Specific approaches to pulmonary emphysema and its therapy

Diagnosis of primary or idiopathic spontaneous pneumothorax is one of exclusion, and in fact defines an entity that may have a difficult or impossible cause to be highlighted by current means, we consider it appropriate to study these etiopathogenic aspects. There is a definite association between alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and pulmonary emphysema and indirect spontaneous pneumothorax secondary to an emphysematous pulmonary lesion. Dose of alpha-1 antitrypsin is an immunoturbinimetric method for in vitro determination of alpha-1 antitrypsin in human serum and plasma. This product is calibrated to be used for the Daytona RX analyzer. The serum level of alpha-1-antitrypsin is not a determining factor in the postoperative evolution characterized by the interval until air loss disappears, but certainly exerts some influence, the exact level of which remains to be determined.

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The diagnosis of early pneumoconiosis in dust-exposed workers: comparison of chest radiography and computed tomography

Acta Radiologica ◽

10.1177/02841851211022501 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 028418512110225

Author(s):

Hideyuki Hayashi ◽

Kazuto Ashizawa ◽

Masashi Takahashi ◽

Katsuya Kato ◽

Hiroaki Arakawa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Computed Tomography ◽

Chest Radiography ◽

Pulmonary Emphysema ◽

Early Stage ◽

Pathological Changes ◽

Occupational History ◽

Exposed Workers ◽

History Of ◽

Ct Data ◽

Positive Results

Background Chest radiography (CR) is employed as the evaluation of pneumoconiosis; however, we sometimes encounter cases in which computed tomography (CT) is more effective in detecting subtle pathological changes or cases in which CR yields false-positive results. Purpose To compare CR to CT in the diagnosis of early-stage pneumoconiosis. Material and Methods CR and CT were performed for 132 workers with an occupational history of mining. We excluded 23 cases of arc-welder’s lung. Five readers who were experienced chest radiologists or pulmonologists independently graded the pulmonary small opacities on CR of the remaining 109 cases. We then excluded 37 cases in which the CT data were not sufficient for grading. CT images of the remaining 72 cases were graded by the five readers. We also assessed the degree of pulmonary emphysema in those cases. Results The grade of profusion on CR (CR score) of all five readers was identical in only 5 of 109 cases (4.6%). The CR score coincided with that on CT in 40 of 72 cases (56%). The CT score was higher than that on CR in 13 cases (18%). On the other hand, the CT score was lower than that on CR in 19 cases (26%). The incidence of pulmonary emphysema was significantly higher in patients whose CR score was higher than their CT score. Conclusion CT is more sensitive than CR in the evaluation of early-stage pneumoconiosis. In cases with emphysema, the CR score tends to be higher in comparison to that on CT.

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