Leflunomide has been reported as an alternative therapy in sarcoidosis. However, the published data are limited.We performed a retrospective chart review of the tolerance and effects of leflunomide therapy in patients with sarcoidosis.76 patients were included. The most common reasons for initiation were progression of disease or failure of other immunomodulator therapy. Side-effects attributable to leflunomide were noted in 34% of subjects, prompting discontinuation in 17%. The lungs were a target of therapy in 33 (44%) and extrapulmonary organs were a target in 45 (59%). The mean¡SD change in forced vital capacity in the 6 months prior to leflunomide was -0.1¡0.3 L, and it was +0.09¡0.3 L in the following 6 months (p50.01). For extrapulmonary target organ response, 51% had a good response and 32% a partial response. The median corticosteroid dose at initiation was 10 mg (interquartile range 5-20) mg at baseline, and 0 (0-10) mg at the 6-month follow-up (p,0.001).Leflunomide is a viable alternative agent for pulmonary and extrapulmonary sarcoidosis. Leflunomide appears to facilitate reduction of steroid dose and can be considered as monotherapy or as add-on therapy in cases of progressive disease.

Sarcoidosis is an immune-mediated systemic syndrome of unknown etiology. The treatment of the granulomatous inflammation in sarcoidosis is thus dependent on nonspecific suppression of the immune response. Although steroid-sparing approaches have moved to front-line therapy for many other immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, corticosteroids remain the initial treatment of choice for most patients with sarcoidosis due in large part to the clinical variability and high rates of spontaneous remission. Given the heterogeneity of clinical phenotypes between patients, treatment approaches must be individualized. For patients with persistent disease, or for patients who are intolerant of systemic steroids, there are several steroid-sparing immune-modulating medications that have been effective for treating sarcoidosis. Besides immunosuppressives, we will also overview several sarcoidosis-related issues that contribute to patient-reported symptoms, a "sarcoidosis penumbra." Recognition and judicious therapy for these related issues are often key to optimizing outcomes and quality of life.

Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is a rare disorder characterized by the accumulation of surfactant lipids and protein in the alveolar spaces, with resultant impairment in gas exchange. The clinical course can be variable, ranging from spontaneous resolution to respiratory failure and death. PAP in all forms is caused by excessive accumulation of surfactant within the alveolar spaces. Autoimmune PAP accounts for the vast majority of cases in humans and is caused by autoantibodies to granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), which results in impaired catabolism and clearance of surfactant lipids and proteins. Inherited or congenital forms of PAP are exceptionally rare and caused by mutations of genes encoding for surfactant proteins. Secondary forms of PAP are associated with diverse clinical disorders and are caused by reduced alveolar macrophage numbers or function with resultant reduced pulmonary clearance of surfactant. PAP is characterized by progressive exertional dyspnea and nonproductive cough with hypoxemia. Bilateral infiltrates are typically present on chest radiograph, and high-resolution computed tomography reveals diffuse ground-glass opacities and airspace consolidation with interlobular septal thickening in a characteristic "crazy paving" pattern. Although surgical lung biopsy will provide a definitive diagnosis, a combination of typical clinical and imaging features with periodic acid-Schiff (PAS)-positive material on bronchoalveolar lavage and transbronchial biopsies is usually sufficient. The standard of care for treatment of PAP remains whole lung lavage, but treatment is not required in all patients. Autoimmune PAP has also been successfully treated with GM-CSF, both inhaled and systemic, but the optimal dose, duration, and route of administration of GM-CSF have not been elucidated.

BackgroundHepatic hydrothorax is a major pulmonary complication of liver disease occurring in up to 5-10% of patients with cirrhosis.Case presentationWe report four observations of the development of pneumothorax ex-vacuo or trapped lung in the setting of hepatic hydrothorax. The diagnosis of trapped lung was made based on the presence of a hydropneumothorax after evacuation of a longstanding hepatic hydrothorax with failure of the lung to re-expand after chest tube placement in three of the four cases. Two patients underwent surgical decortication with one subsequent death from post-operative bleeding. The other two patients remarkably had spontaneous improvement of their “trapped lung” without surgical intervention.ConclusionsWhile pneumothorax ex-vacuo is a known phenomenon in malignant effusions, to our knowledge, it has never been described in association with hepatic hydrothoraces. The pathophysiology of this phenomenon remains unclear but could be related to chronic inflammation with development of a fibrous layer along the visceral pleura.

Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is characterized by pulmonary vasodilation and subsequent hypoxemia in the setting of hepatic dysfunction. There is currently no pharmacologic intervention that has been shown to significantly affect outcomes and liver transplantation remains the mainstay of therapy. Unfortunately, patients undergoing liver transplantation are at high risk of significant hypoxemia and mortality in the early postoperative period. In the following case series, we present two cases of patients with severe HPS who underwent liver transplantation and experienced marked hypoxemia in the early postoperative period. In both cases, we successfully treated the patients with inhaled nitric oxide for their severe refractory life-threatening hypoxemia which led to immediate and dramatic improvements in their oxygenation. Although the use of inhaled nitric oxide in patients with HPS has been sporadically reported in pediatric literature and in animal studies, to our knowledge, our cases are the first recorded in adult patients.