[Bronchial atresia. A case report]. / Atrésie bronchique.

Bronchial atresia with mucocele and focal hyperinflation of the lung is a rare anomaly. We report the observation of a 12-year-old girl which presented a right hilar opacity on chest X-ray. The thoracic computed tomography identified an atretic segmental bronchus of the middle lobe with mucocele and focal hyperinflation of the lung. Bronchial endoscopy ruled out any acquired etiology of bronchial obstruction. The definitive diagnosis was bronchial atresia with mucocele and focal hyperinflation of the lung. This uncommon malformation is usually a radiological description. Eighty-four cases were collected in the main series in 1989. Nowadays, about 12 new cases have been published.

Inspiratory muscle strength and endurance in steroid-dependent asthma.

The adverse effect of long-term steroid treatment on respiratory muscle function remains controversial. We evaluated inspiratory muscle strength and endurance in steroid-dependent asthmatics in comparison with other asthmatics or with patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exhibiting a comparable level of lung hyperinflation. Inspiratory muscle function was assessed by maximal inspiratory pressure (Pimax) and by an incremental inspiratory threshold loading test in 19 patients who had had steroid-dependent asthma (SDA) requiring a mean daily dose of 20.7 +/- 0.8 mg prednisone for 5 +/- 1.4 yr. They were compared with 16 healthy control subjects, 30 patients with COPD, and 16 patients with non-steroid-dependent asthma (NSDA). Pimax as percentage of predicted values (%Pimax) was not significantly different in patients with SDA (77 +/- 5%) or NSDA (83 +/- 6%) than in control subjects (93 +/- 4%). In contrast, %Pimax was lower in patients with COPD (59 +/- 4.4%) than in those with SDA or NSDA (p < 0.05) or the control subjects (p < 0.0001). A significant correlation was found between %Pimax and hyperinflation assessed by the FRC/TLC ratio (r = 0.42; p < 0.001). Inspiratory endurance, defined as the ratio of maximal peak inspiratory pressure sustained for 2 min to individual Pimax (Plim2/Pimax), was significantly lower in the SDA (43 +/- 3%; p < 0.0001), NSDA (65 +/- 4%; p = 0.01), and COPD (55 +/- 3%; p < 0.0001) groups than in the control group (76 +/- 2%). Plim2/Pimax was also lower in patients with SDA than in those with COPD (p = 0.0073) or NSDA (p < 0.0001). Hyperinflation plays a major role in inspiratory muscle dysfunction associated with obstructive lung disorders, but the finding of a significantly decreased endurance in patients with SDA when compared with patients with COPD, despite a lower level of hyperinflation in the former group, points to a deleterious effect of long-term corticosteroid treatment on inspiratory muscle function in asthmatics.

[Methotrexate in the treatment of asthma. Open trial in 10 corticoid-dependent patients with severe asthma]. / Le méthotrexate dans le traitement de l'asthme. Essai ouvert chez 10 asthmatiques sévères corticodépendants.

Methotrexate was suggested as a treatment in 1976 by Mullarkey for severe steroid-dependent asthma, in order to reduce the use of systemic steroids responsible for numerous undesired side-effects. The aim of this open trial was to study the efficacy and tolerance of Methotrexate in the short, medium and long term and after its cessation, in ten patients aged 49.2 (+/- 3.0) who were suffering from severe steroid-dependent asthma (18.5 +/- 4.8 mg of prednisone daily for at least one year). Methotrexate was given in a dose of 15-30 mg for 14.3 months (+/- 1.8) with a post-treatment follow-up for eight patients lasting 7.9 months (+/- 1.7). The efficacy was assessed on the daily dosage of prednisone and was also evaluated using the FEV1 (VEMS) (the variations expressed were a percentage of the variation from the predicted value). In the short term (six weeks) there was no significant change in the FEV1 nor in the dose of prednisone. In the medium term (12 weeks) there was evidence of a reduction in the average daily dosage of prednisone of 39.5% with an increase in the FEV1 of 14.1%. In the long term MTX was not found as effective in reducing the dose of prednisone (15.2 mg) as on the FEV1 (an increase of 5.1% on the theoretical values). There was a favourable outcome for two patients who maintained the benefit after stopping the MTX. Seven out of ten patients presented with side effects of MTX, in three of whom the drug has to be stopped.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)