Emphysematous pyelonephritis in a transplant kidney

Emphysematous pyelonephritis [EPN] is a severe necrotizing infection of the kidney and its surrounding tis- sues. It is characterized by the production of gas within the kidney and perinephric structures. EPN often affects diabetic women but can also occur in nondiabetic patients who have ureteral obstruction and in im- munocompromised patients. Herein, we report EPN in a 23-year-old woman who had a renal transplantation

Squamous cell carcinoma of esophagus presenting as bone metastases in five cases

Esophageal carcinoma rarely metastasizes to the bone. The objective of the current study was to report five cases of esophageal carcinoma whieh first presented with bone metastases. From January 1987 to June 2001, 550 patients with esophageal cancer were admitted to the Department Radiology of Ghaem Hospital for barium swallow, CT scan, sonography and plain radiographs. In five patients [three men, two women] first symptoms were bone pain and swelling due to metastasis. Radiographs and CT scan of specific bones were taken for diagnosis. Biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma metastases to bone. The primary site of malignancy was unknown at the time of presentation. Further evaluation including barium swallow, proved squamous cell carcinoma of esophagus that metatastasized to the bones. Five patients with esophageal carcinoma [age range, 24-60 years; mean age, 45 years] Two patients showed solitary metastasis, and three patients had multiple metastases. Pelvis, cervical vertebrae, ribs, tibia and femur were involved. Patterns of bony destruction were lytic and in one patient was mixed [osteolytic-osteosclerotic]. Two patients had cortical metastases simulating a primary bone tumor. The mean interval between skeletal metastasis and the appearance of dysphagia was two months. Bone metastases are very uncommon at initial presentation in patients with esophageal carcinoma, but Patterns of bony destruction in esophageal carcinoma were predominatly lytic and rarely sclerotic

[Cigarette smoking and its relationship with pulmonary tuberculosis]

Pulmonary tuberculosis is one of the most known human diseases and has a long history. Regarding the fact that its prevalence among Iranians is relatively high, several programs have been designed in order to control this disease. The objective of this study was to determine wether there is any relationship between pulmonary tuberculosis and cigarette smoking as an independent risk factor. This study was a case control survey done in Pulmonary Ward of Imam Reza Hospital from January 2003 to March 2006. 64 males with tuberculosis were compared with 64 non - tuberculotic males in the same range of age. Data was gathered with a direct questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS software. The results derived from this study indicated that the percentage of smokers was 59.4% in the case group who had pulmonary tuberculosis; while it turned to be 37.5% in the control group. These was a significant difference between two groups in smoking duration, number of cigarretes smoked per day and the age about which the smokers started smoking. The study showed that smoking is an independent risk factor for pulmonary tuberculosis infection. Regarding other studies that revealed the role of cigarette smoking in suppressing the immune system, it is highly advised to design effective programs for cigarette quitting to reduce the rate of tuberculosis in the society