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Biomedical subjects

A Chabbou

Publications and source records attributed to A Chabbou.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

[Solitary plasmocytoma of the rib: a rare tumor not to miss].

Solitary plasmocytoma is a rare tumor accounting for 5% of all plasma cell neoplasias. The diagnosis is based on identification of the localized tumor composed of monoclonal plasma cells identical to those observed in multiple myeloma, and absence of the signs in favor of a disseminated form. We report the case of a52-year-old man who presented a growth of the chest wall in the left axillary region. Imaging disclosed a mass of tissue with a large zone of osteolysis of the 6th rib and infiltration of the chest wall. Surgical biopsy for pathology study and immunohistochemistry enabled the diagnosis of costal plasmocytoma. Blood protein immunoelectrophoresis revealed a monoclonal kappa type IgG. Bence-Jones proteinuria was positive. Search for other localizations was negative and the diagnosis of solitary plasmocytoma was retained. Radiotherapy was delivered and the patient has remained in remission at one year. Costal localization is rare for solitary plasmocytoma. The diagnosis is based on imaging findings and pathology. Radiotherapy is the treatment of choice but with the risk of progression with other bone lesions, the development of medullary plasmocytosis and multiple myeloma. Factors predictive of systemic recurrence have not been identified. Regular surveillance is required.

Bone Neoplasms↗

[Hydatid pulmonary embolisms. Seven cases].

Hydatid pulmonary embolism is a rare condition. Diagnosis is difficult and there is no consensus on treatment. Prognosis is generally poor. We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients hospitalized between 1994 and 2002 who had a diagnosis of hydatid pulmonary embolism. Seven cases were identified. All patients had a cyst which spontaneously ruptured into the bloodstream. All patients were symptomatic. Chest x-ray revealed images of metastatic pulmonary echinococciasis in all patients. Thoracic CT and/or angioscan provided the diagnosis in five patients. In one, the diagnosis was established with pulmonary angiography. For one other, the diagnosis was established at the pathology examination of the surgical specimen. Searching for the primary localization of the hydatid disease revealed hepatic cysts in all patients, associated in one with a cyst in the right atrium. The cardiac cyst was not operated and all hepatic cysts were removed. Embolectomy was performed in one patient. Medical treatment with albendazole was given in five patients. The clinical course was marked by death in two patients, due to abundant hemoptysia. The five other patients are followed regularly and were doing well at six months to five years. The diagnosis of hydatid pulmonary embolisms is basically obtained with imaging. Treatment is surgical resection of the embologenic focus then embolectomy. The role of medical treatment is not clearly defined. The short- and mid-term prognosis is generally poor.

Adolescent↗

[Complete extraction of a hydatid membrane by bronchial fibroscopy].

Pulmonary hydatid cyst is exceptional in our country. The diagnosis is generally established on the basis of imaging. Surgical treatment is indicated in most patients. We report a case of pulmonary hydatid cyst in a 74-year-old smoker (11 package-years) who presented cough with mucopurulent expectoration and occasional hemoptysis. The chest x-ray demonstrated a poorly delimited heterogeneous opacity in the upper third of the left lung which persisted after antibiotic therapy. Bronchial fibroscopy revealed a hydatid membrane in the left superior bronchus which was totally removed by aspiration. A control radiography after the fibroscopy demonstrated a clear regression of the opacity. A thoracic CT-scan was performed and revealed a residual cavity in the left upper lobe with bronchial dilatation. The indication for surgery was not retained. Treatment of pulmonary hydatid cyst by endoscopy is an exceptional event. Our exceptional case illustrates an atypical radiological presentation and the use of "therapeutic" fibroscopy.

Aged↗

[Inflammatory pseudo-tumor of the lung. A pathology clinical study of one case].

Inflammatory pseudo-tumors of the lung are generally unifocal lesions with a benign prognosis. The pathogenesis is unknown. We report the case of a 71-year-old man who underwent exploration for dyspnea and chest pain associated with weight loss and a heterogeneous opacity in the lingula. This radiological and clinical presentation suggested a malignant bronchopulmonary tumor. Surgery was performed and the histologocial examination of the surgical specimen corrected the diagnosis: inflammatory pseudo tumor. No recurrence has been observed at three years.

Aged↗

[A dead and calcified right ventricular hydatic cyst. The limits of imaging].

INTRODUCTION: Cardiac echinococcosis is rare and only represents around 0.5% of all hydatic locations. Right ventricular location is exceptional. OBSERVATION: We report the case of a 72 year-old man having a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. During an acute respiratory failure, cardiac ultrasonography showed a right ventricular tumour. After respiratory stabilisation, surgical intervention found the tumour, the histopathological study of which concluded in a dead and calcified hydatic cyst. DISCUSSION: This case report demonstrates the limits of modern imaging and the difficulties in diagnosing a calcified right intra-ventricular hydatidosis. It is important to emphasize the exceptional nature of this form and the scarcity of its localisation. Surgical treatment is crucial in the majority of cases and helps to confirm the diagnosis. CONCLUSION: In endemic areas, the discovery of an intra-cardiac tumour must evoke and eliminate echinococcosis. Calcification of a cardiac location remains exceptional.

Acute Disease↗

[Intrathoracic strangulated diaphragmatic hernia. A diagnostic trap to avoid].

INTRODUCTION: Misdiagnosed and complicated diaphragmatic hernia can lead to diagnostical and therapeutical difficulties. CASE REPORT: A strangulated post-traumatic diaphragmatic hernia in a 53 years old woman was at the origin of whole hemithoracic hydroaeric opacity. The hernia diagnosis based on digestive opacification and thoraco-phreno-abdominal ultrasonography. Emergent intervention is critical and allowed aetiologic and lesional assessment. CONCLUSIONS: After thoracic traumatism, it's necessary to carry on observation and realize, in front of any suspicion, radiological investigations especially modern imaging.

Diagnosis, Differential↗

[Tuberculous pyothorax. 28 cases].

OBJECTIVES: Despite the efforts in the fight against tuberculosis (Tb) and the decrease in its incidence, severe forms persist. Tubercular pyothorax (TP), which was a frequent complication, is still difficult to treat. We studied the epidemiological, diagnostic, therapeutic and progressive aspects of this particular localization. METHODS: Retrospective study collecting all the TP reported between 1990 and 1999 in the department of pneumology in Ariana. The inclusion criterion was any patient presenting with pleural-parietal empyema of tubercular origin. We excluded patients presenting with negative bacilliferous pyothorax cultures. RESULTS: Twenty-eight cases of TP were retained among 875 cases of tuberculosis, i.e., 3.2%. The mean age of patients was of 44 years (range: 15-75) and they were moderate smokers: 27 PA. Infectious fever concomitant to a pleural syndrome was the typical clinical manifestation. In some patients empyema (3 cases) or cutaneous fistula (2 cases) were the circumstances in which the disease was discovered. Thoracic imaging is a very useful tool: standard radiography, tomodensitometry and magnetic resonance imaging permit analysis of the pleural wall and cavity. In 9 cases, pneumothorax was concomitant. A co-infection with pyogenic germs was present in 4 patients. Treatment of TP is triple; it associates specific poly-chemotherapy, thoracic draining and respiratory physiotherapy. The progression was satisfactory in the recent forms concomitant to a bacilliferous pulmonary Tb. Complications such as pleural-pulmonary after effects are inherent to the severe forms. Surgery was necessary for 9 patients (5 drainages, 2 rib resections and 2 decortications). CONCLUSION: TP is a menace for functional prognosis. Treatment is double: early, curative and effective, and preventive of Tb and its risk factors.

Adolescent↗

[Tuberculosis in hemodialysis patients in Tunisia].

BACKGROUND: Because of the immunity depression, patients with chronic renal failure undergoing haemodialysis are at increased risk for developing infections, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTb) in particular. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate, in a prospective longitudinal study over 36 months period, the frequency of Tb among these patients and underline the diagnostic difficulties. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixty dialysis patients were interested. The Tb assessment comprised: a questionnaire, a meticulous clinical examination, a chest X-ray, a tuberculin skin testing, as well as MT bacilli screening in biological fluids. RESULTS: Tb was seen in six among dialysis patients(10%), this rate represents 15 times the general population tuberculosis incidence in our country (23/100,000). Tb has occurred early compared to the beginning of the haemodialysis. The Tb localizations were: 4 cases of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (3 peritoneal and one ganglionic) and only 2 cases of pleuro-pulmonary localization. The positive diagnosis represents a real problem: no bacteriological confirmation in all patients and only in one, the histological diagnosis was obtained. CONCLUSION: There was a high rate of tuberculosis in our study. The prognosis appears to be closely related to therapeutic precocity, thus specific chemotherapy started sometimes without diagnostic confirmation.

Humans↗

[Bronchial caliber study: a continuous challenge in pneumology].

The caliber and the bronchial wall represent the anatomical substratum of several diseases of the respiratory tract. Many investigations allow qualitative and quantitative approaches but none can appreciate exactly the injuries degree and the lesions extent. The radiological methods are powerful in particular the high resolution computed tomography with great in-depth descriptive capacity. The respiratory functional tests with a variable sensitivity allow a dynamic but indirect analysis, the provocation test studies bronchial hyperresponsiveness and the plethysmography measures the airways specific resistance. The bronchoscopy explores the bronchi directly but is confronted with the problem of the image distortion. The fields of studies of the bronchial gauge are vast including all bronchopulmonary pathology and the correlation of two different methods allows a better evaluation.

Anthropometry↗

Lymphocytes apoptosis in patients with acute exacerbation of asthma.

Asthma is characterized by airway inflammation, which can be now assessed by the analysis of induced sputum. Ten patients with asthma were investigated during acute exacerbation for the quantification of apoptosis, for Bcl-2 and Fas expression, in induced sputum lymphocytes. They were compared to 12 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and 10 healthy controls. Spontaneous apoptosis was determined by staining nuclei with propidium iodide, and analyzed with a FACScan. Bcl-2 was measured by Western blotting, and results were obtained by densitometric scanning, done by the gel proanalyser. The investigation of Fas was performed using the streptavidin-biotin preroxidase-complex method. Patients with asthma and patients with COPD exhibited a significant increase of cellularity, percentage of neutrophils, eosinophils and lymphocytes when compared to healthy controls. Apoptosis in induced sputum mononuclear cells was found decreased in patients with asthma compared to COPD patients and healthy controls. The quantification of apoptosis was measured after exposure to anti-cytokine antibodies. Anti-TNF-alpha antibody blocked the apoptosis in both patients groups and healthy controls, suggesting that TNF-alpha acted as an inducer of apoptosis. Anti-IL-10 blocked apoptosis completely exclusively in patients with asthma. Bcl-2 expression was found to be increased in induced sputum mononuclear cells from patients with asthma, compared to healthy controls and patients with COPD. Expression of Fas could be detected in patients with asthma, at a lower level than COPD patients and healthy controls. Distinct mechanisms of apoptosis were found in patients with asthma and patients with COPD, characterized by different levels of Bcl-2 and Fas expression. Induction of apoptosis should be a beneficial process in allergic inflammation traduced in induced sputum mononuclear cells. The apoptosis process is assumed by two different mechanisms in asthma and COPD. Our findings indicated that in asthmatic patients, activated lymphocytes accumulate in the bronchi; because of their prolonged survival that maintains inflammation.

Adult↗

Expression of Bcl-2 in inflammatory sites from patients with active Behçet's disease.

Behçet's disease (BD) is a current systemic vasculitis of unknown aetiology. Eyes, skin, joints, the oral cavity, genital system, blood vessels, central nervous system and lung are usually involved. Defective regulation of programmed cell death (apoptosis) may play a role in the development of (BD), and the proto-oncogene Bcl-2 is involved in the control of apoptosis in immunocompetent cells. We therefore wished to investigate the expression of Bcl-2 in the peripheral lymphocytes and in two inflammatory sites of patients with active BD: bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) lymphocytes. Levels of Bcl-2 expression in the lymphocytes of patients with BD and, for comparison, in the lymphocytes of healthy controls and non-inflammatory neurological diseases (NIND), were studied by two-colour cytofluorography and RNA analysis. In BD patients, a significant proportion of T cells expressed increased amounts of Bcl-2 protein, both in peripheral blood and in inflammatory sites. Mononuclear cells of patients with BD showed increased amount of Bcl-2 messenger RNA. The in vitro incubation of T lymphocytes with IL-10, significantly increased the Bcl-2 expression, specifically in T lymphocytes from inflammatory sites. In active BD, stimulation of HSV-1 T lymphocytes slightly increased Bcl-2 expression, not significantly different from unstimulated HSV-1 T cells. The occurrence of circulating T lymphocytes with abnormally high Bcl-2 expression in peripheral circulation and in inflammatory sites may be explained in part by the increased in vivo activation levels, and by aetiopathological agent(s): our findings seem to indicate an important role in the chronic inflammation in BD.

Adolescent↗

Levels of soluble Fas/APO-1 in patients with Behçet's disease.

The aim of this study was to quantify soluble Fas/APO-1 (sFas/APO-1) protein in the serum of patients with Behcet's disease (BD) in active and inactive stages, compared with patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Soluble Fas/APO-1 was quantified using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Increased serum sFas/APO-1 levels were observed in active BD, compared with inactive BD, RA patients and SLE patients. Increased serum sFas/APO-1 levels were correlated with the presence of neurologic manifestations or pulmonary involvement in active BD. In conclusion, increased levels of sFas/APO-1 occurred frequently and exclusively in active BD patients. Preliminary evidence suggested that elevated levels of sFas/APO-1 are associated with the clinical stage and clinical manifestations in BD.

Adult↗