 |
Vol.41 No.7 contents | Japanese/English |
 | Full Text of PDF (516K) Article in Japanese |
- Case Report -
A Case of Malignant Mesothelioma Similar to Empyema in Clinical Symptoms
Takanari Tokunaga1, Naohiko Saku1, Shoji Ohno1, Yasunori Sohara2, Ken Kuriki3 and Yukihiko Sugiyama11Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Medicine, 2Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, 3Department of Pathology Jichi Medical School, Tochigi, Japan
Background: Malignant mesothelioma is relatively rare but is increasing in frequency. Diagnosis can not be made based on the analysis of blood and pleural effusion alone, since the findings are not specific to this tumor. We report a case of malignant mesothelioma similar to empyema in clinical symptoms. Case: A 55-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with cough, dyspnea and fever. On admission, he had leukocytosis, increased CRP level in serum, and left pleural effusion on chest radiography. Neutrophilia in the pleural effusion suggested empyema. Since his symptoms did not improve under the administration of antibiotics and chest tube drainage, pleurectomy was performed. Post-operative pathological examination revealed a malignant mesothelioma. Conclusion: Even in patients with fever and leukocytosis, malignant mesothelioma should be considered in the differential diagnosis.
key words: Malignant pleural mesothelioma, Empyema, G-CSF, IL-6
Received: January 24, 2001
Accepted: October 3, 2001
JJLC 41 (7): 773-777, 2001
