[Radiographic staging and bronchoalveolar lavage cell counts in sarcoidosis]

OBJECTIVE

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous inflammatory disease of unknown etiology that mainly affects the lungs and lymph nodes. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is known to be useful in diagnosis of the disease but its value as a prognostic marker is unclear. The aim of this study was to assess whether there is a characteristic pattern in BAL cell counts according to radiographic stage and determine whether BAL offers information on disease course.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The study included 34 patients with untreated sarcoidosis. Data were collected on the following variables: age, sex, smoking habit, treatment type, radiographic stage, respiratory function, serological parameters, and BAL cell counts. The patients were classified into 3 groups according to functional and radiographic change at 12-month follow-up.

RESULTS

No differences in age, sex, or smoking habit were found according to either radiographic stage or disease course. Although the proportion of lymphocytes in BAL fluid was higher in radiographic stage I than in stages II and III, the differences were not statistically significant. The differences in BAL cell counts between groups based on disease course were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS

No differences were found in the characteristics of BAL fluid according to radiographic stage. The differential cell count in BAL fluid does not appear to predict the course of sarcoidosis in the first 12 months.

[Drainage of loculated and/or multiloculated pleural effusions using a small caliber catheter and urokinase (pleuro-fibrinolysis)]

The main causes of pleural fluid drainage failure are known to be the formation of fibrin septa, increased viscosity in pleural fluid and inappropriate placement of chest tubes. Reports also tell us that such problems can be solved by using ultrasound as a guide for tube placement and by infusing intrapleural fibrinolytic agents to prevent the formation of septa and reduce the viscosity of pleural fluid. To assess our experience, the role and efficacy of administering intercavitary urokinase (UK) through a small caliber catheter (SCC) implanted with ultrasound guidance as part of the treatment for pleural effusions (PE) that are multiloculated and/or loculated. Fifty multiloculated and/or loculated PE were drained through a pig-tail type SCC between 8.2 and 10 F caliber inserted with ultrasound guidance. The criteria for prescribing the procedure were as follows: PE of any etiology with ultrasound confirmation of fibrin septa and/or multiloculation and absence of contraindication off UK administration. UK was given at a dose of 100,000 i.u. every two hours until disappearance of PE. Before and after treatment the levels of D-dimer were measured in order to monitor pleural fibrinolytic activity. The SCC was properly placed in all patients. UK administration was 366,000 i.u. and time the SCC were in place was 4.7 days. All PEs were initially drained completely. We examined the patients 30 days later, finding that PE had recurred in 2 (4%), resolution was complete and without sequelae in 8 (16%), nearly complete but with slight pleural thickening in 32 (64%) and partial with pleural opacities larger than 2 mm in 8 (16%). Use of SCC and UK (pleural fibrinolysis) is a moderately invasive procedure that is effective and well tolerated and that shortens drainage time, prevents sequelae and is relatively inexpensive for the treatment of PE with fibrin septation and/or multiloculation.

[Quality and selection of samples of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) in diffuse pneumopathies]

Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples used to study immune or inflammatory response in interstitial lung disease must be representative of the lower respiratory tract. Thus, the selection of suitable samples must be part of routine practice. To assess the incidence of unsuitable BAL samples used for cytology and to determine the relation between parameters related to underlying disease and the quality of samples. One hundred sixty-one patients were enrolled. Seventy-two were HIV positive and had diffuse pulmonary infiltrates, 34 had idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), 10 had sarcoidosis, 10 had hypersensitivity pneumonitis, 19 had interstitial lung disease and collagen diseases and 2 had pulmonary eosinophilia. Fourteen individuals formed the control group. The quality study was carried out by staining the BAL samples following a modified Wright-Giemsa technique and evaluating the samples by the selection criteria described by Chamberlain and colleagues (1987). We identified unsuitable samples from 53% of the HIV positive patients, from 35% of the IPF patients and from 21% of the interstitial lung disease patients with associated connective tissue disease. In the other groups, all samples were suitable for analysis. Intolerance of BAL with decreasing percentage of fluid recovered was significantly associated with sample quality, particularly in the IPF group. The cytology results that invalidated the samples differed by group. In all groups, unsuitable specimens had low cell counts. The finding or not of evidence of associated infection in HIV-infected patients, on the other hand, did not appear to determine sample quality in and of itself, although it did in samples related to other entities. We can predict that a high rate of unsuitable BAL samples will come mainly from patients with diffuse lung disease associated to HIV infection, IPF and interstitial lung disease with associated connective tissue disease. Tolerance to the technique influences quality of the specimen obtained and, therefore, should be taken into account in interpreting the findings of cytology. The criteria applied by the various teams using BAL should be unified, and it should be determined whether the exclusion of inappropriate samples affects the final composition of study groups.

[Correlation between sensitivity of the cytogenetic and cytological analysis and thoracoscopic findings in the study of malignant pleural effusions]

We studied 104 patients with pleural effusion. All underwent thoracoscopic exploration to allow direct examination of any pleural lesions present. At the same time pleural biopsies for histopathologic study and samples of pleural fluid for cytopathologic and cytogenetic study were taken. The volume of fluid in pleural cavity was also measured. The aims of the study were: a) to evaluate the sensitivity of cytogenetic analysis and cytopathology, both separately and together, and b) to look for a correlation between the sensitivity of these cell studies and the following thoracoscopic findings: tissue biopsy of pleural neoplasms, volume of pleural effusion and extension of neoplastic lesions in the pleural cavity. Seventeen of the pleural liquids studied were benign and 87 were neoplastic. Cytopathology was sensitive in 55% of the neoplastic cases and cytogenetic study was sensitive in 49%. Sensitivity rose to 74% when both techniques were applied. Cytogenetic study yielded a higher percentage of correct diagnoses in the group with hematologic neoplasia, whereas cytopathology was correct more often in cases of solid tumors, though these differences were not statistically significant. Use of both techniques resulted in correct diagnosis in 92% of patients with mesotheliomas. The number or correct diagnoses achieved with cytopathology tended to increase with size of macroscopic pleural lesion whereas cytogenetic study was more sensitive in patients with minimal or incipient pleural involvement. There were no statistically significant differences in sensitivity of cytopathology and cytogenetic analysis with regard to volume of pleural effusion.

[An intrathoracic meningocele in von Recklinghausen's disease. A case report]

Posterior mediastinal tumors in young people are most often neurogenic. The presence of a meningocele has occasionally been described as causing mass in the region and cases reported have mainly been in patients with neurofibromatosis. We describe a patient with type I neurofibromatosis and intrathoracic meningocele.

[Effectiveness of continuous positive airway pressure in the long-term treatment of the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome]

Eight patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome were treated with continuous positive airways pressure by nasal route. The treatment was carried out in the hospital during the initial days. If the procedure was effective and the tolerance was good, the patients were discharged to continue with treatment at home. Polygraphic sleep recordings carried out 2-4 months after the beginning of therapy showed normalization of the structure and the phases of sleep, apnea and desaturation being virtually absent. After a mean follow up of 18 months the patients are asymptomatic. The treatment has been well tolerated and significant side effects have not developed.