Chest
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Accurate spirometry interpretation is critical in the diagnosis and management of COPD. With increasing efforts for a unified approach by the Global Lung Function Initiative (GLI), this study evaluated the application of race-specific 2012 GLI and race-neutral 2022 GLI reference equations compared with Choi's reference equations, which are derived and widely used in South Korea, for spirometry interpretation in Northeast Asian patients with COPD. ⋯ Application of GLI reference equations for spirometry interpretation in Northeast Asian patients with COPD has potential implications on disease severity grade for clinical management and trial participation, and maintains consistent significant relationships with key disease outcomes.
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The prevalence of invasive fungal infections (IFIs) has risen in the past 3 decades, attributed to advancements in immune-modulatory therapies used in transplantation, rheumatology, and oncology. ⋯ Understanding the complex interplay between the immune system and opportunistic fungal pathogens plays a key role in early diagnosis and prevention.
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In this instalment of the How I Do It series on severe asthma, we tackle the clinical conundrum of choosing the right biologic for the right patient with severe asthma. With six biologics now approved for use in this area comprising four different targeting strategies (anti-Ig E: omalizumab; anti-IL-5 and anti-IL-5-receptor: mepolizumab, reslizumab, and benralizumab; anti-IL-4-receptor: dupilumab; anti-thymic stromal lymphopoietin: tezepelumab), this question is increasingly complex. Recognizing that no head-to-head trial has compared biologics, we based our review on the expected effects of inhibiting different aspects of type 2 airway inflammation, supported whenever possible by clinical trial and real-world data. ⋯ Overall, we consider that the choice of biologics should be based on the available clinical trial data for the desired efficacy outcomes, the biomarker profile of the patient, safety profiles (eg, when pregnancy is considered), and opportunities to target two comorbidities with one biologic. Using systemic and airway biomarkers (blood eosinophils and exhaled nitric oxide [Feno]) and other phenotypic characteristics, we suggest a framework to facilitate therapeutic decision-making. Post hoc studies and new comparative studies are needed urgently to test this framework and to determine whether it allows us to make other clinically useful predictions.
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Single lung transplantation (SLT) has been shown to be associated with worse long-term outcomes than bilateral lung transplantation (BLT), but often is performed in older adults at risk of not tolerating BLT. ⋯ Our findings show that in older adults, SLT is associated with less morbidity and comparable early survival relative to BLT, but lower 5-year survival. This suggests that SLT is reasonable to perform in older adults at high risk of not tolerating BLT.
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Post-pulmonary embolism (PE) dyspnea is common. Existing noninvasive studies have demonstrated that post-PE dyspnea is associated with elevations in right ventricular (RV) afterload, dead space ventilation, and deconditioning. We aimed to use invasive cardiopulmonary exercise testing (iCPET) parameters in patients with post-PE dyspnea to identify unique physiologic phenotypes. ⋯ In this study, iCPET revealed significant heterogeneity in post-PE dyspnea. Three phenotypes were characterized by differences in RV afterload: ventilatory efficiency, respiratory mechanics, and peripheral oxygen use.