Subject(s)
Plasma Cell Granuloma, Pulmonary/diagnostic imaging , Adolescent , Female , Humans , RadiographyABSTRACT
From 1982 to 1993, four hundred and sixty transthoracic biopsies were performed to diagnose lung lesions. 258/460 examinations (56%) were made under fluoroscopic and 202/460 exams (44%) under CT guidance. All the instrumental examinations were made with fine cyto/histologic needles (21-22G); the pathologist was always present. Lesion features and biopsy modalities were analyzed statistically to assess which factors correlate with biopsy yield and complications. Sampling efficacy averaged 85%, specific cell typing was 96% and diagnostic accuracy was 97%. The radiologic features of the lesions (masses or inhomogeneous opacities) and their size, needle type (cyto/histologic needles), the number of punctures per biopsy and examination time were statistically influential factors on biopsy accuracy. Complications were observed in 31% of cases, 5% of them consisting of pneumothorax cases requiring surgical drainage. The factors bearing a statistical influence on complications were lesion site and size, lung parenchymal alterations, needle course depth, scissure plane crossing, the patient's position during biopsy and examination time. Finally, CT allowed smaller and deeper lesions to be studied than fluoroscopy, with the same diagnostic yield.
Subject(s)
Biopsy , Lung/pathology , Aged , Biopsy/adverse effects , Biopsy/methods , Evaluation Studies as Topic , Female , Fluoroscopy , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Statistics as Topic , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
The Swyer-James syndrome is an uncommon disease. The main finding is a hyperlucent lung with small hilar shadows on chest x-ray. This is due to a decrease in pulmonary artery size at its origin and in the number and size of pulmonary branches. Pulmonary angiography is the standard method for diagnosis. We report a case of a unilateral hyperlucent lung in which the diagnosis was suggested by an echocardiographic evaluation.
Subject(s)
Lung/diagnostic imaging , Pulmonary Artery/abnormalities , Adult , Echocardiography , Humans , Male , Pulmonary Artery/diagnostic imaging , Radiography , SyndromeABSTRACT
Most of the principal qualitative features of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation phenomenon can be explained by a simple but physically motivated theory. These features are the occurrence of sea-surface warmings in the eastern equatorial Pacific and the associated trade wind reversal; the aperiodicity of these events; the preferred onset time with respect to the seasonal cycle; and the much weaker events in the Atlantic and Indian oceans. The theory, in its simplest form, is a conceptual model for the interaction of just three variables, namely near-surface temperatures in the east and west equatorial ocean and a wind-driven current advecting the temperature field. For a large range of parameters, the model is naturally chaotic and aperiodically produces El Niño-like events. For a smaller basin, representing a smaller ocean, the events are proportionally less intense.
