Chest
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Case Reports
Likely False-Positive Pneumococcal Antigen Test BinaxNOW Due to Parvimonas micra: A Four-Case Series.
We retrospectively report four cases from two hospitals of nonpneumococcal pleural empyema with a likely false-positive result on the pneumococcal antigen test BinaxNOW (PATB) (Alere) performed in pleural fluid samples in patients with aspiration pneumonia risk factors. To determine whether the positive reaction was due to cross-reactivity, we separately tested the isolates from the pleural fluid samples, along with collection and reference strains. All patients had polymicrobial aerobic and anaerobic positive cultures, including Parvimonas micra in every case. ⋯ Samples for culture and specific polymerase chain reaction were negative for Streptococcus pneumoniae. We found that the false-positive PATB finding was likely due to P micra, a previously unknown cross-reactivity. In case of aspiration pneumonia risk factors, a positive PATB result must be interpreted with caution because there can be a false positivity due to anaerobic infection or co-infection.
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A 77-year-old woman presented to the hospital with symptoms of progressive shortness of breath with associated right-sided pleuritic pain. The patient had begun noting dyspnea on exertion, limiting her ability to go on hikes over the few days prior to admission. ⋯ She has no history of thromboembolism or clotting disorders, and she has no history of smoking or drug abuse. Current medications include amlodipine, celecoxib, hydrochlorothiazide, and rosuvastatin.
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A 64-year-old Latin American woman was referred for evaluation of an incidental pulmonary nodule. She had originally presented to her primary care physician with complaints of abdominal pain warranting a CT scan of the abdomen, which revealed a right lower lobe pulmonary nodule. She denied any complaints of shortness of breath or cough. ⋯ She also denied primary or secondary tobacco exposure or any recreational drug abuse. Patient denied any recent travels and resided in Houston, Texas. There was no family history of malignancy or lung disease.
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Pulmonary disease (PD) caused by Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) is increasing worldwide. We conducted a systematic review of studies that include microbiologic outcomes to evaluate current macrolide-based treatment regimens. ⋯ To date, randomized studies on treatment outcome in patients with MAC PD are scarce. Long-term treatments with ATS-recommended regimens for patients who are macrolide susceptible are superior to other macrolide-based therapies. A standardized definition of treatment success and genotypic distinction between reinfection and relapse by means of pretreatment and posttreatment identification of MAC species in cases of microbiologic recurrences may help to optimize evaluation of treatment regimens in the future.
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Letter Multicenter Study
Adoption Rate of Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery for Lung Cancer Varies Widely in China.