Search results for "Effusion"

Utility of serum procalcitonin and C-reactive protein in severity assessment of community-acquired pneumonia in children

2015

OBJECTIVES: Although the importance of serum Procalcitonin (PCT) levels at diagnosis is well established in adult Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP), its use remains controversial in pediatric CAP. The aim of our study is to investigate the role of PCT and C-Reactive Protein (CRP) in the assessment of pediatric CAP severity defined by the extent of consolidation on chest X-rays and the presence of pleural effusion. In this particular setting, no clinical severity score is available at present and chest X-ray, although important for diagnosis confirmation, is not recommended as routine test. DESIGN AND METHODS: The study involved 119 children admitted to the Department of Pediatric Infectiou…

Altered CD94/NKG2A and perforin expression reduce the cytotoxic activity in malignant pleural effusions.

2010

CD94/NKG2A is an inhibitory receptor expressed by NK cells and cytotoxic lymphocytes and, upon activation by HLA-E, downregulates the cytolytic activities of these cells thus representing a tumour immune escape mechanism. This study was aimed at assessing whether cytotoxic lymphocytes (CD8+) and NK cells from malignant pleural effusions have a deregulated expression of CD94/NKG2A. The expression of membrane CD94/NKG2A and perforin was evaluated by flow-cytometry in CD8+ and NK cells from pleural effusions and autologous peripheral blood of cancer (n=19) and congestive heart failure (CHF) (n=11) patients. Intracellular CD94/NKG2A expression was evaluated by flow-cytometry in pleural effusion…

Membrane vesicles shed into the extracellular medium by human breast carcinoma cells carry tumor-associated surface antigens.

1995

We have compared the pattern of surface antigen expression, as detected by monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), in plasma membranes vs shed membrane vesicles of two human breast carcinoma cell lines, MCF-7 and 8701-BC. Antigen expression was detected on cells by immunofluorescence (IF) analysis, whilst, due to their small dimensions, the same technique was not applicable to vesicles. For these structures dot-blot analysis and immunoelectron microscopy (IEM) were employed. When applicable, both cell membranes and membrane vesicles were immunoprecipitated and the precipitate (IP) was analyzed by SDS-PAGE. Cells of both lines expressed HLA class I antigens, epithelial cytokeratins, β1 integrins, CEA …

Advanced epithelioid haemangioendotelioma: Fever, pain, and pleural effusion predict a worse outcome.

2019

e22540 Background: Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is an exceedingly rare soft tissue sarcoma subtype. EHE often presents as a multifocal/ multivisceral disease and its clinical behavior is highly unpredictable from indolent to very aggressive forms. A common choice in advanced patients is a close, active surveillance (AS), considering a treatment only in case of disease progression. Our retrospective study aimed to identify clinical features associated with a more aggressive behavior. Methods: Patients affected by advanced EHE treated in 6 centers of the Italian Rare Cancer Network were retrospectively reviewed. Diagnosis was confirmed by a sarcoma expert pathologist and molecular …

Immune checkpoint inhibitors-associated pericardial disease: a systematic review of case reports

2021

Treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can be complicated by cardiovascular toxicity, including pericardial disease. To date, no prospective studies specifically investigated the optimal treatment of ICI-associated pericardial disease, and the available evidence is based on case reports and series only. We performed a systematic review of case reports and series including 20 publications for a total of 28 cases of ICI-associated pericardial disease. In this review, pericardial disease was reversible in the majority of cases (75%), although 2 deaths were reported. The majority of cases were life-threatening (G4, 53.6%) or severe (G3, 21.4%), requiring pericardiocentesis. Higher r…

Fulminantes Lungenödembei Malaria tropica

2003

HISTORY AND ADMISSION FINDINGS A 54-year-old man was admitted because of intermittent fever for 2 days. Ten days earlier he had returned from Kenya. He had not taken any antimalarial drugs prophylactically. INVESTIGATIONS Initial blood smears showed Plasmodium falciparum in 10.4% of erythrocytes. Laboratory tests indicated hyponatremia and disseminated intravascular coagulation. Also, laboratory markers of infection and hemolysis were clearly positive and accompanied by a low-grade normocyticanaemia. Chest radiograph showed the heart size to be at the upper limit of normal and no signs of congestion, pleural effusion or inflammatory infiltrates. Sonography demonstrated hepatosplenomegaly wi…

Rickettsiosis with Pleural Effusion: A Systematic Review with a Focus on Rickettsiosis in Italy

2022

Background: Motivated by a case finding of Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF) associated with atypical pneumonia and pleural effusion in which Rickettsia conorii subsp. israelensis was identified by molecular methods in the pleural fluid, we wanted to summarize the clinical presentations of rickettsiosis in Italy by systematic research and to make a systematic review of all the global cases of rickettsiosis associated with pleural effusion. Methods: For the literature search, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology was followed. We chose to select only the studies published in last 25 years and confirmed both with serological and molecular …

Prognostic implications of pericardial effusion: The importance of underlying etiology

2015

Failed Total Hip Arthroplasty: Diagnostic Performance of Conventional MRI Features and Locoregional Lymphadenopathy to Identify Infected Implants.

2020

Background Very little has been published about the diagnostic performance of MRI in total hip arthroplasty (THA) infection. Purpose To determine the diagnostic performance of conventional MRI features and of new lymph nodal indices to identify infection in patients with failed THA. Study type Retrospective. Population In all, 119 patients (66 females; age 66.9 ± 12.4 years) with failed THA. Field strength/sequences Metal artifact reduction sequence (MARS) protocol including short tau inversion recovery and turbo spin-echo T1 - and T2 -weighted sequences at 1.5T. Assessment Patients underwent pelvis MRI prior to failed THA revision. MRIs were reviewed to identify periprosthetic bone destruc…

Einsatzmöglichkeiten der MR-Arthrographie bei Erkrankungen des Schultergelenkes

1994

In a prospective study possible indications for MR arthrography of the shoulder were evaluated. 37 patients were examined before and after intraarticular administration of a 2-mmolar solution of Gd-DTPA. MR arthrography was performed if there was no joint effusion and/or an uncertain finding concerning the rotator cuff or the capsulolabral complex on plain MR images. MR arthrography leads to a better demonstration of labrum pathology in 11/22 patients and to a superior delineation of the capsuloligamentous apparatus in 20/22 cases. In 9/15 patients with impingement lesions MR arthrography allowed a differentiation of severe tendinitis from partial and small full-thickness tears of the rotat…