What every physician needs to know: Asthma is common disease in both adults and children. It ranks as the second leading cause of hospital admission for children. Accurate determination of the prevalence of asthma is difficult, however, because clinicians and researchers use many definitions of the disorder. Presentations of asthma are variable, and an understanding…
What every physician needs to know: While lung cancer is the most common cause of malignant lesions in the lungs, many other malignant and benign lung neoplasms may mimic primary lung cancer. It is important to distinguish the different etiologies because treatment varies widely, from observation for granulomas or hamartomas to surgery for malignancies like…
What every physician needs to know: The solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN) is a spherical radiographic opacity that measures less than 3 cm in diameter and is completely surrounded by lung tissue. The popular but misleading term “coin lesion” should be discouraged, as most SPNs are spherical, not round and flat. Patients with SPNs are usually…
What every physician needs to know: Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) is a life-threatening disorder characterized clinically by the presence of hemoptysis, falling hematocrit, diffuse pulmonary infiltrates and hypoxemic respiratory failure. DAH should be considered a medical emergency due to the morbidity and mortality associated with failure to treat the disorder promptly. The treatment of DAH…
