Chest
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Multicenter Study
Visual Estimate of Coronary Artery Calcium Predicts Cardiovascular Disease in COPD.
COPD is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD), and coronary artery calcification (CAC) provides additional prognostic information. With increasing use of nongated CT scans in clinical practice, this study hypothesized that the visual Weston CAC score would perform as well as the Agatston score in predicting prevalent and incident coronary artery disease (CAD) and CVD in COPD. ⋯ A simple visual score for CAC performed well in predicting incident CAD in smokers with and without COPD.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Acute Tetrahydrobiopterin Improves Endothelial Function in Patients With COPD.
Cardiovascular diseases represent a hallmark characteristic in COPD, and endothelial dysfunction has been observed in these patients. Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) is an essential cofactor for nitric oxide (NO) synthesis and a regulator of endothelial function. The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that a single dose of BH4 would improve endothelial function in patients with COPD via an increase in NO bioavailability. ⋯ An acute dose of BH4 was able to improve endothelial function in patients with COPD to values similar to control subjects. The improvement in endothelial function was accompanied by an increase in NOS3 phosphorylation. BH4 may represent a potential novel therapy to improve endothelial function and reduce cardiovascular disease risk in patients with COPD.
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Multicenter Study
In-Hospital Deaths Among Adults With Community-Acquired Pneumonia.
Adults hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) are at high risk for short-term mortality. However, it is unclear whether improvements in in-hospital pneumonia care could substantially lower this risk. We extensively reviewed all in-hospital deaths in a large prospective CAP study to assess the cause of each death and assess the extent of potentially preventable mortality. ⋯ In this study of adults with CAP at tertiary-care hospitals with a low mortality rate, most in-hospital deaths did not appear to be preventable with improvements in in-hospital pneumonia care. Preexisting end-of-life limitations in care, advanced age, and high comorbidity burden were common among those who died.
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Value-based care is evolving with a focus on improving efficiency, reducing cost, and enhancing the patient experience. Interventional pulmonology has the opportunity to lead an effective value-based care model. ⋯ We discuss key strategies to evaluate and improve efficiency in interventional pulmonology practice and describe our experience in developing an interventional pulmonology suite. Such a model can be adapted to other specialty areas and may encourage a more coordinated approach to specialty care.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Assessment of Plasma Proteomics Biomarker's Ability to Distinguish Benign From Malignant Lung Nodules: Results of the PANOPTIC (Pulmonary Nodule Plasma Proteomic Classifier) Trial.
Lung nodules are a diagnostic challenge, with an estimated yearly incidence of 1.6 million in the United States. This study evaluated the accuracy of an integrated proteomic classifier in identifying benign nodules in patients with a pretest probability of cancer (pCA) ≤ 50%. ⋯ When used in patients with lung nodules with a pCA ≤ 50%, the integrated classifier accurately identifies benign lung nodules with good performance characteristics. If used in clinical practice, invasive procedures could be reduced by diverting benign nodules to surveillance.