Article Abstract:
A 69-year-old man with breathing difficulties developed complications related to atheroembolism of the kidneys and lungs. Atheroembolism is caused by concentrated cholesterol plugs that block arteries and capillaries. Atheroembolism usually develops in older men, and is a difficult disease to diagnose and treat. During his hospital stay, the obese, long-time smoker with a history of high blood pressure required oxygen and subsequently developed progressive kidney failure. Kidney biopsy confirmed atheromatous emboli and marked fibrous infiltration in the arteries. One day after the kidney biopsy, the patient coughed up blood, prompting an open lung biopsy. This diagnostic procedure revealed emboli in the arteries and capillaries of the lungs. Bleeding extended into the gastrointestinal tract, causing the patient's death from respiratory failure and low blood pressure one week later.
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Article Abstract:
A 54-year-old woman was hospitalized because of a chronic cough, shortness of breath on exertion and an abnormal chest X-ray. Her symptoms began one year before admission and six months before admission she had been treated for pneumonia. A CT of her lungs revealed ground-glass opacities, which is characteristic of a lung disease called pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. A lung biopsy confirmed this diagnosis. Because her symptoms were relatively benign and stable, her doctors decided not to treat her. The cause of this disease is not known.
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Article Abstract:
A 74-year-old man was admitted to a hospital because of a chronic cough and shortness of breath. He had worked in occupations that may have exposed him to asbestos. CT scans and chest X-rays both revealed two masses in his lung and lung function studies showed a reduction in air flow. His physicians first suspected infection, but he did not respond to antibiotics. There were changes in his lung suggestive of mesothelioma but a lung biopsy revealed that he had an adenocarcinoma. He was treated with chemotherapy.
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