Combined Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis and Tropical Pulmonary Eosinophilia: A Rare Co-occurrence

Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) and tropical pulmonary eosinophilia (TPE) are common lung diseases presenting with peripheral blood eosinophilia. Although these have been widely reported both from India and outside, simultaneous co-occurrence of the two diseases has not been reported so far. We hereby present a case of an elderly male, a known case of asthma, who was diagnosed to have concurrent ABPA and TPE. Partial clinical response as well as the persistence of eosinophilia after ABPA treatment raised the suspicion that subsequently led to the diagnosis of TPE. The concurrent treatment of both conditions led to satisfactory clinical and serological improvement.

Role of Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy: A Pilot Study

Background: Patients with advanced lung cancer often suffer from poor mobility and quality-of-life (QoL). Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) has been seen to improve exercise capacity and health-related QoL (HRQoL) in different respiratory diseases. Methods: The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of PR in advanced non-operable non-small cell lung cancer patients on several outcomes compared to the control group. Forty eligible patients were randomized to receive chemotherapy and 8-weeks of supervised, hospital-based PR twice a week (cases) vs only standard chemotherapy (controls). Exercise capacity (6-minute walk distance), HRQoL, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Lung (FACT-L) scale, spirometry, dyspnea score [modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) grade] and arterial blood gas (ABG) analysis were measured in both the groups at baseline and at the end of 8 weeks. Results: After PR, there was significant improvement in the 6MWD (change in 6MWD: cases 16.3 + 34.3 m vs controls ?20.5 + 49 m; p = 0.03) and total FACT-L score (change in score: cases 18.9 + 7.3 vs controls ?8.8 + 13.4; p ?0.001) in the 揷ases� group as compared to controls. However, there was no significant improvement in dyspnea, spirometry, and ABG values. Conclusions: Comprehensive PR can improve exercise capacity and HRQoL in advanced lung cancer patients on concurrent chemotherapy. It may be an integral part of the management of these patients.

Prevalence of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis among patients with severe bronchial asthma in a tertiary care hospital in Northern India

Introduction: The link between fungi and asthma has been known for centuries. About one-third to one-half of severe asthmatics has history of atopic sensitization to filamentous fungi, most predominantly to Aspergillus fumigatus. Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is the one of the most documented fungal presentations among patients with asthma. This study was done on 50 patients with severe asthma who were consecutively enrolled from January 2016 to June 2017 to look for prevalence of ABPA. Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from 50 patients with severe asthma, and serum was separated to test for absolute eosinophil count, total IgE, and Aspergillus fumigates–specific IgE. Results: The prevalence of ABPA was found to be 70% (35/50). Of these, ABPA-B (ABPA with bronchiectasis) was less 31.4% (11/35) when compared with 68.5% (24/35) of patients with serological ABPA. Out of these 35 patients, there were 18 females and 17 were males. The mean age of the patients was 41.3 years. Conclusion: ABPA prevalence is high in patients with severe asthma, and there is a need to look for and evaluate this association further.

Correlation of various histopathologic prognostic factors with Nottingham prognostic index and microvessel density in invasive breast carcinoma: A study of 100 cases.

BACKGROUND: Nottingham prognostic index (NPI) is a widely used integrated prognostic variable in patients with breast cancer. NPI has been correlated with tumor size, grade, lymph node stage and patient survival. The present study aimed at evaluating and correlating the various clinical and pathologic features of breast carcinoma with NPI. METHODS: This study included 100 consecutive cases of primary breast carcinoma over a period of 2 years. Demographic data was noted and histomorphological features like tumor size, grade, lymph node involvement, necrosis, vascular invasion etc., were assessed. NPI was calculated as reported in the literature. Immunohistochemical staining for hormone receptors and CD34 (to calculate microvessel density [MVD]) was performed. Statistical analysis was used for correlation. RESULTS: Of the 100 cases, 54% of the tumors were in T2 tumor size category (2‑5 cm) and lymph node metastasis in 48% of the cases. NPI ranged from 2.3 to 7.3 with 54% of the cases in the intermediate NPI group (3.41‑5.4). The mean MVD was 160.93 (±69.4/mm2). On statistical analysis, tumor size and grade, lymph node stage, mitotic rate, nuclear pleomorphism, necrosis and MVD showed a correlation with NPI (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: NPI is an important and useful prognostic indicator for breast cancer patients, which shows the correlation with other histomorphological prognostic features as well.

Mortality profile of patients with traumatic spinal injuries at a level I trauma care centre in India.

Background & objectives: There is no national spinal trauma registry available in India at present and the research on epidemiology of these injuries is also very limited. The purpose of this study was to describe the mortality profile of patients with spinal injuries brought to a level I trauma centre in India, and to understand the predictive factors which identify patients at an increased risk of spinal trauma mortality. Methods: Retrospective data were collected from computerized patients records and autopsy reports maintained in the department of Forensic Medicine. All the cases with spinal injuries whether in isolation or as a part of polytrauma were reviewed. A total of 341 such cases were identified between January 2008 to December 2011. The demographic data, type of trauma, duration of survival, body areas involved, level of spinal injury and associated injuries if any, were recorded. Results: There were 288 (84.45%) males and 53 (15.55%) females. Most victims (73%) were between 25 and 64 yr of age, followed by young adults between 16 and 24 yr (19.35%). Male: female ratio was 5.4:1. Fifty five per cent cases had spinal injuries in isolation. Injury to the cervical spine occurred in 259 (75.95%) patients, thoracic spine in 56 (16.42%) and thoraco-lumbar spine in 26 (7.62%) patients. The commonest cause of injury was high energy falls (44.28%), followed by road traffic accidents (41.93%). The majority of deaths (51.6%) occurred in the phase IV (secondary to tertiary complications of trauma, i.e. >1 wk). Forty patients died in phase I (brought dead or surviving <3 h), 55 in phase II (>3 to 24 h) and 70 in phase III (> 24 h to 7 days). Interpretation & conclusions: Our data suggest that there is an urgent need to take steps to prevent major injuries, strengthen the pre-hospital care, transportation network, treatment in specialized trauma care units and to improve injury surveillance and the quality of data collected which can guide prevention efforts to avoid loss of young active lives

Tuberculosis Lymphadenitis in a Well Managed Case of Sarcoidosis.

Differentiation between tuberculosis (TB) and sarcoidoisis is sometimes extremely difficult. Sequential occurrence of sarcoidosis and TB in the same patient is uncommon. We present the case of a young man, with a proven diagnosis of sarcoidosis who later developed TB after completion of treatment for sarcoidosis. A 32-year-old male patient presented with low-grade fever since two months. Physical examination revealed cervical lymphadenopathy. Initial fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of the cervical lymph node was suggestive of granulomatous inflammation; the chest radiograph was normal. Repeat FNAC from the same lymph node was suggestive of reactive lymphoid hyperplasia. The patient was treated with antibiotics and followed-up. He again presented with persistence of fever and lymphadenopathy and blurring of vision. Ophthalmological examination revealed uveitis, possibly due to a granulomatous cause. His repeat Mantoux test again was non-reactive; serum angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) levels were raised. This time an excision biopsy of the lymph node was done which revealed discrete, non-caseating, reticulin rich granulomatous inflammation suggestive of sarcoidosis. The patient was treated with oral prednisolone and imporved symptomatically. Subsequently, nearly nine months after completion of corticosteroid treatment, he presented with low-grade, intermittent fever and a lymph node enlargement in the right parotid region. FNAC from this lymph node showed caseating granulomatous inflammation and the stain for acid-fast bacilli was positive. He was treated with Category I DOTS under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme and improved significantly. The present case highlights the need for further research into the aetiology of TB and sarcoidosis.

Concurrent infection of pneumocystis pneumonia and pulmonary tuberculosis in an HIV-seronegative patient.

Co-infection with Pneumocystis jirovecii and Mycobacterium tuberculosis is rarely reported in patients without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. We describe the case of a 33-year-old HIV-negative female patient who was on long-term oral corticosteroids for rheumatoid arthritis and admitted with for respiratory distress and diffuse infiltrative pneumopathy in whom concurrent infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Pneumocystis jiroveci was confirmed by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid examination.