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W Hartung

Publications and source records attributed to W Hartung.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

BOOP in Europe.

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Adult

[Current pattern of anthracosilicosis, its complications and correlation with other diseases (evaluation of 300 legal autopsies 1977-1988)].

The spectrum of silicosis of coal miners has changed during the past decades. The life expectancy of the miners suffering from silicosis has been successfully adapted to that of the non-miners as a result of a consistent therapy. Morphologically, the processes involving large callosities have receded markedly; in their place, there has been an increased incidence of generalised focal dust emphysema that are difficult to differentiate clinically from the common chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. Chronic bronchitis and emphysema are the most important concomitant pulmonary diseases; the incidence of tuberculosis is still enhanced and carcinomas of the lung are only rarely to be acknowledged as so-called carcinomas in scar tissue. Other major diseases that coincide with silicosis are seen in p.m. statistics with customary frequency of incidence (cardiovascular diseases almost 50%, malignant tumours including those of the lung about 25%, other major diseases without respiratory organs about 10%). The main problem in expertising is to differentiate the influence of these diseases from those of silicosis; expertising must employ the legally prescribed terminology. In our own investigations based on 300 postmortem expertises, death as a result of a professionally acquired disease was acknowledged in 48% of all cases of silicosis of severity grades I to III, silicosis being the sole major disease in only half of the cases and in the other cases an essential partial contributor to the cause of death. The significance of the extended generalised dust emphysema as a special type of pneumoconioses that must be classified as grave, is emphasised in contrast to previously compiled statistics.

Aged

[Esophago-thoracic fistula after pneumonectomy and long-term main bronchus stump fistula].

A woman patient admitted for treatment, who had reached the age of 65 years, had a previous history of an open pulmonary tuberculosis in 1946 that had been treated at that time by means of collapsotherapy and phrenico-exeresis. Pleuropneumonectomy was performed in 1976 because of a residual cavity of a thoracic empyema. Since 1978 the patient suffered from a fistula of the bronchus treated by postural therapy without achieving a cure. In 1989 a fistula formed between oesophagus and pneumonectomy cavity. Clinically this was associated with an increasing reduction of performance and a suddenly ineffective postural drainage, resulting in triphasic and eventually fatal aspiration. Histology revealed a suppurative inflammation in the fistular channel and a slight superficial Candida colonisation of the pneumonectomy cavity, of the fistular channel and of adjacent mucous glands of the oesophagus. Formation of the fistula was probably due to a small traction diverticulum followed by perforation because of obstructed oesophageal passage due to scarified distortions.

Aged

Measurements of total and intrabronchial resistances in normal and diseased isolated lungs.

Postmortem studies of the total lung airways resistance (Rt), the central airways resistance (Rc), and the peripheral airways resistance (Rp) had been performed on normal lungs, on lungs with emphysema and lungs from patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In the normal lung a significant relationship between age and Rt was found. A decrease between 20 and 40 yr of age resulted from a decrease of Rp whereas an increase of Rt above the age of 40 was related to an increase in Rp. In the lungs with emphysema and obstruction Rp was increased especially. By variations of the breathing frequency and the lung volume (% of vital capacity) it could be detected that a remarkable effect upon Rt was caused by Rp. In general we found that even in normal lungs Rp is much higher than previously thought.

Adolescent