Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0729233 (Thoracic)
 6,478 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

During the 20-year-period 1959-78, 7 patients with pulmonary arteriovenous fistula were treated at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. There were 5 men and 2 women, with a mean age of 26 (14-47) years. Cyanosis with elevated haematocrit was present in 4, dyspnoea in 4, neurological signs in 3 (including one brain abscess and one hemiplegia). Systolic hum was audible in 3 cases. Three patients had the hereditary type of the disease (Rendu-Osler-Weber) with telangiectasiae also elsewhere in the body. The calculated right-to-left shunt varied from 14 to 56 per cent of the cardiac output. The treatment was lobectomy in all cases (4 upper lobe, one middle lobe and 2 lower lobe resections). The patient with a brain abscess underwent craniotomy prior to lobectomy and developed epilepsy necessitating anticonvulsive treatment. The other patients had an uneventful recovery with relief of the symptoms. During the follow-up time (2-20 years), one patient (with hemiplegia) died of myocardial infarction 10 years after the operation. The others were doing well. It is concluded that the safest way to treat a pulmonary arteriovenous fistula is to operate as soon as it has been detected in order to prevent the complications so often associated with the disease.
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PMID:Pulmonary arteriovenous fistulas. 715 28

A 65-year-old man with Rendu-Osler-Weber syndrome was admitted to the department of brain surgery at our hospital because of left hemiplegia and a right cerebral mass seen on a computerized tomogram of the brain. A brain abscess was found during surgery. Then the patient had pneumonia. He received antibiotics and recovered, but his PaO2 remained low. He was transferred to our department for evaluation of hypoxia. Thoracic computerized tomography showed a nodular lesion connected to a vascular shadow. Angiographic examination showed a pulmonary arteriovenous fistula and other vascular abnormalities. He was not dyspneic or cyanotic, but his hypoxia, low diffusing capacity, and brain abscess were thought to be caused by the pulmonary arteriovenous fistula. The fistula was embolized with coils via a percutaneous catheter, after which oxygenation and diffusing capacity improved.
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PMID:[A case of Rendu-Osler-Weber syndrome and pulmonary arteriovenous fistula]. 853 81

Actinomycosis is a chronic suppurative bacterial infection caused by Actinomyces species. Actinomyces israelii is the organism most commonly found in human disease. Actinomycosis usually manifests with abscess formation, dense fibrosis, and draining sinuses. The disease is further characterized by the tendency to extensively spread beyond normal fascial and connective tissue planes. Actinomycosis occurs most commonly in the cervicofacial region (50%-65%), followed by the thoracic (15%-30%) and abdominopelvic (20%) regions, but rarely involves the central nervous system. Most cases of cervicofacial actinomycosis are odontogenic in origin. In the acute form, cervicofacial disease can manifest with soft-tissue swelling, a painful pyogenic abscess, or a mass lesion. In the subacute to chronic form, a painless indurated mass can spread to the skin, leading to draining sinus tracts. Thoracic manifestations include parenchymal, bronchiectatic, and endobronchial actinomycosis. At computed tomography, pulmonary actinomycosis usually appears as chronic segmental airspace consolidation containing necrotic low-attenuation areas with peripheral enhancement. Abdominopelvic actinomycosis preferentially involves the ileocecal region, ovary, and fallopian tube. The imaging findings favoring abdominopelvic actinomycosis include strong enhancement in the solid portion of the mass after contrast material administration, small rim-enhancing abscesses within the mass, and extensive inflammatory extensions. Actinomycosis in the central nervous system may produce brain abscess, meningitis, subdural empyema, actinomycetoma, and spinal and cranial epidural abscess. In general, actinomycosis responds well to antibiotic therapy, but long-term follow-up after treatment is needed because of frequent relapses.
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PMID:Imaging of actinomycosis in various organs: a comprehensive review. 2442 79