Chest
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The Effect of Venlafaxine on Apnea Hypopnea Index in Patients with Sleep Apnea - a Randomized, Double-Blind Crossover Study.
One of the key mechanisms underlying OSA is reduced pharyngeal muscle tone during sleep. Data suggest that pharmacologic augmentation of central serotonergic/adrenergic tone increases pharyngeal muscle tone. ⋯ In unselected patients, venlafaxine simultaneously worsened and improved various pathophysiologic traits, resulting in a zero net effect. Careful patient selection based on pathophysiologic traits, or combination therapy with drugs countering its alerting effects, may produce a more robust response.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
RE-EVALUATION OF THE UPLIFT CLINICAL TRIAL, USING AGE-APPROPRIATE SPIROMETRIC CRITERIA.
The clinical trial of tiotropium in COPD, UPLIFT, enrolled adults with a mean age of 65 years and moderate-to-severe airflow obstruction, based on criteria from the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD). For the UPLIFT cohort, however, GOLD-based criteria are not age-appropriate. ⋯ Mortality reduction by tiotropium was only statistically significant in GLI-based moderate airflow-obstruction, a group that was underrepresented in UPLIFT because of severity misclassification by the original GOLD-based enrollment criteria.
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A 23-year-old man arrives at the ED with a 3-week history of dyspnea, dry cough, fevers, and night sweats. Two weeks previously, he was evaluated in an outpatient clinic and given a course of azithromycin for presumed infectious pneumonia. His symptoms did not improve, and he was seen 1 week later in an urgent care center and given a prescription for doxycycline, which he has been taking without improvement. ⋯ Urine toxicology screen is positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Asked specifically about vaping and e-cigarette use, he reports that he recently began using THC "carts" that his friend gets from an unknown supplier. What is the diagnosis and what additional steps are necessary to confirm it? Is bronchoscopy indicated?
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Little is known about the prevalence, predictors, and outcomes of late vasopressor administration which evolves after admission to the ICU. ⋯ Late vasopressor administration was modestly associated with comorbidities and admission illness severity. One-year mortality was higher among those who received late vasopressor administration compared with only early vasopressor administration. Research to understand optimization of late vasopressor therapy administration may improve long-term mortality.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Association of Guideline-recommended COPD Inhaler Regimenswith Mortality, Respiratory Exacerbations, and Quality of Life: A Secondary Analysis of the Long-Term Oxygen Treatment Trial.
Although inhaled therapy reduces exacerbations among patients with COPD, the effectiveness of providing inhaled treatment per risk stratification models remains unclear. ⋯ Among patients with COPD with moderate hypoxemia, we found no difference in clinical outcomes between inhaled regimens aligning with the 2017 GOLD strategy compared with those that were undertreated. These findings suggest the need to reevaluate the effectiveness of risk stratification model-based inhaled treatment strategies.