[The candida antigen titer by CAND-TEC in patients with pulmonary disease].

In order to elucidate the background of candida infection in patients with pulmonary disease, we divided 100 patients into 2 groups according to their serum titer of CAND-TEC determined by latex agglutination test for candida antigen. Group C1 (83 patients) had CAND-TEC value less than 2:1, and Group C2 (17 patients) had CAND-TEC value greater than 4:1. There was a significantly higher incidence of respiratory failure, hypoalbuminemia, and fever unresponsive to antibiotics in Group C2 compared with Group C1. Regarding the sputum culture of candida, there were significantly more positive cases in Group C2 than in Group C1. Furthermore, Group C2 showed a significantly poorer prognosis than Group C1. Generally, the candida antigen titer correlated well with clinical findings and with the course of infection and treatment with antifungal drugs. These results suggest that administration of antifungal drugs may be indicated in patients with fever unresponsive to antibiotics when the candida antigen titer is greater than 4:1.

[A case of fulminant psittacosis showing Chlamydia in TBLB specimens].

A 55-year-old female was admitted to our hospital because of high fever, nonproductive cough and dyspnea. Initially she had been treated with cephem antibiotics by a local doctor. However, acute respiratory failure due to severe pneumonia developed. The partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood was 55.5 Torr. Her chest X-ray revealed wide-spread infiltrates with air bronchograms throughout the entire left lung, and pleural effusions were also present in the chest CT scan. Because the patient had a history of the contact with birds, we suspected psittacosis and administered Minocycline immediately. As a result, her clinical condition improved and the abnormal shadow on the chest X-ray film improved markedly in three days. Because the serum titer of a complement fixation test against Chlamydia rose to 1:512, we made the diagnosis of psittacosis. In addition, femoral muscle pain, and a high level of serum GOT, GPT, CK, Aldolase and Myoglobin indicated hepatitis and myositis. In the lung tissue specimens obtained by TBLB performed on the 10th hospital day, slight interstitial pneumonia and intracellular inclusion bodies were found by light microscopy and Chlamydial agents were found electron microscopically.

[A case report of large cell lung cancer detected in the course of antituberculous therapy after a giant bullectomy].

A case of a 60-year-old who male developed lung cancer after surgical resection of a emphysematous giant bulla. At first, he showed a emphysematous giant bulla associated with infected bulla in the right lung on the chest roentgenograph. After a giant bullectomy the resected specimen, suggested possible pulmonary tuberculosis. Thereafter, he was followed for one year with antituberculous therapy. Nevertheless, the chest roentgenograph taken one year after surgery, showed a new tumor density (1.5 x 2.0 cm) in the right lung. Due to the rapid growth of the lung tumor, right upper lobectomy was performed. The histological diagnosis was a large cell lung cancer (giant cell type). The postoperative staging of the tumor proved to be T2N0M0. He was treated with systemic chemotherapy of CDDP 120 mg, VDS 4.5 mg, and MMC 12 mg. Unfortunately, he died of cancer recurrence 5 months after lobectomy. Clinical evaluation of the emphysematous giant bulla associated with lung cancer was performed.

The role of lung innervation in the hemodynamic response to hypertonic sodium chloride solutions in hemorrhagic shock.

The role of pulmonary innervation in the genesis of hemodynamic responses to hypertonic salt solutions was assessed in an animal model of total lung denervation by total division of the pulmonary hilum followed by reimplantation of the organ. This was performed in 10 mongrel dogs (weighing 12 to 20 kg) randomly assigned to two groups: group I (five dogs) was comprised of animals with catheters placed in the pulmonary artery of the denervated lung; group II (five dogs) was comprised of animals with catheters placed in the pulmonary artery of the intact lung; a control group (group III) (five dogs) was submitted to a sham thoracotomy with catheters inserted in either pulmonary artery. On the seventh postoperative day the mean arterial pressure (MAP) was monitored and severe hemorrhagic shock (MAP = 40 mm Hg) was produced in all animals. After 30 minutes of shock the shed blood was discarded and 5% of the shed volume (+/- 2 ml/kg) was infused through the pulmonary catheter in the form of a hypertonic NaCl solution (2400 mosm/L). MAP continued to be measured for the 30 minutes following the infusion period. A significant rise of MAP was uniformly observed in animals of groups II and III. In group I low elevations of MAP were observed during the infusion period, followed by a return to shock levels on discontinuation of the infusion. The results suggest that selective lung denervation abolished the beneficial cardiovascular effects of hypertonic NaCl infusion during resuscitation from severe hemorrhagic shock without affecting the plasma osmolality pattern.