A case of smoking-induced chest pain improved with beta2-stimulant

A 24-year-old Japanese man presented with a complaint of chest pressure. He began to have severe chest pressure several times a day. The attack was frequently induced by smoking. During an attack, we gave him an inhalation with procaterol hydrochloride, and his chest tightness disappeared. He was suspected to have chest pain variant asthma. We asked him to stop smoking, and gave him corticosteroid, and his chest pressure did not reappear. This disease is relatively unknown. There is a need for a better dissemination of knowledge about this disease.     

Mesalamine-induced chest pain: a case report

Cardiac side effects of mesalamine are uncommon. A young man with ulcerative colitis who developed recurrent chest pain and electrocardiographic changes while on mesalamine is presented. Various causes of mesalamine-induced chest pain are discussed.     

Pulmonary granulomatous lesion with severe chest pain and hemoptysis: a case report]

We encountered a rare case of pulmonary granulomatous lesion accompanied with severe chest pain and hemoptysis. A 42-year-old man visited our hospital complaining of hemosputum. A chest radiograph showed a nodular shadow in the left lower lung field. Further examinations including fiberoptic bronchoscopy, bronchoalveolar lavage and transbronchial lung biopsy did not suggest a diagnosis. During the course of his illness, he suffered an episode of severe chest pain which could be controlled only by intravenous morphine chloride (10 mg). The chest radiograph at the time showed a broad infiltration in the left lower lung field. However, the lung perfusion scintigram taken 2 days before demonstrated decreased blood flow in the same field. We waited for the infiltration in the chest radiograph to diminish and then performed partial resection of the left lower lobe, thus terminating both hemosputum and chest pain. Histological examination showed a cavitary lesion in the periphery of the lung, surrounded by large numbers of infiltrating plasma cells and lymphocytes, among which were many hemosiderinladen macrophages. A small amount of mycelium, considered to be Nocardia or fungus, was seen in the cavity wall. These findings may indicate that an infection had contributed to the formation of a hemorrhagic granulomatous lesion, and that this lesion caused chest pain mainly because of the pleuritis and the decrease in the local pulmonary circulation.     

A case of Swyer-James syndrome with interesting chest radiographs]

A 28-year-old man was admitted for further examination after overinflation of the right lung was observed on a screening chest radiograph. The chest radiograph on admission showed increased radiolucency of the left lung and overinflation of the right lung, associated with a shift of the mediastinum toward the midline on expiration. High-resolution CT on expiration showed air trapping in the left lung and in part of the right lower lobe. Pulmonary perfusion scintigraphy showed a markedly decreased perfusion in these areas. Pulmonary angiography revealed small left pulmonary arteries with diminished peripheral vascular branches. Bronchoscopy showed no abnormality of either bronchus. Swyer-James syndrome was diagnosed on the basis of these findings. Although bronchial damage due to the lower respiratory tract infection during childhood is considered a very important factor in the pathogenesis of this syndrome, many patients have no history of airway infection, as in this case. This is a rare case of Swyer-James syndrome presenting with marked overinflation of the unaffected lung in an asymptomatic adult. Progression of this compensative overinflation probably involved asymptomatic damage caused by the weakness of the affected lung.     

A case of latex allergy with bronchial asthma]

A 26-year-old nurse consulted our department because of shortness of breath, wheezing and skin eruption after eating lunch several days before. At the consultation, the symptoms had disappeared, pulmonary function showed no abnormality, and there were no abnormal findings on chest auscultation. Latex allergy was suspected because of a history of wheezing and skin eruption after wearing latex gloves and an elevated serum IgE level specific to latex antigen. After a usage test of medical latex gloves, wheezing, skin eruption, and a decrease of FEV1.0 on pulmonary function testing were observed. The case was therefore diagnosed as latex allergy with bronchial asthma. Her symptoms were not observed after polymer coated gloves were substituted. Latex allergy is apt to complicate food allergy, an initial symptom of the present case. Specific IgE for several kinds of food was also elevated.     

A case of spontaneous mediastinal emphysema developed by numbness of the left arm, dysphagia and chest pain]

A 20-year-old female developed dysphagia, chest pain and numbness of the left arm after dinner on August 22, 1990. She consulted a doctor, who diagnosed tachycardia and prescribed propranolol. On August 23, she hadn't improved. On the same day, she visited our hospital. Chest X-ray films revealed lucent band and distinct line running parallel to the border of the heart and we suspected mediastinal emphysema. Immediately we took chest CT scan, which demonstrated free air surrounding the trachea, thoracic aorta and heart. We diagnosed spontaneous mediastinal emphysema. She was treated with bed rest and mediastinal emphysema subsided within 8 days. The numbness in the patient's arm is an unusual symptom in mediastinal emphysema. We suggest that the numbness of the arm may be due to interference with the circulation to the arm by distention of the mediastinal tissue.     

A case of sleep apnea syndrome with variant angina]

A 56-year-old male was admitted because of respiration arrest during sleep, and precordial crushing sensation which repeatedly occurred early in the morning. He had been hypertensive and aware of daytime sleepiness for ten years. After admission, all night polysomnography was recorded a total of four times. Apnea index was 37.5 times/hour, and central type apnea was predominant. The diagnosis of sleep apnea syndrome was made. In the early morning of the fourteenth day after admission, the patient developed anterior chest pain associated with ST elevation in leads II, III, and aVF of the electrocardiogram. Thus, the case was thought to be complicated by variant angina. There were no anginal attacks during the all night polysomnography recordings. However, a causal relationship between the sleep apnea and variant anginal attacks was suspected. Since both the sleep apnea and the variant anginal attacks tended to occur during the stages of REM sleep, and they are both related to changes in activity of the autonomic nervous system. It was considered that hypoxemia following sleep apnea and/or the hyperventilation after the apneic episodes might be the cause of the variant anginal attacks.     

From chest pain to cardioverter-defibrillator implantation--a case report

A case of a 48-year-old male admitted to the hospital because of recurrent chest pain, is described. Further diagnostic tests did not confirm ischemia, but revealed the presence of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. During hospital stay, the patient developed syncopal episode due to ventricular tachycardia. A cardioverter-defibrillator was implanted.     

A case of chest pain variant asthma with headache]

A 37-year-old man consulted our hospital because of severe constricting pain at the right side of the chest and head. Since his chest pain and headache improved with inhaled procaterol hydrochloride, chest pain-variant asthma was diagnosed. Not so many articles have been reported that concerned with this disease. There is a need for a better dissemination of knowledge about this disease.     

Chest pain variant asthma

We present the cases of three patients who initially presented with chest pain but were ultimately diagnosed as having asthma. None had audible wheezing. A diagnosis of asthma was entertained and ultimately supported by a clinical response to bronchodilator therapy. Only one patient had significant but intermittent documentable reversible airway obstruction, while another had marked sensitivity to methacholine bronchial challenge. Two patients required short courses of oral corticosteroids before symptom ablation.     

A case of gastric stromal tumor with chest pain and diaphragm elevation]

A 66-year-old woman presented with left chest pain. Left pleural effusion was seen on a chest X-ray film and a large mass disclosed by chest computed tomography. However, the patient refused to undergo a recommended operation. Six months later, she was admitted without any symptoms. A huge (18 cm diameter) mass was detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and consisted of heterogeneous solid and cystic components. Angiography and endoscopic sonography disclosed a suspected abdominal tumor, which was resected by thoracolaparotomy. Gastric stromal tumor was diagnosed on the basis of histological findings. Chest pain and pleural effusion are rare as initial clinical symptoms of such tumors.     

A case of chest wall rhabdomyosarcoma]

A 56-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with right chest pain. Chest X-ray, CT scan and MRI revealed a chest wall tumor and enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes. Percutaneous lung biopsy was performed, and the pathological diagnosis of pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma was obtained. The only significant abnormal laboratory finding was elevation of serum NSE (24.5 ng/ml). Although chemotherapy (VAC-ADM) and radiation therapy were performed, the patient died about 7 months after admission. To our knowledge, only 17 cases of chest wall rhabdomyosarcoma have been reported in Japan.     

儿童胸闷变异性哮喘肺功能改变的特征

目的探讨胸闷变异性哮喘患儿肺功能改变的特点,为临床诊断和管理提供依据。方法选取2018年8月至2019年5月确诊为胸闷变异性哮喘的44例患儿为研究对象,选取同期初诊的非急性发作期的典型哮喘患儿62例及健康体检儿童46例为对照组。所有入组儿童在初诊或体检时进行呼出气一氧化氮(fractional exhaled nitric oxide,FeNO)和肺通气功能的检测,胸闷变异性哮喘组和典型哮喘组行支气管激发试验。分析对比不同组患儿的FeNO水平、肺通气功能改变及气道高反应性严重程度。结果胸闷变异性哮喘组FeNO中位数值为14.0(8.0,24.0)ppb,其水平明显低于典型哮喘组[31.0(12.0,51.0)ppb,P<0.05],高于健康儿童组[9.0(7.0,18.5)ppb,P<0.05];胸闷变异型哮喘儿童肺通气功能参数中FEV1/FVC[0.998(0.967~1.079)]、PEF[(94.41±12.91)]、FEF50[79.15(64.78~93.75)]、FEF75[66.50(53.10~95.90)]均显著低于健康儿童组[1.080(1.039~1.103),P<0.01]、[(106.38±14.14),P<0.01]、[86.17(79.05~97.67),P<0.05]、[72.29(66.14~81.90),P<0.05],但与典型哮喘组无明显差异(P>0.05);胸闷变异性哮喘组第1秒用力呼气容积(FEV1)下降20%时吸入的乙酰甲胆碱累积剂量(PD20-FEV1)均值为(0.855±0.691)mg,显著高于典型哮喘组[(0.321±0.213)mg,P<0.01]。结论胸闷变异性哮喘患儿FeNO水平高于健康儿童,通气功能FEV1/FVC、PEF及小气道功能指标均低于健康儿童;胸闷变异性哮喘患儿肺通气功能与非急性发作期的典型哮喘患儿接近,但其FeNO水平及气道高反应性的程度均显著低于后者。