• International Journal of Vascular Biomedical Engineering
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.27-30
• /
• 2006

Background; Pleural micro-metastasis of lung cancer is detected by touch print cytology or pleural lavage cytology, but its prognostic impact has not elucidated yet. We hypothesize that recurrence may depend on the amount of tumor cells disseminated in pleural cavity, if the invasiveness of all cancer is the same. To predict the amount of tumor cells disseminated in pleural cavity, we need pleural surface area, distributed pattern of cells and concentration of cells per unit area. Human pleural surface area has not reported yet. In this report, we calculate the normal human pleural surface area using CT image data processing. Methods; Twenty persons were checked CT scan, and we obtained the data from each image. In order to calculate the pleural surface, the outline of lung was firstly extruded from CT image data using home-made Digitizer program. And the distance between CT images was calculated from the extruded outline. Finally a normal human pleural surface was calculated from function between the distance of consecutive CT images and the calculated length. Results; Their mean age is $65{\pm}12$ years old (range $26{\sim}77$), body weight is $62{\pm}9\;kg\;(48{\sim}80)$, and height is $167{\pm}6\;cm\;(156{\sim}176)$. The number of images used is $36{\pm}7\;(24{\sim}51)$. Pleural surface area is $211,888{\pm}35,756\;mm^2\;(143,880{\sim}279,576)$. Right-side pleural surface area is $107,932\;mm^2$ and Lt is $103,955\;mm^2$. Costal, mediastinal and diaphragmatic surfaces of right-side pleura are $77,483\;mm^2,\;39,057\;mm^2,\;and\;8,608\;mm^2$ respectively, and left-side are $72,497\;mm^2,\;35,578\;mm^2,\;and\;4,120\;mm^2$ respectively. Conclusion; Normal human pleural surface area is calculated using CT image data at first and the result is about $0.212\;m^2$.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.62 no.6
• /
• pp.499-505
• /
• 2007

Background: Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1 protein (TREM-1) is a cell surface molecule expressed on neutrophils and monocytes, and it plays an important role in myeloid cell-activated inflammatory response. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic efficiency of soluble (s) TREM-1 in the patients who had pleural effusion from various causes. Methods: Forty-five patients with exudative pleural effusion were included in this study. The level of sTREM-1 was measured in both the serum and pleural fluids by immunoblot assay with using human-sTREM-1 antibody. Results: The pleural fluid sTREM-1 was significantly different in the three groups of exudative pleural effusion (p=0.011). Particularly, the patients with parapneumonic effusion were found to have significantly higher pleural fluid levels of sTREM-1 than patients with tuberculous (p<0.05) and malignant effusion, respectively (p<0.05). However, the serum sTREM-1 did not show a significant difference in the three groups. In order to evaluate the diagnostic utility of pleural fluid sTREM-1, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed and the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.818 (p=0.001). Using a cutoff value of 103.5 pg/mL for the pleural fluid sTREM-1, the sensitivity and specificity were 73% and 81%, respectively, for differentiating parapneumonic effusion from tuberculous or malignant effusions. Conclusion: Pleural fluid sTREM-1 can be an additional marker for making the differential diagnosis of pleural effusion.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
• /
• v.38 no.3
• /
• pp.199-203
• /
• 2015

An 8-year old intact female poodle was presented to clinics due to abdominal distension, anorexia, and labored breath associated with pleural effusion. Intra-operative findings revealed multiple neoplasm of the greater omentum, involving anterolateral abdominal wall, sterna surface in the pleural cavity and diaphragm. These masses were 0.1~0.5 cm in diameter and extended to ovaries, pancreas, and serosal surface of stomach. Microscopically, most neoplastic cells had oval nuclei with prominent nucleoli and abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm. In deeper area, neoplastic acinus or glandular structures showed invaginated growth resembling adenocarcinoma. High mitotic figures were observed. By immunohistochemistry, the neoplastic cells were strong positive both cytokeratin and vimentin. The present case described for malignant mesothelioma in a dog. Our findings might be helpful for diagnosis and information and helped the clinics choose the treatment including chemotherapy such as cisplatin.