Late onset dysphagia secondary to post-pneumonectomy syndrome, a rare complication

Postpneumonectomy syndrome reflects extrinsic compression of the distal trachea and main stem bronchus due to shifting of the mediastinum and hyperinflation of the remaining lung. The syndrome is characterized by development of progressive dyspnea, cough, inspiratory stridor, and recurrent pneumonia in patients at least 6 months after surgery. We report a case of late onset dysphagia secondary to post-pneumonectomy syndrome, nine years after right pneumonectomy. It is a rare complication and there are only two similar reports in the literature

Tumor-to-tumor metastases from lung carcinoma to soft tissue fibrous histiocytoma

Tumor-to-tumor metastases are uncommon. Lung cancer is the most frequent donor tumor while renal cell carcinoma is the most common malignant, and meningioma the most common benign recipient of metastases. Other reported host benign lesions include thyroid adenoma, adrenocortical adenoma, ovarian cystoma, and hepatic cavernous angioma. A 41-year-old male smoker presented with a mass in the right axillary's fossa, cough and weight loss. Chest x-ray showed left lung collapse. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy showed vegetation in the left main bronchus and biopsy revealed adenocarcinoma. Biopsy of the right axillary mass showed benign fibrous histiocytoma [BFH] with metastasis from adenocarcinoma. To our knowledge, this report represents the first case of tumor-to-tumor metastasis to BFH

Smoking and asthma symptoms among university students

The prevalence of asthma is known to be increasing especially in developed countries. Most studies assessing the prevalence of asthma in adults have used the "European Community Respiratory Health Survey" [ECRHS] protocol. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of asthma, asthma-like symptoms and smoking as well as the correlation of asthma symptoms and smoking among Urmia medical university students. An ECRHS questionnaire with additional questions about absence from class because of wheezing and/or dyspnea and smoking was filled for them. One thousand five-hundred students with the mean age of 20.8 +/- 3.5 years filled out the questionnaires. Among them, 17.1% of males and 2.3% of females were current smokers. The most prevalent symptoms during the last 12 months were wheezing [19.7%], resting breathlessness [10.2%], exercise-induced cough [16.5%], and asthma attacks [3.1%]. Asthma symptoms were strongly related to smoking [for all variables p < 0.001] but were not related to sex [p > 0.05], 5.4% had a history of absence from class because of wheezing or dyspnea. We found a relatively high prevalence of wheezing among young adult university students. Our findings suggest that cigarette smoking is common among young university students with asthma symptoms. Adequate public health measures are needed to prevent smoking among Iranian young adults, and medical students should be better educated with regard to asthma and the risks of smoking