Clinical investigation on acute respiratory failure in patients with severe hematologic malignancy

Ten patients with severe hematologic malignancies (four with acute leukemia, three with multiple myeloma, one with prolymphocytic leukemia, one with malignant lymphoma and one with blastic crisis of chronic myelogenous leukemia) developed respiratory failure during the period between April 1986 and May 1990. Clinically, the patients manifested high-fever, dyspnea refractory to oxygen therapy, diffuse pulmonary rales and severe hypoxemia without evidence of cardiogenic pulmonary edema. Chest roentgenograms displayed diffuse alveolar infiltrates. Respiratory failure occurred as early as 48 hours and as late as 66 days after the administration of intensive anti-neoplastic chemotherapy. At that time leukocyte count was between 100/microliters and 54,900/microliters. Marked leukocytosis was observed in two patients with AML and PLL. Respiratory failure was preceded by sepsis in one patient with AML and by pneumonia in nine patients. DIC was diagnosed in four patients. All patients treated with high dose methyl prednisolone (mPSL) within 12 hours after the onset of respiratory failure. Only one patient required assisted ventilation. High dose mPSL had significant effect on seven of ten patients. But three patients died from progressive respiratory failure, sepsis, pneumonia and multi-organ failure.     

Sleep disordered breathing in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Sleep-related disordered breathing (SDB) and its influence on desaturation were examined in stable COPD patients with waking SpO2 > 90%. With respiratory inductance plethysmography, thoracic-abdominal respiratory movements for all events with more than 4% desaturation were analyzed in 26 patients. Types of SDB were confirmed by full polysomnography. Irregular breathing induced desaturation, while stable respiration continued during some desaturation events. Three types of altered ventilation were observed: hypoventilation, paradoxical movement and periodic breathing. An unusual type of paradoxical movement, with normal airflow despite progressive desaturation, was observed in REM sleep. Patients were divided into desaturation (15 patients) and non-desaturation (11 patients) groups. Daytime arterial blood gas, lung function values, and 6-min walking distance did not differ. Awake, mode, maximum and minimum nocturnal SpO2 were lower in the desaturation group. SDB-induced desaturation events in the desaturation group were more frequent (9.2+/-3.5 vs. 1.8+/-2.2 times), a greater SpO2 decrease (11.4+/-7.1% vs. 5.2+/-2.1%) and longer duration (73.2+/-34.8 vs. 18.8+/-39.0 min). Patterns of SDB in the desaturation group were hypoventilation (74.4+/-23.4%), paradoxical movement (10.2+/-14.5%), periodic breathing (12.1+/-18.3%) and unclassified (5.8+/-11.2%). These results reveal that lower SpO2 and SDB influence nocturnal desaturation in stable COPD patients.     

Cicatricial Pemphigoid of the Oropharynx after Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation for Relapsed Follicular Lymphoma

A 44-year-old woman with refractory follicular lymphoma underwent allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) and achieved complete remission. Grade III acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) developed on day 23, but no chronic GVHD occurred. The patient developed severe erosion with bullous lesions in the oral cavity 18 months after SCT. At that time, the lymphoma remained in complete remission, and she had no clinical or laboratory findings suggesting chronic GVHD. A biopsy of the oral mucosa showed moderate lymphoplasmacytic infiltration and subepidermal bullae, and direct immunofluorescence staining demonstrated linear deposition of C3 at the dermo-epidermal junction. An immunoblotting assay using human epidermal extracts confirmed the presence in her serum of an antibody against the 230-kd bullous pemphigoid antigen 1 (BPAG1). A diagnosis of cicatricial pemphigoid (CP) was made, and complete resolution of the CP was achieved with pred-nisolone therapy. The occurrence of autoimmune blistering diseases is rare after allogeneic SCT.     

Enhancement of red blood cell aggregation by plasma triglycerides

The effects of plasma triglycerides level on human red blood cells (RBCs) indices, hematological parameters, RBCs aggregation velocity and whole blood viscosity were studied at 2 hours after high-fat or low-fat meal. Proteins, triglycerides and cholesterol levels of plasma were analysed. The RBCs rouleaux formation rate was measured in 70% autologous plasma (with 30% phosphate-buffered saline, PBS) or 1 g/dl dextran T70 solution (with 4 g/dl bovine serum albumin) in PBS, using a low-shear rheoscope. The results were grouped according to triglycerides content in plasma. No significant difference in whole blood viscosity, hematological parameters, RBC indices, protein and cholesterol content was observed between high-fat and low-fat blood samples. There was a significant increase in rouleaux formation rate of samples with high triglyceride levels, when measured in 70% autologous plasma, but it was not significant in dextran T70 containing medium. In conclusion, the results obtained suggest that alteration of plasma lipid levels as well as possible changes in the cell membrane lipid composition lead to enhanced RBC aggregation.