Chest
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Although long neglected, the right side of the heart (RH) is now widely accepted as a pivotal player in heart failure (HF) either with reduced or preserved ejection fraction. The chronic overload of the pulmonary microcirculation results in an initial phase characterized by right ventricular (RV) hypertrophy, right atrial dilation, and diastolic dysfunction. This progresses to overt RH failure when RV dilation and systolic dysfunction lead to RV-pulmonary arterial (RV-PA) uncoupling with low RV output. ⋯ Assessments simultaneously should encompass RV systolic function, pulmonary pressures, an estimation of RV-PA coupling, and RH morphologic features. Despite a large volume of evidence indicating the relevance of RH function to the clinical syndrome of HF, evidence-based management strategies are lacking. Targeting RH dysfunction in HF should be an objective of future investigations, being an unmet need in the current management of HF.
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Partnering with patients and community stakeholders to identify, design, undertake, and evaluate research is increasingly common. We describe our experience with creating and developing an ongoing Community Stakeholder Committee to guide lung health research for disease prevention and health care improvement. This committee is central to the integrated knowledge translation approach of Legacy for Airway Health, which is dedicated to preventing and improving care for lung diseases. ⋯ Whereas individual scores suggested varied levels of meaningful engagement within the committee, overall results indicated strong personal relationships and a sense of feeling valued and respected, as well as a desire for increased opportunities to contribute to research within the program. Overall, this experience offers lessons learned about the importance of spending time and effort to build relationships, particularly in a virtual context, and shows that meaningful engagement can be achieved even when personal contact is limited. These efforts are illustrated in successful grant applications, research involvement, and stronger personal relationships.
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US hospitals have reported compliance with the SEP-1 quality measure to Medicare since 2015. Finding an association between compliance and outcomes is essential to gauge measure effectiveness. ⋯ Compliance with SEP-1 was associated with lower 30-day mortality. Rendering SEP-1 compliant care may reduce the incidence of avoidable deaths.
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Interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA) may represent undiagnosed early-stage or subclinical interstitial lung disease (ILD). ILA are often observed incidentally in patients who subsequently develop clinically overt ILD. There is limited information on consensus definitions for, and the appropriate evaluation of, ILA. Early recognition of patients with ILD remains challenging, yet critically important. Expert consensus could inform early recognition and referral. ⋯ Guidance was established for identifying clinically relevant ILA, subsequent referral, and follow-up. These results lay the foundation for developing practical guidance on managing patients with ILA.
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Comment Review
The Last Beat: Contemporary Ethical Controversies Surrounding Determination of Cardiopulmonary Death.
Part one of this series tracked the evolution of the death examination, noting its stability over the last century despite changing diagnostic and therapeutic technologies and social contexts. In part two, we discuss the practical and ethical debates surrounding the exact timing of death. ⋯ The phenomenon of autoresuscitation highlights these issues because patients who meet all the criteria for circulatory death (sometimes for periods of observation well beyond the norm) apparently return to life. Were these patients resurrected (like Lazarus) or did we simply not wait long enough?