• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.153-157
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• 1993

Background: Patients with pyogenic lung abscess who do not respond to medical therapy are usually candidates for thoracotomy with pulmonary resection. Percutaneous tube drainage, used routinely and with good results before the antibiotic era, has nearly been forgotten. Methods: We treated 8 patients who had poor cadidates for a lobectomy and didn't respond to medical management. A pig-tail catheter (6 to 10 Fr.) was inserted into the abscess under the fluoroscopic guidance. Results: All patients brought about dramatic clinical responses with prompt closure of cavity and radiographic improvement. Conclusion: Percutaneous pig-tail catheter drainage provides excellent clnical results with ease and safety, and avoids unnecessary loss of functioning lung parenchyma. But lobectomy should be considered in patients who major life-threatening bleeding or massive pulmonary necrosis.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.73-76
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• 2002

Adenoid cystic carcinoma is a very slowly growing and directly invasive cancer. The treatment of choice is complete surgical resection but if major complications associated with remaining carcinoma occur, aggressive conservative treatment to prevent complication is able to gain long term survival even though remaining carcinoma metastases to other organs. We experienced a case of surgical treatment of uncontrollable fever that caused by multiple lung abscesses due to obstruction of left main bronchus with adenoid cystic carcinoma. The post operative course was uneventful for 4 months to now.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.120-126
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• 1994

Background : Antibiotic therapy has proven an effective method of treatment on the majority of patients with pyogenic lung abscess and infected bulla. When medical therapy has failed, pulmonary resection is the current generally recommended therapy. But nowdays complications of percutaneous tube drainage has decreased with the use of small catheter. So we evaluated the effect of percutaneous tube drainage as an alternative therapy to the pyogenic lung abscess and infected bulla refractory to medical therapy in preference ot the pulmonary resection. Method : Nine cases of the lung abscess and three cases of infected bulla which has large cavity size over 6cm, and has underlying diseases such as lung cancer, diabetes mellitus, refractory to over 1 week of antibiotics, were performed percutaneous tube drainage with All Purpose Drainage catheter(Medi-tech, Watertown, USA) under fluoroscopy. Results : All the cases except one case which complicated empyema was improved clinically. Fever was down within 4days of percutaneous tube drainage(mean : 1.9days). Mean duration of tube drainage was 9.9days. Conclusion : Percutaneous tube drainage is an effective and relatively safe procedure in the management of lung abscesses that do not response to medical therapy. We speculate this procedure should be considered as an alternative therapy for the lung abscess refractory to medical therapy in preference to the surgery. The safety and effectiveness of this procedure in infected bulla should be evaluated with an additional study.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.158-164
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• 1993

Background: Recently, lung abscess tends to be increased in patients with underlying disease, most of whom are unsuitable for surgery when medical treatment fails. The patients with giant lung abscesses do not frequently respond to antibiotics and often have life-threatening complications. Therefore, more intensive cares are required in these patients. We studied the results and effects of percutaneous catheter drainage in these patients. Method: We performed fluoroscopy-guided percutaneous pigtail catheter (8.3 F) drainage by Seldinger technique in 9 cases of lung abscess (in 7 cases, intractable to medical treatment for an average of 8.4 days and in 2 cases, catheter drainage immediately performed due to a large cavity that was initially 10 cm in diameter). We compared 10 cases of lung abscess as control group which had receieved conventional medical treatment alone. Results: Seven of the 9 patients in study group of percutaneous drainage and 7 of the 10 patients in control group of medical treatment alone clinically improved in the average of 1.8 and 8.7 days, respectively. The mean duration of drainage was 13.2 days. There were 3 cases of death from massive hemoptysis, asphyxia of pus, and sepsis in control group, as compared with 2 cases of death from hepatic encephalopathy and sepsis in study group. The malfunctions of catheter occurred in these 2 cases, obstruction and dislodgement. But there were no significant pleuropulmonary complications of percutaneous drainage. Conclusion: Percutaneous drainage is effective and relatively safe in the management of lung abscesses refractory to medical therapy or giant lung abscesses.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.66 no.5
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• pp.390-395
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• 2009

Among the bronchogenic carcinomas, especially squamous cell carcinoma and large cell carcinoma frequently present with cavitation, which may result from tumor necrosis. Cavitary lesions of the tumor are occasionally associated with infection and misdiagnosed as benign lung abscess owing to the partial responsiveness to antibiotics. It is very difficult to distinguish the carcinomatous abscess from the benign lung abscess, because of their similar clinical and radiologic features. Delay in diagnosis of underlying lung cancer may result in poor outcome. Therefore, clinicians should remember that the patients with highly suspicious carcinoma of the lung should undergo further precise examinations to find out malignant cells.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.89-92
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• 2007

Burkholderia cepacia is a Gram-negative aerobic bacillus known to cause opportunistic infections in the immune-compromised hosts. This microorganism is strongly virulent and causes a necrotising invasive infection that may lead to death. As B. cepacia is highly resistant to various antimicrobials, combination antimicrobial therapy must be used instead of monotherapy. We report a successful treatment of lung abscess that was naturally caused by B. cepacia in a healthy child, through combination antimicrobial therapy of meropenem and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and operative management.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.574-577
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• 2001

A 54-year-old homosexual man was diagnosed as human immunodeficiency virus-1-positive in 1992. He was admitted to a tertiary hospital in March, 2000 because of right flank pain, fever and intermittent cough. A chest roentgenogram showed right-sided pleural effusion, and closed thoracostomy was performed for drainage Salmonella species and Escherichia coli were isolated from the pleural fluid. In spite of 6 weeks of antibiotic treatment, fever did not subside and the general condition gradually deteriorated, and under the diagnosis of lung abscess with empyema thoracis, right pleuropneumonectomy was performed. The general condition improved postoperatively until day 10 when he showed sudden change in mental status to stuporous and developed focal seizure. Brain CT showed multiple abscesses in right frontal and left frontotemporal lobes and he expired on postoperative day 14.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1040-1044
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• 1996

A case with a bronchial foreign body(wood) which had an uncommon way of entry through a wound In the chest wall was described. A 41-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of chronic cough and profuse purulent sputum. He had been injured by a fragment of wood which penetrated his anterolateral chest wall at 30 years ago. A chest x-ray film reavealed a calcific foreign body, measuring 3.0 by 1.0 cm, in the posterobasal segment of the left lung. Computed nomograp y of the chest demonstrated a calcific foreign body with bronchiectatic change near the diaphragmatic pleura In the left lower lobe. Left lower lobectomy was performed, and the patient remains well without any thoracic symptoms after the operation.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.110-114
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• 1995

Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy(HOA) is a systemic disorder primary affecting the bones, joints, and soft tissues and characterized by several(or all) of the followings ; 1) Clubbing of digits, 2) Persistent new bone formation particulary involving long bones of the distal extremites, 3) Symmetric arthritis-like changes in the joints and periarticular tissue, most commonly the ankles, knees, wrist, and elbows, 4) Increased thickness of the subcutaneous soft tissues in the distal one-third of the arms and legs, and 5) Neurovascular changes of the hands and feet, including chronic erythema, paresthesis, and increase sweating. Most of cases of HOA are secondary to intrathoracic neoplasms, while the remaining few cases are secondary to other disease in the chest or elsewhere. We experienced a case of HOA in association with lung abscess in 26-yr-old male and reported with a review of literatures.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.57 no.6
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• pp.579-583
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• 2004

Actinomycosis is an indolent infectious disease characterized by pyogenic response and necrosis, followed by intense fibrosis. The main forms of human actinomycosis are cervicofacial, pulmonary, and abdominopelvic type. Pulmonary actinomycosis accounts for 15% to 20% of total cases and unfortunately, clinical manifestations and radiologic findings are nonspecific. Small pleural effusion or empyema may develop in advanced disease but massive empyema is infrequent and rarely reported. We report a case of huge empyema caused by pulmonary actinomycosis in a 55 year-old man, presented with one-month history of productive cough and fever. The CT scan revealed a huge cavity with air-fluid level occupying the left hemithorax. Empyema caused by actinomycosis was confirmed microscopically by demonstration of sulfur granules in empyema sac through thracotomy. Decortication and surgical resection of empyema sac and destructed lung was accomplished and followed by intravenous infusion of penicillin G.