Chest
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Editorial Comment
Out-of-proportion pulmonary hypertension: a paradigm for rare diseases.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Complete unilateral vs partial bilateral endoscopic lung volume reduction in patients with bilateral lung emphysema.
Intrabronchial valve placement for endoscopic lung volume reduction is used for patients with severe lung emphysema. Different treatment approaches are unilateral valve placement with the goal of complete occlusion and subsequent atelectasis leading to true volume reduction vs bilateral partial closure aiming for redistribution of ventilation but avoiding atelectasis. In this prospective pilot trial, we compared the efficacy of these treatment approaches. ⋯ Unilateral intrabronchial valve placement with complete occlusion appears superior to bilateral partial occlusion.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
The effect of marital status on the presentation and outcomes of elderly male veterans hospitalized for pneumonia.
Although marital status has been shown to affect the outcomes of many conditions, there are limited data on the relationships between marital status and the presentation and outcomes of pneumonia. ⋯ Unmarried elderly men admitted to the hospital with pneumonia have a higher risk of in-hospital and postdischarge mortality, despite having a lower degree of comorbidity. Although marital status may be a surrogate marker for other predictors, it is an easily identifiable one. These results should be considered by those responsible for care-transition decisions for patients hospitalized with pneumonia.
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Comparative Study
Rationale for treatment of metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the lung using fibroblast growth factor receptor inhibitors.
We previously identified amplification of the fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 gene (FGFR1) as a potential therapeutic target for small-molecule inhibitor therapy in squamous cell lung cancer (L-SCC). Currently, clinical phase I trials are underway to examine whether patients with FGFR1-amplified L-SCC benefit from a targeted therapy approach using small-molecule inhibitors. Because most patients with lung cancer present with metastatic disease, we investigated whether lymph node metastases in L-SCC share the FGFR1 amplification status of their corresponding primary tumor. ⋯ FGFR1 amplification is a common genetic event occurring at a frequency of 16% in L-SCCs. Moreover, lymph node metastases derived from FGFR1-amplified L-SCCs also exhibit FGFR1 amplification. Therefore, we suggest that the FGFR1 amplification is a clonal event in tumor progression. Beyond this biologically relevant observation, the findings carry potential therapeutic implications in that small-molecule inhibitors may be applicable to the treatment of a subset of patients with metastatic L-SCC.