Heterotopic ossification (HO), deposition of para-articular ectopic bone, is associated with musculoskeletal trauma and certain congenital and metabolic disorders. Additionally, HO may follow paralysis from diverse traumatic and nontraumatic neurologic insults. We describe three cases of HO associated with catastrophic nontraumatic respiratory illness requiring prolonged chemical paralysis and cardiorespiratory support.

Late occurrence of radiation-induced pulmonary pneumonitis and fibrosis is well documented. We report an unusual case of radiation induced veno-occlusive disease (VOD) occurring six years following mantle irradiation for Hodgkin's lymphoma. The patient developed severe pulmonary hypertension and cor pulmonale. A left lung transplantation was performed successfully and pathologic examination of the explanted lung showed severe changes compatible with VOD. In the absence of exposure to alternate therapeutic or toxic agents that may cause VOD, it is likely that radiation caused damage to the venular endothelium and caused progressive obliteration of the pulmonary vessels. Review of the literature reveals only a few similar reports of VOD mostly following radiation for bone marrow transplantation. We conclude that previous irradiation (even several years earlier) should be considered as a possible cause of pulmonary VOD.

As the HIV epidemic continues and the patients are closely followed throughout the course of the illness from HIV seropositivity to depressed total CD4 counts, the natural history of lung cancer in this population is evolving. HIV-infected patients with lung cancer are in general younger men with significant smoking histories. Adenocarcinoma is the predominant cell type. There has been no correlation between stage of lung cancer and CD4 counts. The lung cancer stage at presentation has also not affected prognosis (no survivors beyond 1 year from diagnosis). While HIV seropositivity has not yet been identified as a risk factor for bronchogenic carcinoma, the current literature suggests that lung neoplasms behave in an aggressive manner in HIV-positive patients. We present two cases to illustrate the value of transbronchial biopsy which should be performed in all patients with masses, nodules, or focal lesions that persist despite appropriate therapy for opportunistic organisms in HIV-positive patients.

The first widely used questionnaire in respiratory epidemiology was the questionnaire from the Medical Research Council (MRC) of Great Britain. In the first version, from 1960, there were only a few questions about wheezing, but in later editions, more questions about asthma and asthma-like symptoms were added. The MRC questionnaire initiated the development of other questionnaires such as the European Community for Coal and Steel (ECSC) questionnaire of respiratory symptoms and the questionnaire from the American Thoracic Society and the Division of Lung Diseases (ATS-DLD-78). In Tucson, Ariz, a questionnaire was developed in the 1970s that was focused on the subject's own report of asthma. In Great Britain, a questionnaire was developed in the 1980s with the intention of finding the most valid symptom-based items for identifying asthma, "the IUATLD (1984) questionnaire." When judging the validity of a questionnaire, it is essential to understand sensitivity and specificity. Sensitivity is the fraction of the truly diseased subjects found to be diseased using the questionnaire. Specificity is the fraction of the truly healthy subjects found to be healthy using the questionnaire. Regarding questionnaires dealing with asthma, the situation is confusing because of the absence of any gold standard for asthma. The most usual mode of validation has been to test the questionnaire against the results of a clinical physiologic investigation, often a nonspecific bronchial challenge test. Another approach has been to compare the answers from the questionnaire with the clinical diagnoses of asthma. When validated in relation to bronchial challenge tests, the questions about self-reported asthma have a mean sensitivity of 36 percent (range, 7 to 80 percent) and a mean specificity of 94 percent (range, 74 to 100 percent). The questions about "physician-diagnosed asthma" have even higher specificity, 99 percent. When validated in relation to a clinical diagnosis of asthma, the mean sensitivity for the question about self-reported asthma was 68 percent in the reviewed studies (range, 48 to 100 percent). The specificity was 94 percent (range, 78 to 100 percent). One problem in using the presence of bronchial hyperreactivity (BHR) as a gold standard for asthma is that many people with BHR report no respiratory complaints. In other words, the presence of BHR is a measure with high sensitivity but low specificity for asthma. The effect of using a methacholine challenge test as a standard for the disease will thus be an underestimation of the sensitivity of the questionnaire.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Metastasis-induced pancreatitis (MIAP) is a very rare initial manifestation of lung cancer. A review of one institution's experience and the English language medical literature was conducted to define the incidence, natural history, and optimal treatment of this unusual clinical problem. One of 802 (0.12 percent) lung cancer patients presented with MIAP. Seven additional cases were found in the literature. Small-cell carcinoma was present in six of eight patients. Prognosis is poor. Four patients died within two weeks of hospital admission. In patients with small-cell carcinoma and mild pancreatitis, chemotherapy may favorably influence recovery from pancreatitis. Those with severe pancreatitis tolerate chemotherapy poorly and initial supportive management is advisable. Patients with small-cell histologic features who recover from pancreatitis should receive chemotherapy. Survival beyond six months is possible.

Accelerated idioventricular rhythm was observed in three newborn infants with congenital heart disease. This ventricular arrhythmia in all of our patients did not alter the clinical features of the congenital heart disease, and it disappeared at the ages of 84 days, 40 days, and 45 days, respectively. This arrhythmia is generally considered to be benign, which also appears to be the case with the newborn infant with congenital heart disease.

Familial arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia is a rare cardiomyopathy that is usually diagnosed on postmortem examination or on presentation with progressive congestive heart failure. We present a patient in whom an automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator was inserted prophylactically. A review of the condition and possible therapies is included.

We describe a North American human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patient with Strongyloides stercoralis infection of the gastrointestinal tract, who required repeated "standard" courses of thiabendazole. Pulmonary infection with numerous roundworms developed, as suspected by bronchoalveolar lavage, and while he was receiving therapy, dissemination occurred. On autopsy, S stercoralis was recovered in the gastrointestinal tract, liver, lung, and heart. After a literature review, we conclude that HIV-positive patients have a higher risk of dissemination and "standard" treatment failure. This may occur without elevation of IgE or eosinophilia. Those patients may require prolonged courses of thiabendazole or alternatively ivermectin therapy.

The English-language literature was reviewed to evaluate a possible relationship between asbestos-related pleural plaques and lung cancer in the absence of parenchymal asbestosis. There were six cohort studies in which the comparison group was limited to unexposed persons or the general population, four lung cancer case-control studies, and three autopsy studies. Of the 13 investigations, only 3 supported the hypothesis that lung cancer risk is elevated among persons with pleural plaques over the risk in unexposed people: 2 cohort studies from the same city in England with much the same data and 1 case-control study. These three studies had the most defects in design. The other ten studies failed to confirm the hypothesis. Thus, the weight of the evidence favors the conclusion that persons with asbestos-related pleural plaques do not have an increased risk of lung cancer in the absence of parenchymal asbestosis.

To compare complications after and outcome from surgical procedures between patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease and a matched control population.

Using current immunosuppressive protocols, rejection is common after lung transplantation. Most recipients have at least one episode of acute rejection, and approximately 25 percent of recent long-term survivors have developed chronic rejection. Acute rejection has usually been reversible with treatment, but chronic rejection has responded poorly, relapsed frequently, and been one of the leading causes of late morbidity and mortality. Appropriate management of rejection is predicated on timely, accurate diagnosis. Clinical criteria for the diagnosis of acute rejection are useful but nonspecific, and TBB has emerged as the procedure of choice for diagnosing acute rejection and infection. Chronic rejection is manifested by OB and is characterized physiologically by the development of airflow obstruction. Although histologic confirmation is preferable, the sensitivity of TBB for the detection of OB has been inconsistent, and the specificity has been low. Lung transplantation has indeed come of age, but understanding the immunopathogenesis and improving the clinical management of rejection remain major challenges for the next decade.