Advances in therapy
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Advances in therapy · Sep 2019
ReviewTransbronchial Lung Cryobiopsy in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: A State of the Art Review.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive lung disease associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The diagnosis of IPF involves a combination of clinical history, radiological imaging and examination of histopathological samples in appropriate cases. Historically, transbronchial biopsy (TBB) has been used to obtain histological samples; however this lacks diagnostic accuracy. ⋯ Common complications of TBLC include pneumothorax and bleeding. Mortality in TBLC is low compared with SLB, with exacerbation of IPF frequently reported as the cause. TBLC represents an exciting potential option in the diagnostic pathway in IPF; however its true value has yet to be determined.
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Advances in therapy · Sep 2019
ReviewCurrent Practices for Outpatient Initiation of Levodopa-Carbidopa Intestinal Gel for Management of Advanced Parkinson's Disease in the United States.
In 2015, the US Food and Drug Administration approved levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG; also known as carbidopa-levodopa enteral suspension in the US) for the treatment of motor fluctuations in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease. LCIG provides a continuous infusion of levodopa and carbidopa by means of a portable pump and percutaneous endoscopic gastrojejunostomy tube. The delivery system has a two-fold pharmacokinetic advantage over orally administered carbidopa/levodopa. ⋯ This review aims to shed light on and provide guidance as to the current methods of titration in the outpatient setting, as informed by the medical literature and the authors' experiences. FUNDING: AbbVie, Inc. Plain language summary available for this article.