Thorax
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Case Reports
Pleural fluid accumulation due to intra-abdominal endometriosis: a case report and review of the literature.
A case is presented of massive ascites and right sided pleural effusion caused by endometriosis. The final diagnosis was not made for a considerable time. Massive ascites and a right sided pleural effusion caused by endometriosis is rare, with fewer than 10 reports in the literature worldwide. Physicians should be aware of this potentially tentially treatable cause, having excluded other possibilities such as malignancy and tuberculosis.
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Community acquired pneumonia remains an important cause of hospital admission and carries an appreciable mortality. Criteria for the assessment of severity during admission have been developed by the British Thoracic Society (BTS). A study was performed to determine the sensitivity and specificity of a severity rule based on a modification of the BTS prognostic rules applied on admission, to compare severity as assessed by medical staff with the modified rule, and to determine the microbiological cause of community acquired pneumonia in Christchurch. ⋯ The organisms responsible for community acquired pneumonia in Christchurch are similar to those reported from other centres except for Legionella species which were more common than in most studies. The modification of the BTS prognostic rules applied as a severity indicator at admission performed well and could be incorporated into management guidelines.
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The purpose of this study was to identify factors on which European general practitioners (GPs) base their decisions to admit to hospital patients with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI). ⋯ Clinical signs of severe infection and a diagnosis of pneumonia are the main factors that induce GPs to admit patients with LRTI to hospital in Europe.
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A study was undertaken to test the long term performance of a small hand held spirometer for self-administered serial spirometric testing. ⋯ The small hand held turbine spirometers are suitable for long term patient-administered serial spirometric testing. The two year durability is acceptable and the long term reproducibility excellent.