Chest
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The Confusion, Urea > 7 mM, Respiratory Rate ≥ 30 breaths/min, BP < 90 mm Hg (Systolic) or < 60 mm Hg (Diastolic), Age ≥ 65 Years (CURB-65) score and the Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI) are well-established clinical prediction rules for predicting mortality in patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). SARS-CoV-2 has emerged as a new etiologic agent for CAP, but the role of CURB-65 score and PSI have not been established. ⋯ PSI and CURB-65 score can predict in-hospital mortality for patients with SARS-CoV-2 CAP and non-SARS-CoV-2 CAP comparatively. In patients with SARS-CoV-2 CAP, the inclusion of either D-dimer or procalcitonin to PSI or CURB-65 score did not improve the prognostic performance of either score. In patients with CAP, regardless of cause, PSI and CURB-65 score remain adequate for predicting mortality in clinical practice.
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Despite substantial progress in long-term follow-up strategies for lung transplant recipients, morbidity and mortality remain high, mostly because of the elevated infectious risk and the development of chronic lung allograft dysfunction. The high immunosuppressive levels necessary to prevent acute rejection and the graft's constant exposure to the environment come at the high price of frequent infectious complications. ⋯ However, these are challenging endeavors because of the vast spectrum of possible pathogens and the discrete clinical features resulting form transplant recipients' impaired immune responses. This review proposes a stratified diagnostic strategy and discusses the most relevant pathogens and the corresponding therapeutic approaches, while also offering insight on infection prevention strategies: vaccination, prophylaxis, pre-emptive therapy, and antibiotic stewardship.
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Although male sex is associated with poor prognosis in systemic sclerosis (SSc), it is unclear whether this association is independent of confounding factors such as occupational exposure to toxicants. ⋯ Occupational exposure to toxicants seems to predict decline of FVC in patients with SSc independently, regardless of sex. Assessment of occupational exposure may be useful for SSc prognostication.
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Lung cancer ranks second for cancer incidence and first for cancer mortality. Investigation into its risk factors and epidemiologic trends could help describe geographical distribution and identify high-risk population groups. ⋯ Most countries had increasing trends in females but decreasing trends in males and in lung cancer incidence and mortality. Tobacco related measures and early cancer detection should be implemented to control the increasing trends of lung cancer in females, and in regions identified as having these trends. Future studies may explore the reasons behind these epidemiological transitions.
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Previous studies suggesting that OSA may be an independent risk factor for VTE have been limited by reliance on administrative data and lack of adjustment for clinical variables, including obesity. ⋯ In this large cohort, we found that patients with more severe OSA as measured by the apnea-hypopnea index are more likely to have incident VTE. Adjusted analyses suggest that this association is explained on the basis of confounding by obesity. However, severe nocturnal hypoxemia may be a mechanism by which OSA heightens VTE risk.