All Journals from Paul SSeguya
A 66 years old lady presented to the hospital with cough and breathlessness. A chest x-ray confirmed a left sided pleural effusion (Figure 1) and possible underlying consolidation. She had a chest drain inserted (Figure 2) and pleural fluid was confirmed to be an exudate with no malignant cells in it. She had never smoked and was on a calcium channel blocker for hypertension.
Bronchiectasis is a chronic condition characterised by abnormal and irreversible widening of the bronchi. It is a commonly seen condition with episodes of acute exacerbations needing hospital admission. This article discusses the management of bronchiectasis.
GPA, previously known as Wegener’s granulomatosis is a rare multisystem autoimmune disease causing inflammation of blood vessels in the trachea, lungs (95% of cases), kidneys (necrotising glomerulonephritis in 40-80% of patients), sinuses, nose, throat, eyes and the nervous system. It is characterised by development of non-caseating granulomas. It was first described in 1931 by a German medical student Heinz Klinger. In 1936 a German pathologist Friedrich Wegener described 3 cases with small vessel inflammation leading to granulomatous lesions. Godman and Churg reviewed 22 cases in 1954 and the disease was known as Wegener’s Granulomatosis Wegener was awarded a master Clinician award in 1989 for his contribution in 1989 by the American College of Chest Physicians, however in 2000, the disease was renamed due to Wegener’s Nazi association.