[Respiratory function impairment during treatment of chronic hepatitis C with peginterferon alfa2 and ribavirin. Two cases presentation]. / Zaburzenia czynnosci ukladu oddechowego podczas leczenia przewleklego zapalenia watroby typu C pegylowanym interferonem i rybawiryna. Prezentacja przypadków.

Pulmonary complications during standard therapy of chronic hepatitis C with pegylated interferon and ribavirin are rare but connected with wide spectrum of diseases from sarcoidosis to interstitial pneumonitis. The clinical course of that complications is often serious. In this paper, presentation of two patients with chronic hepatitis C with different anamnesis was shown. In the first case, without pulmonary burden, during therapy the features of pneumonitis were developed. In the second case, in patient with sarcoidosis, the antiviral therapy was carried out without important pulmonary aggravation. In reference to these observations and based on available literature, the pathogenetic mechanisms underlying pulmonary complications during this kind of therapy were discussed. Additionally, the scheme of pulmonary diagnostic proceeding in patients certified and then treated with peginterferon and ribawirin was proposed.

[Usefulness of induced sputum in the diagnostics of selected chronic inflammatory airway diseases]. / Przydatnosc badania plwociny indukowanej w diagnostyce niektórych przewleklych chorób zapalnych ukladu oddechowego.

INTRODUCTION: Usefulness of the cytological analysis in diagnostics some of chronic inflammatory diseases of the respiratory system was assessed on the basis of the normal values for the composition of sputum inflammatory cells among healthy inhabitants of Silesia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Examined: 96 healthy subjects (control group), 42 patients with bronchial asthma, 49 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 30 patients with chronic bronchitis (CB). Spirometry, before and 15 minutes after 200 micrograms of salbutamol, and sputum examination were performed in all participants. Airway responsiveness on metacholine was performed in people with no contraindication. RESULTS: In comparison to the control group, the percentage of eosinophils was significantly higher in all patients (p<0.00001). Median values were following: asthma patients--10.3%, COPD patients--1.5%, CB patients--1.6% and control subjects--0.3%. Important statistic differences (p<0.05%) have been observed in the average percentage of the neutrophils in induced sputum between healthy subjects and patients with asthma, COPD and CB. Respective median values were: 45.75%, 38.1%, 77.5% and 58.1%. The percentage of patients whose sputum eosinophils results were above the normal values (>2.8%) was as follows: 85% of the number of patients with bronchial asthma, 38% of patients with COPD, 20% of patients with CB and 6% of healthy subjects. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that cytological examination of induced sputum is a good adjunctive test in diagnostics of the chronic inflammatory diseases of the respiratory system. The percentage of eosinophils in induced sputum above 2.8% most probably confirms bronchial asthma diagnosis.