ABSTRACT
A case of generalized Pneumocystis carinii infection presented as hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy and was complicated by spontaneous pneumothorax. Extrapulmonary P carinii infection in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is rare, and pneumothorax is even rarer. The purpose of this report is to call attention to these atypical features of P carinii infection in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
Subject(s)
AIDS-Related Complex/etiology , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/complications , Pneumonia, Pneumocystis/etiology , Pneumothorax/etiology , AIDS-Related Complex/diagnostic imaging , AIDS-Related Complex/pathology , Adult , Humans , Male , Pneumonia, Pneumocystis/diagnostic imaging , Pneumonia, Pneumocystis/pathology , Pneumothorax/diagnostic imaging , RadiographyABSTRACT
Preoperative radiation therapy is one of the major indications for the use of ionizing radiation in the treatment of malignant disease. The preoperative application of radiation treatment is given with the intention of reducing the size of bulky cancers, thus converting unresectable tumors into resectable ones. Other benefits are reduction in the risk of locoregional recurrence and in the risk of blood-borne dissemination of malignant cells promoted during surgical resection.This paper presents and discusses three cases of unresectable intrapelvic tumors initially treated by radiation therapy with the primary goal of palliation. These three cases included rectal, cecal, and uterine carcinoma. In each case, a preoperative radiation dose of 4500 to 5000 cGy was delivered. Evaluations during and after the completion of the radiation treatments revealed that the tumor responded remarkably well to the treatment, which encouraged the surgical intervention; at surgery, minimal tumor was found. These three patients are alive to date without apparent evidence of disease.
Subject(s)
Neoplasms/therapy , Aged , Cecal Neoplasms/therapy , Combined Modality Therapy , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Neoplasms/surgery , Rectal Neoplasms/therapy , Uterine Neoplasms/therapyABSTRACT
Ultrasonography and computed tomography were used to determine hepatic volume in vivo. The data obtained were compared with the weight and volume of the same livers after surgical removal at the time of orthotopic hepatic transplantation. The relationship between hepatic weight and volume was found to be linear over a 16-fold range of weights and a 19-fold range of volumes. The sonographic results more closely paralleled the results obtained directly. These data demonstrate that both methods can determine, within acceptable limits, hepatic volume or weight. The sonographic technique, however, is more accurate than the computed tomography scan method as it allows the use of sagittal scanning of the liver, which is superior to the transverse scanning technique required by the computed tomography scanner. In addition, these results demonstrate that these methods might be applied in the future for better matching of donors and recipients of orthotopic liver transplants.