Clinical features and the histological appearances of transbronchial lung biopsy specimens were investigated in 11 patients with migratory infiltrates on the chest radiograph. Serum circulating immune complexes were increased at the time that infiltrates were present in all patients and the levels returned to normal as patients recovered clinically and radiologically. The Mantoux test response was negative in most patients. Fifty serial sections were obtained from each paraffin embedded biopsy specimen block and every 10th section was stained

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108 patients with sarcoidosis were retrospectively studied for the development of herpes zoster. Five of these patients (4.6%), 2 of whom were in their twenties, developed herpes zoster. Only 1 patient had been treated with an oral steroid. All 5 had extrathoracic lesions. Zoster tended to occur during the inactive stage of sarcoidosis and did not exacerbate the activity of the sarcoidosis. The clinical course of their zoster infection was typically benign. There have been few reports of herpes zoster in patients with sarcoidosis. Further studies are required to determine whether sarcoidosis predisposes to herpes zoster infection.

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A 59-year-old Japanese man with RA was referred to us with arthralgia and pulmonary infiltration. Chest roentgenogram showed migratory infiltration and pleural effusion, the glucose levels of the pleural fluid were not reduced. Transbronchial lung biopsy showed granulation tissue plugging the alveolar ducts, indicating organizing pneumonia and interstitial inflammation. These pathological findings were identical with those for cryptogenic organizing pneumonitis (COP). There was a good clinical and roentgenographic response and the pleural effusion responded well to corticosteroids. The characteristic migratory infiltration in rheumatoid lung disease responds well to corticosteroids.

Thrombosis-inducing activity (TIA) was identified in plasma from 16 of 27 patients (59%) with acute respiratory tract infections. On the other hand, it was present in only 9 of 79 subjects (11%) with chronic lung diseases and 4 of 49 healthy volunteers (8%). In the patients with acute resipratory tract infections, there were significant elevations in plasma fibrinogen, C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate in the TIA-positive group compared with the negative group. Plasma TIA disappeared in all of the 8 patients who were retested for TIA 2–5 weeks after they became disease free. Pneumonia was induced in rabbits by trans-bronchial injection of viable Escherichia coll TIA was not present in plasma from normal rabbits, but it appeared in plasma collected 3 days after injection. It then disappeared after 1–2 weeks of treatment with antibiotics. TIA may serve as a marker for inflammatory responses and be a factor responsible for elevated blood coagulation activity in patients with acute infectious diseases

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One hundred and twenty patients with primary lung cancer were examined for the presence of thrombosis-inducing activity (TIA) in their plasma. TIA was identified in plasma from 16 of 38 patients with stage 3 (42%) and 31 of 65 patients with stage 4 (48%) disease. On the other hand, only 1 of 17 patients with stages 1 and 2 (6%) showed TIA in their plasma. Cell type did not seem to correlate with the presence of plasma TIA, since TIA was identified in plasma from patients with all cell types. Survival of 32 patients with inoperable non-small cell lung cancer, all stage 4, was studied. The mean survival time was 7.2 months in the TIA-positive group and 10.3 months in the TIA-negative group. This difference was statistically significant.