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Clinical presentation, pathology, surgical management and follow-up of ten bronchial carcinoid tumour (BCT) patients are described. There were five male and five female patients with age range between 5 to 85 years (mean 39.2 +/- 21.5, SD). Pathology revealed BCT on the right side in seven and on left side in three patients. The tumour was an incidental finding in four while the other six had respiratory symptoms. Cough was present in all of the later group and hemoptysis was present in four patients. Recurrent chest infections were seen in two patients. Symptoms ranged from 1 week to 15 years. Successful surgical resection was done in nine with the longest follow-up of 80 months (mean: 23 months +/- 26.3, SD) without recurrence or metastasis. Histopathological examination of these tumours revealed classical morphological features in all but one case. Grimelius stain positivity for argyrophilia confirmed the diagnosis in all the patients in this study. Electron microscopic examination was done in patient no. 9 which showed atypical morphological features and neurosecretory granules. BCT may present like pneumonias or bronchial asthma. Although BCTs have low-grade malignancy, early diagnosis and surgical resection yield curative results almost in all cases.

Empyema thoracis in adults is an uncommon disease in the Asir region of Saudi Arabia. In a period of seven years (1988 to 1994), 24 patients were treated for empyema thoracis with a hospital incidence of about 23 patients in 100,000 admissions. The community acquired empyemas are more common and less aggressive in non-Saudi patients (six males and one female) as compared to Saudi patients (11 males and 6 females) whose empyemas are mostly nosocomial with an aggressive course. The peak age in both Saudi and non-Saudi patients is 45 years and 25 years respectively, and the right pleura is more commonly affected than the left pleura in both groups. Risk factors include diabetes mellitus, pulmonary tuberculosis, post-pneumonectomy infections, trauma and pneumonia. The commonest organisms grown are Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella species and Staphylococcus aureus, although in almost 40% of the patients the empyemas were sterile. The commonest method of treatment was closed thoracostomy tube drainage.