Search

Context: Pneumothorax continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality among respiratory patients, but there is a paucity of data regarding etiology, clinical profile, management, and outcome of spontaneous pneumothorax (SP), from this part of the world. Aims: To assess the patients of spontaneous pneumothorax in adults with special reference to the etiology, clinical presentation, management, and outcome of SP. Settings and Design: Prospective, observational study conducted in a tertiary care institution over a period of one year. Materials and Methods: All adult patients of SP attending the department of pulmonary medicine in a tertiary hospital were studied and detailed clinical, radiological, and management data were recorded and analyzed. Results: Sixty consecutive patients, who satisfied the inclusion criteria were included in the study. Among them 10 had primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) and 50 had secondary spontaneous pneumothorax (SSP). The overall male to female ratio was 4:1. The mean age of the PSP patients was 26.3 ± 2.19 years, whereas, that of the SSP patients was 53.42 ± 2.07 years (P < 0.0001). Seventy percent of the patients were smokers. The most common clinical manifestation of PSP was chest pain (80%) in contrast to dyspnea in SSP (96%). The most common cause of SSP (42%) was found to be chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) followed by pulmonary tuberculosis (30%). The cases were managed with intercostal tube drainage (85%), simple aspiration (8.33%), and observation (6.67%). Full expansion of the lung was noted in 91.67% of the cases. Conclusion: Spontaneous pneumothorax was more common in men. SSP was far more common in this study, and the predominant underlying cause of SSP was COPD, which surpassed tuberculosis as the leading cause of SSP. This is in contrast to the results from previous studies done in our country. Intercostal tube drainage was the mainstay of treatment and the response was good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Over the past several decades, the use of drug therapy in COPD has expanded, and provides an optimistic picture. Methyixanthines are used freely in COPD. Of them, Theophylline is an age old bronchodilator and anti-infammatory agent while Acebrophylline is a newer one. Both are used as add on therapy in management of stable COPD patients on LAMA (long acting muscarinic antagonists like Tiotropium) in present day respiratory practice. This study was designed to compare the efficacy as well as tolerability/side-effects of these two drugs at recommended doses. Materials and Methods: An open randomized comparative longitudinal study was conducted on 40 moderate degree COPD patients over a period of one year. The patients were randomized into Group-1:receiving Acebrophylline 100mg twice daily and Group-2: receiving sustained release (SR) Theophylline 300mg once daily orally, in addition to 18μgm Tiotropium inhalation per day through metered dose inhaler. Spirometric variables, symptomatic benefit and adverse effects were recorded on three visits (day '0', '21' and '42'). All the data were analyzed by SPSS version 17. Results: A comparable clinical improvement of symptoms score and spirometric parameters with both the drugs has been observed (p-value>0.05). Amount of sputum, frequency of use of reliever medication and dyspnoea showed improvement with both the drugs but cardiovascular side effects are less with Acebrophylline. Conclusion: This study reaffirms the rationale of use of Methylxanthines as add on therapy with LAMA in COPD management and cardiac safety level with Acebrophylline was considerable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) has considerable effects on cardiac functions primarily affecting the pulmonary vasculature and then right ventricle along with left ventricle. One of the important causes of increased morbidity and mortality associated with COPD is cor pulmonale. Echocardiography provides a rapid, non-invasive method to evaluate cardiac changes. Our aim was to evaluate RVfunction in COPD as per guidelines of American Society of Echocardiography with an aim to find a simpler way of predicting cardiac morbidity. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional observational study was conducted on 17 COPD patients attending Respiratory Medicine outdoor of R. G. KAR Medical College, Kolkata, India, through history taking, clinical examination, PFT (PFT) and Echocardiography. Statistical analysis was done by using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version-17. Results: Fractional area change of RV (FAC-%) was positively correlated with Forced Expiratory Volume in One Second (FEV1) (r = 0.4879), FEV1/ Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) ratio (r = 0.5048) and Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) (r = 0.5361). There was strong negative correlation of Systolic Pulmonary Artery Pressure (SPAP) with FEV1/FVC ratio (r = -0.5553) and PEFR (r = - 0.4604). Right Index of Myocardial Performance (RIMP) of right ventricle was negatively correlated with FEV1/FVC ratio (r = - 0.598), PEFR (r = - 0.619), Forced Expiratory Flow (FEF) 25-75 (r = -0.515). Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) did not show any association with PFT parameters though it showed strong positive correlation with RV wall thickness. Conclusion: This study substantiates that FAC% and RIMP can be vital prognostic factors for RV function apart from SPAP, TAPSE to define RV dysfunction and predict morbidity in COPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Congenital abnormalities of lung are very rare entity, and very often under or misdiagnosed by physicians. The present case, a 12-year boy, who was initially diagnosed as unilateral massive pleural effusion with collapse of lung, and after thorough investigation, including CT scan of thorax, fiber-optic bronchoscopy, and echocardiography, a final diagnosis of unilateral lung hypoplasia was made. So if a teenager present with a unilateral opaque hemithorax in chest X-ray, this entity may be a differential diagnosis.