Objective To analyze the clinical symptoms, imaging, laboratory tests, efficacy and other indicators of patients diagnosed as diffuse parenchymal lung disease ( DPLD) , in order to provide a reference for differential diagnosis of secondary DPLD and idiopathic interstitial pneumonia ( IIP) .Methods Sixtytwo patients diagnosed as DPLD were retrospectively analyzed. Results In 62 patients with DPLD, 19 patients ( 30. 6% ) were diagnosed as secondary DPLD, 42 cases ( 67. 7% ) as IIP, 1 case ( 1. 6% ) as Langerhans cell histiocytosis. The smoking rate of the DPLD patient was 33. 8% , which was higher than general population ( 29. 7% ) . 94. 7% of the secondary DPLD patients had cough, which was higher than the IIP patients ( 71. 4%) . The average age of onset of the secondary DPLD and IIP was ( 45. 9 ±16. 8) years and ( 60. 5 ±7. 7) years respectively, without significant difference ( P gt; 0. 05) . Etiological factors of secondary DPLD were dust, pets, drugs, pesticides, decoration material, etc. The secondary DPLD patients had higher response rate to steroid therapy, but had no statistical difference compared with the IIP patients ( 46. 2% vs. 37. 5% , P gt;0. 05) . Conclusions As a group of diseases of known causes, history taking is very important for DPLD diagnosis and differential diagnosis. Clinical symptoms, imaging, and laboratory tests may provide reference for differential diagnosis of secondary DPLD and IIP.
Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics of upper airway cough syndrome ( UACS) and the relationship of UACS with upper airway diseases, cough variant asthma ( CVA) , and gastroesophageal reflux disease ( GERD) . Methods 92 subjects with chronic cough and throat symptoms and signs were included in the study. The medical records were collected fromall subjects, and 49 subjects suspected for CVA undertook bronchial provocation test. Then the efficacy was evaluated and etiology were analyzed based on the efficacy of targeted treatment. Results Bronchial provocation test yielded positive results in 14 subjects suspected of CVA, accounting for 15. 2% of all cases ( 14/92) . 18. 5% ( 17 /92) of patients had a history of chronic gastritis or combined symptoms of GERD, of whom anti-gastroesophagealreflux treatment was effective. The patients with rhinitis, sinusitis history and/ or symptoms accounted for 33. 7% of cases ( 31 cases) . 51. 1% ( 47/92) of patients had only signs and symptoms of chronic pharyngitis. Conclusions UACS is not only due to the rhinitis and/ or sinusitis but also chronic pharyngitis. Chronic pharyngitis may be secondary to chronic rhinitis/ sinusitis with post nasal drip and gastroesophageal reflux, also may be an independent cause of chronic cough.
Objective To investigate the causes of chronic cough in Chongqing City and assess the efficacy of specific therapy. Methods A total of 233 consecutively non-selected referred patients ( 136 females) whose cough duration more than eight weeks were studied. Their age[ median ( range) ] was 44. 5( 15-78) yrs and cough duration was 2. 6 ( 0. 2-30) yrs. They were diagnosed using a diagnostic protocol based on the Guideline on Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Cough established by China Medical Association and American College of Chest Physicians. The etiological diagnosis was made according to clinical manifestations, lab examinations, and response to specific therapy. The effects was assessed four weeks after the drug withdraw. Results The cause of chronic cough was confirmed in 216 patients ( 92. 7% ) . Seventeen patients( 7. 3% ) had not been definitely diagnosed. Cough due to a single cause was found in 163 patients ( 75. 45% ) , and due to multiple causes in 53 patients ( 24. 53% ) . The causes included upper airway cough syndrome ( UACS) in 127 patients( 44. 4% ) , cough variant asthma ( CVA) in 73 patients( 25. 5% ) , gastro-esophageal reflux cough ( GERC) in 26 patients( 9. 1%) , postinfectious cough and angiotensin converting enzyme ( ACE) inhibitor-induced cough in 6 patients( 2. 1% ) , atopic cough in 5 patients( 1. 7% ) , chronic bronchitis in 3 patients ( 1. 0% ) , respectively. After specific therapy based on diagnosis, cough cured in 59 patients ( 25. 3% ) , and alleviated in 114 patients ( 49. 3% ) , no response in 40 patients( 17. 1% ) . Conclusion The causes of chronic cough in different areas maybe variant. UACS, CVA and GREC are the main causes of chronic cough in Chongqing City. Specific therapy is effective in majority of patients with chronic cough.
Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics of neutrophilic asthma ( NA) .Methods NA patients were collected from the out-patient and in-patient departments of Respiratory Diseases of Xinqiao Hospital between January 2010 and December 2010. The results of the medical records,pulmonary function tests, and induced sputum cytology were analyzed retrospectively. Results The NA patients with neutrophil percent ≥ 61% accounted for 33. 1% ( 51 /154 ) of all the asthmatics patients detected by induced sputumin the same period, and 45 cases with complete records were included. Of the 45 cases recruited, 20 cases ( 44. 4% ) were in-patients,2 cases ( 4. 4% ) were with controlled asthma, 3 cases ( 6. 7% ) were with cough variant asthma, 30 cases ( 66. 7% ) were female, 12 cases ( 26. 7% ) were atopic patients, and 27 cases ( 60% ) had acute exacerbation. The age of onset of 35 patients ( 77. 8% ) were after 12 years. FEV1% pred lt; 60% and gt; 80% was obtained in 55. 9% ( 19/34) and 14. 7% ( 5 /34) of patients respectively. The result of bronchodilator test was positive in 64% ( 16/25) of patients, and mean increase in FEV1 was 11. 7% . The percentage of neutrophil and eosinophil was ( 74. 5 ±9. 1) % and ( 2. 4 ±2. 5) % respectively in induced sputum, and 35. 6% ( 16/45) of the patients had increased eosinophil percentage ( gt;3% ) . Conclusions In our study, most of NA is severe and acute exacerbation asthma, and its clinical features are various. The mechanismand clinical significance of increased neutrophils in asthmatic patients are unclear and more studies are needed.