Chest
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The endemic region of blastomycosis historically has included the state of Indiana. However, few published reports of blastomycosis exist to substantiate this distinction. A surge of patients with blastomycosis in central Indiana (Indianapolis and surrounding counties) beginning in 2005 prompted us to review our local experience. We propose that this surge was related to major highway construction around Indianapolis. ⋯ This urban outbreak of blastomycosis in Indianapolis should prompt clinicians to consider blastomycosis in this highly endemic area of histoplasmosis.
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Pneumonia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among nursing home residents. The approach to managing these patients has lacked uniformity because of the paucity of clinical trials, complexity of underlying comorbid diseases, and heterogeneity of administrative structures. The decision to hospitalize nursing home patients with pneumonia varies among institutions depending on staffing level, availability of diagnostic testing, and laboratory support. ⋯ Validated prognostic scoring models are needed for risk stratification. Pneumococcal and influenza vaccination are the primary prevention measures. As of January 2010, Medicare no longer pays for consultation codes; thus, practitioners must instead use existing evaluation and management service codes when providing these services.
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Comparative Study
Validity of severity scores in hospitalized patients with nursing home-acquired pneumonia.
Several severity scores have been advanced to predict a patient's outcome from community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). The purpose of this study is to compare the accuracy of confusion, urea, respiratory rate, BP (CURB); CURB plus age ≥ 65 years (CURB-65); CURB-65 minus urea (CRB-65); and systolic BP, oxygenation, age, and respiratory rate (SOAR) scoring systems in predicting 30-day mortality and ICU admission in patients with nursing home-acquired pneumonia (NHAP). ⋯ All three British Thoracic Society rules had lower performance accuracy in predicting 30-day mortality of hospitalized NHAP than SOAR. SOAR is also a superior alternative for better identification of severe NHAP. An improved rule for severity assessment of hospitalized NHAP is needed.
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Interstitial lung disease is commonly associated with the autoimmune inflammatory myopathies dermatomyositis and polymyositis and accounts for significant morbidity and mortality in these conditions. In the 35 years since the association between inflammatory myopathy and interstitial lung disease was initially described, there has been progress in diagnosing and treating this dis-order. Nevertheless, there remains much about pathogenesis and therapeutics to be learned. This review examines the changes in the understanding of this complex condition, highlighting recent advances and areas deserving of further study.
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Comparative Study
Characterization of connective tissue disease-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension from REVEAL: identifying systemic sclerosis as a unique phenotype.
REVEAL (the Registry to Evaluate Early and Long-term Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Disease Management) is the largest US cohort of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) confirmed by right-sided heart catheterization (RHC), providing a more comprehensive subgroup characterization than previously possible. We used REVEAL to analyze the clinical features of patients with connective tissue disease-associated PAH (CTD-APAH). ⋯ Patients with SSc-APAH demonstrate a unique phenotype with the highest BNP levels, lowest Dlco, and poorest survival of all CTD-APAH subgroups.