Chest
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In Japan, the routine use of early antiviral therapy for patients with influenza is standard. ⋯ Among the prognostic factors, malnutrition and pneumonia are amenable to medical intervention. An opportunity exists to improve empirical therapy for patients with HCAP and influenza.
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Capnography has made steady inroads in the ICU and is increasingly used for all patients who are mechanically ventilated. There is growing recognition that capnography is rich in information about lung and circulatory physiology and provides insight into many diseases and treatments. ⋯ In this review, we emphasize analysis of the entire capnographic waveform as a way to glean additional useful information. We also discuss important limitations of capnography, especially when it is considered to be a surrogate for Paco2.
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Over the past 30 years, therapeutic advances have extended the median lifespan of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Hispanic patients are a vulnerable subpopulation with a high prevalence of risk factors for worse health outcomes. The consequences of these differences on health outcomes have not been well described. The objective of this study was to characterize the difference in health outcomes, including mortality rate, between Hispanic and non-Hispanic patients with CF. ⋯ Hispanic patients with CF have a higher mortality rate than do non-Hispanic patients, even after adjusting for socioeconomic status and clinical severity. Further investigation into the mechanism for the measured difference in lung function will help inform interventions and improve the health of all patients with CF.
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Multicenter Study
Is Alveolar Macrophage Phagocytic Dysfunction in Children With Protracted Bacterial Bronchitis a Forerunner to Bronchiectasis?
Children with recurrent protracted bacterial bronchitis (PBB) and bronchiectasis share common features, and PBB is likely a forerunner to bronchiectasis. Both diseases are associated with neutrophilic inflammation and frequent isolation of potentially pathogenic microorganisms, including nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi), from the lower airway. Defective alveolar macrophage phagocytosis of apoptotic bronchial epithelial cells (efferocytosis), as found in other chronic lung diseases, may also contribute to tissue damage and neutrophil persistence. Thus, in children with bronchiectasis or PBB and in control subjects, we quantified the phagocytosis of airway apoptotic cells and NTHi by alveolar macrophages and related the phagocytic capacity to clinical and airway inflammation. ⋯ A reduced alveolar macrophage phagocytic host response to apoptotic cells or NTHi may contribute to neutrophilic inflammation and NTHi colonization in both PBB and bronchiectasis. Whether this mechanism also contributes to the progression of PBB to bronchiectasis remains unknown.
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Recent guidelines recommend assessing medical inpatients for bleeding risk prior to providing chemical prophylaxis for VTE. The International Medical Prevention Registry on Venous Thromboembolism (IMPROVE) bleeding risk score (BRS) was derived from a well-defined population of medical inpatients but it has not been validated externally. We sought to externally validate the IMPROVE BRS. ⋯ The IMPROVE BRS calculated at admission predicts major bleeding in medical inpatients. This model may help assess the relative risks of bleeding and VTE before chemoprophylaxis is administered.