phagocytized red blood cells, suggesting a local metabolism of hemoglobin. Our case confirms that some tumoral markers can give false positive results and suggests that their significance must be evaluated differently in bloody pleural effusions as compared with non-bloody pleural effusions.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/48. Massive pleural effusion and marked increase of CA-125.The tumour associated ca-125 antigen is widely used in monitoring ovarian carcinoma. In women with a massive pleural effusion and ascites, markedly increased CA-125 levels may lead to an erroneous diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Very high levels of tumour markers may be present in patients with benign pleural effusion, ascites, and chronic liver disease. Raised levels of tumour markers in serum or pleural fluid, in the absence of positive cytology, should be interpreted with caution.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/48. Meigs' syndrome in a young woman with a normal serum CA-125 level.We report on a 27-year-old woman who presented with an ovarian solid tumor (20 x 15 cm) and massive ascites. A physical examination and chest X-ray revealed a moderate amount of pleural effusion on the right side. Cytologic study of the pleural effusion showed reactive mesothelial cells without evidence of malignancy. Gram's stain was negative. The blood chemistry was within normal limits. The serum CA-125 level was 22 (normal, < 35) U/ml, the alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level was 8 (normal, < 20) ng/ml, and the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) was 0.5 (normal, < 5) ng/ml. An explorative laparotomy revealed approximately 1500 ml of serous ascites and a very large multilobulated left adnexal mass (20 x 15 cm) with no malignant cytology in the ascitic fluid. Postoperatively, the pleural effusion spontaneously resolved, and the microscopic examination revealed a benign fibroma-thecoma, confirming the diagnosis of Meigs' syndrome. The symptoms resolved after removal of this pelvic tumor. This is an unusual case of a young female with Meigs' syndrome and a normal serum CA-125 level.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/48. Malignant pleural effusion in Hodgkin's lymphoma. Report of a case with immunoperoxidase studies.The cytologic and histopathologic findings in a patient with Hodgkin's lymphoma, mixed cellularity type, and a malignant pleural effusion are presented. The consistency of staining with a battery of immunoperoxidase monoclonal antibody stains, including leukocyte common antigen, Leu-M1, UCHL1 and L26, was examined on sections of formalin-fixed lymph nodes and alcohol-fixed pleural fluid cell blocks. In addition, these same tissues were stained with carcinoembryonic antigen, B72.3, cytokeratin and epithelial membrane antigen immunoperoxidase antibodies to differentiate the tumor cells from reactive mesothelial cells and adenocarcinoma cells. The results on the pleural fluid specimens were consistent with what is known of the immunohistochemical staining properties of Hodgkin's lymphoma cells in lymph nodes.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/48. Acute eosinophilic pneumonia accompanied by mediastinal lymphadenopathy and thrombocytopenia.Acute eosinophilic pneumonia, which was described in 1989, is thought to represent a hypersensitivity reaction to unidentified inhaled antigens. Here, we present a case of a marble mine worker with acute eosinophilic pneumonia complicated with mediastinal lymphadenopathy, neutrophilia, thrombocytopenia and acute respiratory distress syndrome.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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