Chest
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Multicenter Study
Impact of Dyspnea on Adults with Respiratory Symptoms Without a Defined Diagnosis.
We investigated dyspnea; its associated risk factors; and its impact on health care utilization, quality of life, and work productivity in adults with undiagnosed respiratory symptoms. ⋯ Our findings showed that in community-based adults with undiagnosed respiratory symptoms, those identified with PRISm experienced the greatest impact of dyspnea. Dyspnea imposes burdens on the health care system and is associated with impaired quality of life and work productivity.
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Zanubrutinib is an orally administered second-generation covalent inhibitor of Bruton tyrosine kinase that was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small lymphocytic leukemia. It has been associated with significant major and minor bleeding events, including intracranial and GI hemorrhage and hematuria, with or without concurrent antiplatelet or anticoagulation therapy. ⋯ On discontinuation of zanubrutinib after the second episode, he remained asymptomatic on further follow-up examination. Previously only described with the first-generation Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor, our case focuses attention on a rare adverse event and a first reported incidence, to our knowledge, of recurrent hemorrhagic pleural effusion associated with zanubrutinib in a patient with relapsing chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
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A 68-year-old woman presented with worsening dyspnea. She had presented to her local community hospital 10 days earlier with similar symptoms. She was diagnosed with a right-sided pleural effusion, which was attributed to pneumonia and treated with antibiotics. ⋯ She did not have any recent surgeries or trauma. She had a medical history notable for Hodgkin lymphoma treated with radiation 40 years ago, renal cancer treated with nephrectomy, COPD on chronic 2 L oxygen nasal cannula, and pulmonary embolism on chronic anticoagulation. She also had a chronic left-sided chest port, which had been placed for a long-standing history of difficult IV access.
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The hemoglobin value to trigger RBC transfusion for patients receiving venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is controversial. Previous guidelines recommended transfusing to a normal hemoglobin level, but recent studies suggest that more RBC transfusions are associated with increased adverse outcomes. ⋯ We observed a decrease in number of RBC units per day of ECMO over time, but changes were not associated temporally with implementation of transfusion thresholds. A transfusion threshold of hemoglobin < 8 g/dL was associated with a lower hazard of death, but these findings are limited by study methodology. Further research is needed to investigate optimal RBC transfusion practices for patients supported with venovenous ECMO.
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The impact of inhalation injury on risk of nosocomial pneumonia (NP), an important complication in patients with burns, is not well established. ⋯ In this study, among patients with inhalation injury, more severe injury was associated with higher hazard of NP in competing risk analysis. Additional research is needed to investigate mechanisms that may explain the relationship between inhalation injury and NP and to identify more effective risk reduction strategies.