• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.400-406
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• 1995

Interstitial pneumonitis may be the presenting manifestation of polymyositis-dermatomyositis (PM-DM), or may occur later in the evolution of disease. The clinical picture is characterized by non-productive cough, dyspnea and hypoxemia. The chest radiograph demonstrates interstitial infiltrates with predilection for the lung bases, often with an alveolar pattern in addition. We experienced a case of polymyositis associated with diffuse alveolar damage(DAD) that was proven in open lung biopsy. The patient was a 52 year-old woman who was presented with 6 months' duration of generalized ache, edema on ankle and wrist, non-productive cough and mild dyspnea. She had typical symptoms and physical findings of interstitial pneuminitis, and elevated muscle enzyme levels in serum with characteristic histologic findings of myositis on muscle biopsy. She also had typical interstitial lung disease pattern on high resolution CT and restrictive pattern on pulmonary function tests. The findings of open lung biopsy was compatible with diffuse alveolar damage(DAD). She failed to respond to the therapeutic trials with corticosteroid and cyclophosphamide, and finally expired due to acute respiratory distress syndrome.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.850-853
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• 1994

Open lung biopsy was performed in thirty patients for the diagnosis and staging evaluation of interstitial lung disease during the period from January 1987 until December 1992. The age of the patients ranged from 14 to 71 years [mean 48 years], and the patients consisted of 14 males and 16 females. Preoperative FEV1`s were from 0.80 liter to 3.88 liters [mean 1.66]. Other non-invasive diagnostic studies such as PCNA, bronchoalveolar lavage, TBLB, and gallium scan were also done in addition to X-ray and high-resolution chest CT. Tweaty-eight were correctly diagnosed and 2 cases were not [diagnostic yield rate 93.3%]. Among the 28 cases,pathologic diagnosis influenced further treatment regimens and prognostic expectations in 23 cases [82.1%]. The diagnostic non-invasive studies other than open lung biopsy yielded a correct diagnosis without staging only in 5 cases. There was no mortality and only one complication, ARDS ; however, the patient recovered after 5 days ventilator support. Open lung biopsy, which is the gold standard for the diagnosis and staging evaluation of interstitial lung disease can be done safely and has value in clinical decision making. Also knowledge of the involvement of the lesion is important for proper selection of the biopsy site.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.903-906
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• 1991

Retrospective review of 26 patients undergoing open lung biopsy at the Yonsei University during 10 years period was conducted to evaluate open lung biopsy for DILD. From January 1980 to August 1990, open lung biopsy was performed in 26 patients through a limited thoracotomy incision[a limited anterior or a posterolateral thoracotomy]. Open lung biopsy was indicated for diffuse interstitial pulmonary diseases undiagnosed by indirect clinical and radiological diagnostic methods. The types of incision were limited anterior[11] and limited posterolateral[15]. Preoperative evaluation of the lung disease included sputum culture[26], sputum cytology [19], bronchoscopy[9] and TBLB[7]. In 23 patients the histologic appearances after open lung biopsy were sufficiently specific histologic pictures to confirm diagnosis. The results of the biopsies changed usual therapeutic plan in 17 patients among them. The complications were resp. insufficiency[3], pulmonary ed6ma[3], sepsis[2], and others[3] in 6 patients. Diagnosis from the open lung biopsy was included respiratory pneumonia[7], fibrosis[7], infection[5], malignancy[2], others[5]. 4 patients died of respiratory insufficiency. The causes of the other three death were not due to direct result of the biopsy itself. Open lung biopsy in the patient with a diffuse infiltrative lung disease is an one of the accurate diagnostic method and frequently leads to change of the therapeutic plans. So we conclude that open lung biopsy remains our diagnostic method of choice in diffuse infiltrative lung disease undetermined etiology.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.83 no.4
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• pp.312-320
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• 2020

Background: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) involves multiple organ systems and has the highest mortality among connective tissue diseases. Interstitial lung disease is the most common cause of death among SSc patients and requires closer studies and follow-ups. This study aimed to identify lung function changes and predictors of progressive disease in systemic sclerosis-related interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD). Methods: A retrospective study extracted SSc patients from an electronic database January 2002-July 2019. Eligible cases were SSc patients >age 15 diagnosed with SSc-ILD. Factors associated with progressive disease were analyzed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results: Seventy-eight SSc-ILD cases were enrolled. Sixty-five patients (83.3%) were female, with mean age of 44.7±14.4, and 50 (64.1%) were diffuse type SSc-ILD. Most SSc-ILD patients had crackles (75.6%) and dyspnea on exertion (71.8%), and 19.2% of the SSc-ILD patients had no abnormal respiratory symptoms but had abnormal chest radiographic findings. The most common diagnosis of SSc-ILD patients was non-specific interstitial pneumonia (43.6%). The lung function values of diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO) and DLCO per unit alveolar volume declined in progressive SSc-ILD during a 12-month follow-up. Male and no previous aspirin treatment were the two significant predictive factors of progressive SSc-ILD with adjusted odds ratios of 5.72 and 4.99, respectively. Conclusion: This present study showed that short-term lung function had declined during the 12-month follow-up in progressive SSc-ILD. The predictive factors in progressive SSc-ILD were male sex and no previous aspirin treatment. Close follow-up of the pulmonary function tests is necessary for early detection of progressive disease.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.716-728
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• 1997

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.30 no.12
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• pp.1232-1236
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• 1997

Diffuse lung disease is amenable to diagnosis by means of clinical evaluation, bronchoalveolar lavage, transbronchial biopsy, and lung biopsy. The recently introduced technique of thoracoscopic wedge biopsy provides the potential advantages of greater selection of biopsy sites and reduced postoperative pain compared with those associated with standard open lung biopsy. Video assisted thoracoscopic lung biopsy was performed in 22 patients for the diagnosis of diffuse lung disease during the period from August 1994 to December 1996, and the following results were obtained: 1. The patients were 14 men and 8 women. The average age was 54.6 years. 2. 13 lung biopsy specimens were obtained from the right lower lobe, 4 from he right upper lobe, 3 from the right middle lobe, 3 from the left upper lobe, and 3 from the left lower lobe. 3. A comparison of pulmonary function tests between preoperative and postoperative values showed no significant differences in FVC, FEVI, and FEVl/FVC(p>0.05). All patients were pathologically diagnosed and the most common disease was usual interstitial pneumonia(8/22). In conclusion, thoracoscopic lung biopsy was a safe and effective diagnostic method of diffuse lung disease.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1014-1018
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• 1995

To confirm diagnosis and to set proper therapeutic strategy, open lung biopsies were done in 57 patients who were suspected for diffuse interstitial lung disease from January 1985 to December 1994. Among them, 35 were male and 22 were female[M:F=l.6: 1 and mean age of the patients is 53.5$\pm$ 2.3[24-81 years. Tissue for histologic studies were obtained from left lung in 33, from right lung in 24according to the distributions of the pathology. Preoperative diagnostic work-up`s were chest X-ray, CT[HRCT scan, sputum study, bronchoscopy[BAL, TBLB and PTNA and all of them were unsuccessful to confirm diagnosis. In comparison of pulmonary function tests between preoperative and postoperative values, there were no significant differences in FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC[p 0.05 but in AaDO2[p[0.05 . Postoperative complications including atelectasis, wound infection, pulmonary edema and respiratory insnfficiency, were shown in 5 cases[8.8% , and two of them were died of respiratory failure and sepsis[mortality rate 3.5% . Pathologic diagnosis was confirmed in 53 cases postoperatively but it was undetermined in 4[diagnostic yield rate 93.0% . In comparison between preoperative clinical diagnosis and postoperative pathologic diagnosis, new diagnosis were made in 17 cases[29.8% and preoperative tentative diagnosis were confirmed histologically in 36 cases[63.2% . In 4 cases[7.0% , however, diagnoses were not confirmed after biopsies. Therapeutic plans were reset in 46 cases[80.7% in accordance with the final diagnosis.In conclusion, open lung biopsy is recommended for a specific diagnosis and proper therapeutic plan in diffuse interstitial lung diseases because of its high diagnostic yield Irate and it`s relatively low morbidity and mortality rate in these tompromised patents.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.70 no.1
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• pp.43-50
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• 2011

Background: Open lung biopsy is used for diagnosis of diffuse infiltrative lung diseases (DILD), but it is invasive and relatively expensive procedure. Fluoroscopy-guided cutting needle lung biopsy (FCNLB) has merits of avoidance of admission and rapid diagnosis. But diagnostic accuracy and safety were not well known in the diagnosis of DILD. Methods: We included 52 patients (37 men, 15 women) having DILD on HRCT with dyspnea, except the patients who could be confidently diagnosed with clinical and HRCT findings. FCNLB was performed using 16G Ace cut needle (length 1.5 cm, diameter 2 mm) at the area of most active lesion on HRCT. Final diagnoses were made by the consensus. Results: The mean interval between the HRCT and FCNLB was 4.5 days. Most cases were performed one biopsy during 5~10 minutes. Specific diagnosis was obtained in 43 of 52 biopsies (83%). The most common diagnosis was nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (11 cases) and followed by cryptogenic organizing pneumonia (7 cases), diffuse alveolar hemorrhage and usual interstitial pneumonia (5 cases in each), hypersensitivity pneumonitis (3 cases), tuberculosis and drug induced interstitial pneumonitis (2 cases in each), the others are in one respectively. Mild complication was developed in 9 patients (8 pneumothorax, 1 hemoptysis). Most of complications were regressed without treatment except one case with chest tube insertion for pneumothorax. Conclusion: Fluoroscopy-guided 16 G cutting needle lung biopsy was an useful method for the diagnosis of DILD.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.55-61
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• 1992

Background: The lung is the most common site of metastasis and usually it manifests as a single or multiple nodules in chest X-ray. But less commonly the cancer spreads through the lymphatics and X-ray shows diffuse reticulonodular densities. Sometimes, patient is presented with respiratory symptoms only with interstitial lung infiltration before the signs of primary tumor and in that cases, the differential diagnosis with other interstitial lung disease is required. We have experienced 5 such cases, who were diagnosed as lymphangitic carcinomatosis by transbronchial lung biopsy. Methods: Clinical manifestation, pulmonary function test, modified thin section CT, bronchoalveolar lavage and transbronchial lung biopsy were done. Results: The primary tumor was gastric cancer in 3, lung cancer in 2. Pulmonary function test showed restrictive pattern with low DLco in 2 patients and obstructive pattern in one. Bronchoalveolar lavage showed lymphocytosis in 4 patients and malignant cells were found in one patient. Transbronchial lung biopsy revealed malignant cells localized to the lymphatics (peribronchial, perivascular and perialveolar). Cell type was adenocarcinoma in 4 and squamous cell carcinoma in one. Conclusion: Rarely lymphangitic carcinomatosis can be presented as diffuse interstitial lung disease and easily diagnosed by transbronchial lung biopsy.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.74 no.1
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• pp.32-36
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• 2013

A 43-year-old woman with breast cancer who was on neoadjuvant chemotherapy presented with cough, sputum and mild fever. High-resolution computed tomography showed diffuse ground glass opacities in bilateral lungs and subpleural patchy consolidations. Initially, she was thought to have pneumonia or interstitial lung diseases such as drug-induced pneumonitis and treated with antibiotics and steroids. She subsequently got breast cancer surgery because of disease progression, and concurrent thoracoscopic lung biopsy revealed metastatic carcinoma of the lung from breast cancer. The diagnosis of suspected interstitial lung disease can be made without lung biopsy, but malignancy should always be considered and lung biopsy should be performed in the absence of a definitive clinical diagnosis.