Bronchoscopy in some tertiary grade A hospitals in China: two years' development.

BACKGROUND: Although bronchoscopy has been widely performed in China, little has been known about its current state and development. In order to investigate the clinical application of bronchoscopy and make instructions for future education and development, the Chinese Society of Respiratory Diseases conducted postal surveys in both 2008 and 2010 in China. METHOD: Questionnaires were sent to 40 tertiary grade A hospitals in 2008 and 58 tertiary grade A hospitals in 2010 to investigate bronchoscopies performed in 2007 and 2009 respectively. RESULTS: Thirty (75%) hospitals returned the completed questionnaires in 2008 and forty-one (71%) hospitals in 2010. All the respondents possessed flexible bronchoscopes. Fifty percent of the respondents had less than five in 2007, while more than 50% of the respondents had 5-9 bronchoscopes in 2009. All the respondents performed a radiograph or CT scan before bronchoscopy. Percentage of general anesthesia and no pre-medication before bronchoscopy increased, while atropine usage decreased in 2009 compared to 2007. During bronchoscopy, pulse oximetry was the most widely used monitoring method. Most respondents used the nasal route to perform routine bronchoscopy. After the procedure, they used sinks to wash and glutaraldehyde to disinfect the bronchoscopes. The total number of flexible bronchoscopies performed during 2007 was 37 874 and the average was 1262. Whereas in 2009, the total number was 60 178 and the average was 1468. Diagnostic bronchoscopy was more widely used than therapeutic bronchoscopy. The mortality rate was 0.076‰ in 2007 and 0.032‰ in 2009. CONCLUSIONS: The two surveys, to some extent, reflected the current status and development of bronchoscopy in China. The results are worthy of future education and developing of new guidelines. Regular surveys and monitoring of bronchoscopies across China are needed.

Pulmonary metastases 12 years after a mastectomy for borderline phyllodes tumor.

Phyllodes tumor is a rare breast tumor. A 45-year-old woman who underwent left mastectomy 12 years ago was found to have infiltrates in both lungs in a health examination. Combining histological examinations of the lung and breast samples, the diagnosis of borderline phyllodes tumor metastases to the lung was made. It is the longest interval to our knowledge that the metastases occurred 12 years after primary phyllodes tumor.

[Amiodarone pneumonitis with Hypermastigote lung infection: a case report and review of the literatures].

OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical features of amiodarone pneumonitis with Hypermastigote lung infection. METHODS: Case report and review of the related literatures. The clinical symptoms, laboratory tests, radiographic patterns, diagnosis, and therapeutic management of amiodarone pneumonitis with Hypermastigote lung infection were described. RESULTS: A 58 year old male patient presented dyspnea after exertion. Pulmonary function showed decrease of the diffusing capacity, and CT showed interstitial changes and alveolar exudation. Foamy cells and Hypermastigotes were found in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. After cessation of amiodarone and the start of anti-parasite therapy, the symptoms relieved. CONCLUSIONS: Amiodarone pneumonitis with Hypermastigote lung infection is very rare. The infection may be due to decrease of local immunity caused by amiodarone pneumonitis.

[Application of SCID mouse-human leukemia model for leukemia research].

SCID mouse-human leukemia model is an important and useful tool for study on proliferation, differentiation and modulation of leukemic cells. In this article, the establishment of the model, advances in research and application in studies of pathogenesis, cell biology, clinical diagnosis, therapy and assessment of prognosis of leukemia patients are reviewed. The limitations of the model are also commented.