Chest
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Clinicians have traditionally dichotomized bacteria as friendly commensals or harmful pathogens. However, the line separating the two has become blurred with the recognition that the intestinal microbiome is a complex entity in which species can shift sides-from friend to foe and back again-based on crucial factors in their local environment. Significant disruptions in the homeostasis of the microbiome, a phenomenon called dysbiosis, is increasingly associated with a host of untoward effects. ⋯ Probiotic investigations have been further hobbled by current regulatory requirements, which were designed to serve as the framework for pharmaceutical research. Although such measures are intended to ensure patient safety, they inadvertently impose barriers that stifle innovation regarding nutraceuticals. This review strives to summarize the current evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of probiotics in the ICU as well as to provide an overview of the obstacles probiotic researchers face going forward.
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The positive impact of hospital operative volume on outcomes following video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery has been established. The goal of this study was to determine whether or not this volume/outcome relationship translates to robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (RobATS) lobectomy. ⋯ Undergoing lobectomy at high-volume RobATS centers confers favorable mortality and LOS outcomes compared with very low-volume centers. In this relatively early phase of adoption of RobATS, the long-term clinical impact of differences in LOS as well as the lack of clinical impact on the incidence of complications remain to be determined more definitively. However, the beneficial effect of volume on mortality suggests a need for the careful adoption of this promising technology.
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Surgical lung biopsy (SLB) is invasive and not possible in all patients with undiagnosed interstitial lung disease (ILD). We hypothesized that transbronchial biopsy (TBB) findings combined with clinical and high-resolution CT (HRCT) data leads to a confident diagnosis congruent to SLB and therefore avoids the need for SLB in some patients. ⋯ Information from TBB, when combined with clinical and HRCT data, may provide enough information to make a confident and accurate diagnosis in approximately 20% to 30% of patients with ILD.
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Observational Study
Clinical Features of Smokers with Radiological Emphysema but without Airway Limitation.
The clinical characteristics of patients with emphysema but without airway limitations remain unknown. The goal of this study was to compare the clinical features of current and former smokers without airflow limitation who have radiologic emphysema on chest CT scans vs a control group of current and ex-smokers without emphysema. ⋯ A significant proportion of smokers with emphysema according to low-dose chest CT scanning but without airway limitation had alterations in their quality of life, number of exacerbations, Dlco values, and oxygen saturation during the 6MWT test.
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Observational Study
Eosinophils in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations are associated with increased readmissions.
A subset of patients with COPD demonstrates eosinophilic inflammation either in their sputum or blood. Previous studies regarding the association between increased blood eosinophil levels and poor readmission outcomes are conflicting. The goal of this study was to investigate outcomes following severe COPD exacerbations in patients with higher blood eosinophil levels. ⋯ Blood eosinophil levels can be used as a biomarker in severe COPD exacerbations for predicting higher readmission rates.