Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis with adenopathy
Article Abstract:
Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis is a lung infection caused by the fungus Aspergillus and often seen in association with asthma. If patients with bronchopulmonary aspergillosis do not receive therapy with high doses of steroids, the aspergillosis can produce severe and permanent lung damage. Clinical signs of aspergillosis include high blood levels of eosinophils as well as chest X-ray abnormalities. (High levels of eosinophils, a type of white blood cell, are commonly seen in allergic reactions.) The X-ray changes consist of some areas that resemble pneumonia and others that suggest enlarged lymph nodes within the lungs. The nodes are not actually enlarged, but the amount of retained mucus is large enough to produce the X-ray image nodal enlargement. A patient is described who suffered from asthma in childhood. He was seen at the age of 27 with fever, headache, fatigue, wheezing and weight loss. The eosinophil count in his blood was markedly elevated. His chest X-ray showed enlarged lymph nodes within the lungs, and he underwent a biopsy of the nodes, because of a suspicion that they might represent cancer. The biopsy specimen only showed evidence of inflammation and allergic response. Aspergillus was cultured from the patient's lung tissue, and he was started on steroids. His symptoms improved considerably, and his chest X-ray returned to normal, with complete resolution of the enlarged lymph nodes. A diagnosis of aspergillosis should be considered in an asthmatic patient with enlarged lymph nodes on chest X-ray. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Annals of Internal Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0003-4819
Year: 1991
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Consent and common law
Article Abstract:
Common law in the UK allow patients to be detained in hospital and given treatment without their consent. The patients concerned must be considered a danger to other people or themselves. Nurses in accident and emergency departments may find themselves confronted with patients who are suffering from an acute psychiatric disturbance or who are suicidal. Adequate support of emergency nurses and a knowledge of the Mental Health Act 1983 is vital. Emergency nurses are often faced with patients who have taken overdoses of drugs, yet refuse treatment.
Publication Name: Nursing Times
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0954-7762
Year: 1997
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