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A 62-year-old man, known for some years due to lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma, was admitted with progressive dyspnoea. Multiple lung infiltrates were found upon X-ray examination. Because of the suspicion of an infection, a bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage was performed. No infectious cause could be established. Upon cytological examination, a highly increased level of kappa-positive B-lymphoid cells was found, as is seen in cases of lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (Waldenström's macroglobulinaemia). Following chemotherapy, the dyspnoea lessened and the pulmonary infiltrates disappeared. In patients with a lymphoproliferative disorder, pulmonary infiltrates due to infection are found relatively frequently. This case report highlights a rare complication of the disease, namely pulmonary infiltrates caused by infiltration of lymphoplasmacytic cells, emphasising the importance of cytological examination of broncho-alveolar lavage fluid.

One hundred medical charts of patients of a psychogeriatric nursing home with 'possible' (senile) dementia of the Alzheimer type were reviewed. Eighty-seven patients had died and 13 were alive at the time of analysis. The aim of the study was to obtain epidemiological information and to investigate (co)morbidity and mortality of these patients. All the data of this group of nursing home patients appeared to have a wide range. The process of dementia started at a mean age of about 75 years and patients remained in their homes for more than five years before admission. The average time spent in the nursing home was 3.0 years. These patients had a shorter life expectancy, counted from the time of admission, compared with the Dutch population. At admission a large percentage of patients suffered from circulatory system disease, musculoskeletal and connective tissue disease and/or sensory deprivation. During the stay the most frequent diseases were urinary and respiratory tract infections, constipation and chronic ulcers of the skin. Symptoms specific of Alzheimer's disease also occurred: feeding problems, disorders of gait and neurological symptoms such as paratonia. A large percentage of patients showed adverse effects of drugs or suffered from the consequences of trauma. Patients died of cachexia or bronchopneumonia. It is unclear whether the population studied is representative of the total population of Alzheimer patients.