A 72-year-old woman with bronchospasm and pleural effusion after treatment of breast carcinoma

Article Abstract:

A 72-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital because of pleural effusion, an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the lungs; she also had loss of appetite and weight. A lump had been removed from her breast 4.5 years prior to admission, which had been diagnosed as infiltrating ductal carcinoma, cancer of the ducts of the glands of the breast. At that time, the tumor had spread to four out of 13 lymph nodes, but was not detectable in other organs. She had been treated with radiation and chemotherapy. The second day after her recent admission, she developed problems breathing. Medications did not help her and she was put on a respirator. The radiation treatment that she received for the breast cancer may have contributed to her lung problems, as radiation can cause thickening of the lining of the lung and the development of fibrous tissues which can obstruct the lungs. The patient also had emphysema and was a heavy smoker. Metastatic cancer cells, that is, cells which had migrated to other parts of the body, were found in the bronchi, the large air passages of the lung. The spreading of tumor cells to the bronchi is unusual, but recently the use of fiberoptic bronchoscopes, optical tubes that allow examination of the bronchi, metastasis has been discovered more often than in the past. The tumor probably spread from lymph nodes next to the lungs. The patient was diagnosed with carcinoma in the bronchi that spread from breast cancer, causing obstruction of the airways. The patient soon died, in the absence of further therapy to treat the spread of the tumor, according to the wishes of the patient and her family.

Metastasis, Cancer metastasis, Lung cancer, Carcinoma, Ductal, Ductal carcinoma

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A 10-month-old girl with fever, upper-lobe pneumonia, and a pleural effusion

Article Abstract:

A 10-month-old girl was admitted to a hospital with fever, a rash and peeling skin. She had been treated with antibiotics for roseola. A skin tuberculosis test was positive and a chest X-ray showed that she had pneumonia as well as fluid in her chest outside the lungs. Her peeling skin indicated a toxic reaction to a bacterial infection, such as toxic shock syndrome. A bronchoscopy revealed that she had tuberculosis. Her father was found to have active tuberculosis.

Diseases, Infants, Tuberculosis

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A 49-year-old woman with primary biliary cirrhosis, pulmonary opacities, and a pleural effusion

Article Abstract:

A 49-year-old woman was admitted to a hospital with shortness of breath on exertions and right-sided chest pain. She had a history of primary biliary cirrhosis, which affects the bile ducts in the liver. Chest X-rays revealed abnormalities and fluid build-up in the lungs. Lung disease is common in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, and a lung biopsy confirmed that she had a lung inflammation called lymphocytic interstitial pneumonitis.

Complications and side effects, Pulmonary fibrosis, Biliary cirrhosis

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