ABSTRACT
Extramedullary hematopoiesis is characterized by the presence of hematopoietic tissue outside of the bone marrow and is typically associated with chronic hemolytic anemias. Intrathoracic extramedullary hematopoiesis is a rare and usually asymptomatic condition. The authors report a case of a 57-year-old man with intrathoracic extramedullary hematopoiesis and hereditary spherocytosis. Clinical and laboratory evaluation, together with radiological findings, are described. The diagnosis of the disease was confirmed by tissue biopsy.
ABSTRACT
Hepatocellular carcinoma is a primary tumor of the liver, which usually develops in the setting of chronic liver disease, particularly viral hepatitis. The diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma can be difficult, and often requires the use of serum markers, one or more imaging modalities, and histological confirmation. The authors describe a case of a 26-year-old woman with hepatocellular carcinoma and multiple pulmonary metastases. She presented with hepatomegaly and sporadic fever, and had negative hepatitis serology, normal alkaline phosphatase, and a rising serum alpha-fetoprotein level. The diagnosis was confirmed by histopathology, after percutaneous liver biopsy. Although the patient was in good health condition and had few symptoms, there was no possibility of treatment due to the extension of the liver tumor and the number of pulmonary metastases.
ABSTRACT
Primary pulmonary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is a very rare neoplasm. It is most frequently represented by the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue type. We describe a case of a 67-year-old woman who presented with fatigue, mild dyspnea, and consolidation on chest radiograph. The diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was established by transbronchial biopsy, and chemotherapy was then started. The patient was treated with 6 cycles of chemotherapy. She had good response to therapy and no progression of the disease was observed during a 4-year follow-up period. The clinical, radiological and histopathological features are described. This entity has an indolent course, good response to therapy and favorable prognosis. However, despite being an incidental radiological finding in a third of cases, this disease remains highly underdiagnosed.
ABSTRACT
The authors describe a case of pulmonary nocardiosis in a 37-year-old man with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in treatment with antiretroviral drugs. Clinical symptoms were productive cough, hemoptysis and progressive weight loss. A chest x-ray showed a right upper lobe consolidation while the computed tomography demonstrated consolidation with air bronchogram and airspace nodules. The radiologic findings were unspecific. Consequently, a bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage was performed, revealing filamentous Gram-positive bacteria (Nocardia species). Treatment with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole resulted in complete remission of the respiratory symptoms.
