Chest
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Clinical Trial
Adenovirus-specific immunoglobulin G maturation as a surrogate marker in acute exacerbations of COPD.
B cells in airways and lung parenchyma may be involved in COPD evolution; however, whether their pathogenic role is beneficial or harmful remains controversial. The objective of this study was to investigate the maturation of adenovirus-specific immunoglobulins in patients with COPD with respect to clinical outcome. ⋯ Delayed immunoglobulin avidity maturation following COPD exacerbation is associated with worse outcomes.
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Review
Positive airway pressure therapy with adaptive servoventilation: part 1: operational algorithms.
The beginning of the 21st century witnessed the advent of new positive airway pressure (PAP) technologies for the treatment of central and complex (mixtures of obstructive and central) sleep apnea syndromes. Adaptive servoventilation (ASV) devices applied noninvasively via mask that act to maintain a stable level of ventilation regardless of mechanism are now widely available. These PAP devices function by continually measuring either minute ventilation or airflow to calculate a target ventilation to be applied as needed. ⋯ Moreover, ASV units have become available that incorporate autotitration of expiratory PAP to fully automate the treatment of all varieties of sleep-disordered breathing. Although extremely effective in many patients when used properly, these are complex devices that demand from the clinician a high degree of expertise in understanding how they work and how to determine the proper settings for any given patient. In part one of this series we detail the underlying technology, whereas in part two we will describe the application of ASV in the clinical setting.
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Choices of pharmacologic therapies for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) are ideally guided by high-level evidence. The objective of this guideline is to provide clinicians advice regarding pharmacologic therapy for adult patients with PAH as informed by available evidence. ⋯ Clinical decisions regarding pharmacotherapy for PAH should be guided by high-level recommendations when sufficient evidence is available. Absent higher level evidence, consensus statements based upon available information must be used. Further studies are needed to address the gaps in available knowledge regarding optimal pharmacotherapy for PAH.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Exertional hypoxemia in stable COPD is common and predicted by circulating proadrenomedullin.
The prevalence of exertional hypoxemia in unselected patients with COPD is unknown. Intermittent hypoxia leads to adrenomedullin (ADM) upregulation through the hypoxia-inducible factor-1 pathway. We aimed to assess the prevalence and the annual probability to develop exertional hypoxemia in stable COPD. We also hypothesized that increased ADM might be associated with exertional hypoxemia and envisioned that adding ADM to clinical variables might improve its prediction in COPD. ⋯ Exertional desaturation is common and associated with poorer clinical outcomes in COPD. ADM improves prediction of exertional desaturation as compared with the use of FEV1% predicted alone.
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Although stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is an established treatment option for early-stage lung cancer, there are no guidelines for reassessing patients for local treatment failure or intrathoracic recurrence after treatment. This study reports the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET-CT scanning when used to evaluate patients after SBRT. ⋯ FDG PET-CT scan 3 months after treatment of NSCLC with SBRT was a specific but insensitive test for the detection of recurrence or treatment failure. Serial CT scans should be used for early surveillance following SBRT, whereas FDG PET-CT scans should be reserved to define suspected metastatic disease or to evaluate new abnormalities on CT scan, or for possible reassessment later in the follow-up period after radiation-related inflammation subsides.