Chest
-
Multicenter Study
Adiposity and interstitial lung abnormalities in community dwelling adults: the MESA cohort study.
Obesity is associated with restrictive ventilatory defects and a faster rate of decline in FVC. This association is not exclusively mediated by mechanical factors and may reflect direct pulmonary injury by adipose-derived mediators. ⋯ Greater amounts of pericardial and abdominal visceral adipose tissue were associated with CT measures of early lung injury and lower FVC in a cohort of community-dwelling adults. Adipose tissue may represent a modifiable risk factor for ILD.
-
Case Reports
A 48-Year-Old Amateur Bodybuilder With History of Provoked DVT With Subacute Progressive Shortness of Breath.
A 48-year-old man presented with 6 months of progressive shortness of breath, intermittent exertional left-sided chest pain, and bilateral lower extremity edema. During the 2 days before admission, he experienced new onset confusion, fatigue, and malaise that prompted evaluation. He denied fever, chills, cough, or sputum production. ⋯ The patient's occupation was construction, installing aluminum gutters. He specifically denied exposures to sand-blasting, coal, beryllium, hard metals, silicone, and fine particles. He had no recent travel, sick contacts, or animal exposures.
-
Pulmonary endothelial damage has been shown to precede the development of emphysema in animals, and vascular changes in humans have been observed in COPD and emphysema. ⋯ Pulmonary arterial pruning was associated with faster progression of percent emphysema and more rapid decline in FEV1 to FVC ratio over 5 years in ever smokers, suggesting that pulmonary vascular differences may be relevant in disease progression.
-
Editorial Comment
Smoothing Out the Peaks and Valleys of High-Altitude Sleep Apnea.