Bronchopneumonia

Eosinophilic bronchopneumopathy (EBP) is a disease characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of the lung and bronchial mucosa, as demonstrated by examination of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cytologic preparations or histologic examination of the bronchial mucosa. Although the precise cause of EBP is unknown, a hypersensitivity to aeroallergens is suspected. The diagnosis relies on typical history and clinical signs, demonstration of bronchopulmonary eosinophilia by cytology or histopathologic examination, and exclusion of known causes of lower airway eosinophilia. Most dogs display an excellent response to oral corticosteroid therapy; however, side effects of this treatment can be limiting. New therapeutic approaches are being studied, including the use of aerosol therapy, cyclosporine, or drugs interfering with T helper 2 immune response.

Most cases of autosomal recessive hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) are associated with over 50 mutations in the perforin gene. Some of these mutations have no clear functional association. Only homozygous patients display a full-blown syndrome, whereas no severe disease has been described in heterozygous carriers of these mutations despite the presence of functional and phenotypic alterations in cytotoxic cells. We study the family of a child who died from HLH at 6 months of age due to a Q481P mutation in the perforin gene. The study is particularly interesting because the patient's heterozygous father experienced severe community-acquired pneumonia that could be attributed to deficient in vitro NK cell activity despite normal perforin expression. This case report suggests that impaired NK cell activity in a heterozygote can result in poorer initial control of infections with severe clinical expression.

Introduction. Rapidly vanishing lung pseudotumor (phantom tumor) refers to the transient well-demarcated accumulation of pleural fluid in the interlobar pulmonary fissures. Most frequently their appearance is associated with congestive heart failure, but also other disorders like hypoalbuminemia, renal insufficiency or pleuritis. Its rapid disappearance in response to the treatment of the underlying disorder is a classical feature of this clinical entity. Case report. A 47-yearold woman, chronic smoker with symptoms of shortness of breath, orthopnea, chills, cough, weakness and the temperature of 39.2?C was admitted to our hospital. A posteroanterior chest X-ray revealed cardiomegaly with the cardiothoracic ratio of > 0.5, blunting of both costophrenic angles and an adjacent 6 x 5 cm well-defined, rounded opacity in the right interlobar fissure. Transthoracic 2-dimensional echocardiography demonstrated left ventricular hyperthrophy with a systolic ejection fraction of 25% and mod...

Bronchitis obliterans is a severe and extremely rare complication of respiratory tract infections in children and is characterized by massive atelectasis and collapse of the affected lung. Of the rare cases reported in the literature all surviving children underwent surgical resection of the collapsed lung. We report an infant with bronchitis obliterans that was treated conservatively. 5 years after the initial event, partial lung re-expansion was documented. This case therefore supports a conservative treatment whenever possible with pneumonectomy only as a last treatment option.