Chest
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Review
Management of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis in the Elderly Patient: Addressing Key Questions.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is strongly associated with advanced age. Making an accurate diagnosis of IPF is critical, as it remains only one of many potential diagnoses for an elderly patient with newly recognized interstitial lung disease. Optimal management of IPF, especially in older-aged patients, hinges on such factors as balancing the application of standard-of-care measures with the patient's overall health status (robustness vs frailty) and considering the patient's wishes, desires, and expectations. ⋯ However, the antifibrotic agents pirfenidone and nintedanib have now become commercially available in the United States for the treatment of IPF. The monitoring and treatment of patients with IPF, especially elderly patients with comorbid medical conditions, require consideration of adverse side effects, the avoidance of potential drug-drug interactions, treatment of comorbidities, and the timely implementation of supportive and palliative measures. Individualized counseling to guide decision-making and enhance quality of life is also integral to optimal management of the elderly patient with IPF.
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How Common is Airflow Limitation in Patients with Emphysema on Computerized Tomography of the Chest?
COPD has traditionally been defined by the presence of irreversible airflow limitation on spirometry using either the GOLD (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease) or American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society criteria (lower limit of normal [LLN]). We have observed that some patients with clinical COPD and emphysema on chest CT scan have no obstruction on spirometry. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of obstruction by GOLD and LLN criteria in patients with emphysema on CT scan and determine which radiographic criteria were associated with a clinical diagnosis of COPD. ⋯ Spirometry missed 10.4% of patients with clinical COPD who have significant emphysema on chest CT scan.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Standardizing Predicted Body Weight Equations for Mechanical Ventilation Tidal Volume Settings.
Recent recommendations for lung protective mechanical ventilation include a tidal volume target of 6 mL/kg predicted body weight (PBW). Different PBW equations might introduce important differences in tidal volumes delivered to research subjects and patients. ⋯ Significant differences between PBW equations for both men and women could be important sources of interstudy variation. Studies should adopt a standard PBW equation. We recommend using the NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute ARDS Network PBW equation because it is associated with the clinical trial that identified 6 mL/kg PBW as an appropriate target.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Differential effect of mMRC dyspnea, CAT and CCQ for symptom evaluation within the new GOLD staging and mortality in COPD.
The modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnea, the COPD Assessment Test (CAT), and the Clinical COPD Questionnaire (CCQ) have been interchangeably proposed by GOLD (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease) for assessing symptoms in patients with COPD. However, there are no data on the prognostic value of these tools in terms of mortality. We endeavored to evaluate the prognostic value of the CAT and CCQ scores and compare them with mMRC dyspnea. ⋯ The CAT and the CCQ have similar ability for predicting all-cause mortality in patients with COPD, but were inferior to mMRC dyspnea scores. We suggest new thresholds for CAT and CCQ scores based on mortality risk that could be useful for the new GOLD grading classification.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Lung ultrasound-implemented diagnosis of acute decompensated heart failure in the Emergency Department - A SIMEU multicenter study.
Lung ultrasonography (LUS) has emerged as a noninvasive tool for the differential diagnosis of pulmonary diseases. However, its use for the diagnosis of acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) still raises some concerns. We tested the hypothesis that an integrated approach implementing LUS with clinical assessment would have higher diagnostic accuracy than a standard workup in differentiating ADHF from noncardiogenic dyspnea in the ED. ⋯ The implementation of LUS with the clinical evaluation may improve accuracy of ADHF diagnosis in patients presenting to the ED.