Hepatic hydrothorax: pathophysiology diagnosis and management.

Hepatic hydrothorax is defined as a significant pleural effusion (usually greater than 500 ml) in a cirrhotic patient, without an underlying pulmonary or cardiac disease. The diagnosis of hepatic hydrothorax should be suspected in a patient with established cirrhosis and portal hypertension, presenting with a unilateral pleural effusion, most commonly right-sided. In the vast majority of cases, patients with hepatic hydrothorax have end-stage liver disease. Therefore, they should be considered potential candidates for orthotopic liver transplantation. Until the performance of transplantation, other therapeutic modalities should be applied in order to relieve symptoms and prevent pulmonary complications.

Helicobacter pylori seroprevalence in patients with lung cancer.

AIM: To assess Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) seroprevalence in a cohort of Greek patients with lung cancer. METHODS: Seventy-two lung cancer patients (55 males and 17 females, aged 58.2+/-11.7 years) and 68, age and gender-matched, control subjects were enrolled. All subjects underwent an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay IgG serologic test for H pylori diagnosis. RESULTS: A correlation between age and H pylori IgG level was detected for both lung cancer patients (r = 0.42, P = 0.004) and controls (r = 0.44, P = 0.004). Seropositivity for H pylori did not differ significantly between patients with lung cancer and controls (61.1% vs 55.9%, P>0.05). Concerning the mean serum concentration of IgG antibodies against H pylori, no significant difference between the two groups was detected (32.6+/-19.1 vs 27.4+/-18.3 U/mL, P>0.05). CONCLUSION: No significant association between H pylori infection and lung cancer was found.