Chest
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of the Combination of Atomoxetine and Oxybutynin on Obstructive Sleep Apnea Endotypic Traits.
We recently showed that administration of the combination of the noradrenergic drug atomoxetine plus the antimuscarinic oxybutynin (ato-oxy) prior to sleep greatly reduced OSA severity, likely by increasing upper airway dilator muscle activity during sleep. In patients with OSA who performed the ato-oxy trial with an esophageal pressure catheter to estimate ventilatory drive, the effect of the drug combination (n = 17) and of the single drugs (n = 6) was measured on the endotypic traits over a 1-night administration and compared vs placebo. This study also tested if specific traits were predictors of complete response to treatment (reduction in apnea-hypopnea index [AHI] > 50% and < 10 events/h). ⋯ Ato-oxy markedly improved the measures of upper airway collapsibility, increased breathing stability, and slightly reduced the arousal threshold. Patients with relatively lower AHI and less severe upper airway collapsibility had the best chance for OSA resolution with ato-oxy.
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Multicenter Study
An evaluation of diagnostic yield from Bronchoscopy: the impact of clinical/radiographic factors, procedure type and degree of suspicion for cancer.
Bronchoscopy is commonly used to evaluate suspicious lung lesions. The yield is likely dependent on patient, radiographic, and bronchoscopic factors. Few studies have assessed these factors simultaneously while also including the preprocedure physician-assessed probability of cancer (pCA) when assessing yield. ⋯ This study is the first to assess the yield of bronchoscopy according to physician-assessed pCA in a large, prospective multicenter trial. The yield of bronchoscopy varied greatly according to physician suspicion that cancer is present, the patients' clinical/radiographic features, and the type of procedure performed. Of the procedures performed, EBUS-TBNA was the most likely to provide a diagnosis.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Hospital-Based Resource Use and Costs Among Patients With Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Enrolled in the Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Prospective Outcomes (IPF-PRO) Registry.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a rare and serious condition that is associated with high health-care resource use. The goal of this study was to estimate hospital-related resource use and costs by using a national, prospective registry of patients who were diagnosed with IPF or who had their diagnosis confirmed at the enrolling center in the past 6 months in the United States. ⋯ IPF is associated with a substantial economic burden incurred by patients requiring hospital care. Future research in IPF should focus on improving clinical outcomes while reducing cost of care in hospitals.
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Accurate diagnosis is crucial to improve the treatment and prognosis of respiratory disease, especially lung cancer. Tumors and lesions located deep in the lung are directly accessible via dendritic tracheal bronchus, thereby opening a new way to tackle respiratory disease. ⋯ Especially, versatile nanosized particles have enormous potential to benefit precision imaging and therapy at the molecular level. Here we discuss advances of intratracheal delivery of nano- and microparticles and hyperpolarized gases for respiratory disease imaging and treatment, with an emphasis on intratracheal nanoparticles delivery for pulmonary imaging, which has extremely valuable clinical applications in precise theranostics for respiratory disease.
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COPD is a common respiratory disorder that poses a major health-care burden with societal and financial ramifications. Although effective inhaled therapies are available, nonadherence is common among patients with COPD and potentially contributes to the burden of this disease. Electronic inhaler monitoring (EIM) is a novel modality that enables real-time assessment of adherence to inhaled therapy and informs the assessment of treatment effectiveness. ⋯ Using an EIM-guided protocol has the potential to avoid treatment escalation in the nonadherent. Coupling EIM to behavioral intervention is an area of ongoing research with mixed results, with some studies showing benefit and others showing minimal or no significant change in clinical outcomes. Further investigation is necessary to understand the incremental benefits of EIM features, delineate optimal program implementation, and target patient populations that would benefit the most from monitoring.