American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Oct 2014
Comparative Study Clinical TrialNovel Tests for Diagnosis of Invasive Aspergillosis in Patients with Underlying Respiratory Diseases.
Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis has been increasingly reported in nonneutropenic patients, including those with underlying respiratory diseases. ⋯ Probable or proven invasive pulmonary aspergillosis was diagnosed in 14% of our study population and associated with significantly higher 30-day mortality rates. Although the performance of β-D-glucan was limited by low specificity and that of mycological culture by low sensitivity, the Aspergillus lateral-flow device seems to be a promising alternative to galactomannan testing, which remains the diagnostic gold standard for aspergillosis. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT 02058316).
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Oct 2014
Enhanced Upper-airway Muscle Responsiveness is a Distinct Feature of Overweight/Obese Individuals Without Sleep Apnea.
Body habitus is a major determinant of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, many individuals do not have OSA despite being overweight/obese (body mass index > 25 kg/m(2)) for reasons that are not fully elucidated. ⋯ Overweight/obese individuals without apnea have a moderately compromised upper-airway structure that is mitigated by highly responsive upper-airway dilator muscles to avoid OSA. Elucidating the mechanisms underlying enhanced muscle responses in this population may provide clues for novel OSA interventions.