Respiration; international review of thoracic diseases
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The impact of pulmonary hypertension (PH) on survival has been demonstrated in severe cases with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) who were referred for transplantation. However, whether PH is a predictor of survival remains unclear in milder cases. ⋯ Higher MPAP and lower %FVC at the initial evaluation were significant independent prognostic factors of IPF. The current results suggested the importance of the initial evaluation of PH for patients with IPF.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Comparison between high-resolution CT and MRI using a very short echo time in patients with cystic fibrosis with extra focus on mosaic attenuation.
It would be beneficial to establish pulmonary MRI as a complementary approach to CT for direct visualization of mosaic perfusion, bullae, and emphysema in patients with cystic fibrosis. ⋯ These results suggest that in our patient group none of the relevant findings were missed by MR imaging and reading.
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Clinical Trial
Evaluation of a novel endobronchial ultrasound-guided lymph node forceps in enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes.
Endobronchial ultrasound-transbronchial nee dle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is a useful technique for cytological assessment of enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes with a high diagnostic yield for lung cancer. However, the small sample volume can be problematic in diagnosing benign diseases and for molecular analysis of malignant tumours. ⋯ EBUS-TBFB with a novel lymph node forceps is safe and provides adequate histological specimens of enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes. EBUS-TBFB increases the diagnostic yield in benign conditions and may add value in molecular analysis of non-small cell lung cancer.
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A method of achieving endoscopic lung volume reduction for emphysema has been developed that utilizes precise amounts of thermal energy in the form of water vapor to ablate lung tissue. ⋯ Considering both total energy and vapor energy is important during the development of clinical vapor applications. For InterVapor, a closer study of both energy types justified a reduced target vapor-dosing range for lung volume reduction. The clinical implication is a potential improvement for benefiting the risk profile.