American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Aug 2015
An Official American Thoracic Society Research Statement: A Research Framework for Pulmonary Nodule Evaluation and Management.
Pulmonary nodules are frequently detected during diagnostic chest imaging and as a result of lung cancer screening. Current guidelines for their evaluation are largely based on low-quality evidence, and patients and clinicians could benefit from more research in this area. ⋯ This statement may help researchers to develop impactful and innovative research projects and enable funders to better judge research proposals. We hope that it will accelerate the pace and increase the efficiency of discovery to improve the quality of care for patients with pulmonary nodules.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Aug 2015
Trends in Tracheostomy for Mechanically Ventilated Patients in the United States, 1993-2012.
National trends in tracheostomy for mechanical ventilation (MV) patients are not well characterized. ⋯ Over the past two decades, tracheostomy use rose substantially in the United States until 2008, when use began to decline. The observed dramatic increase in discharge of tracheostomy patients to long-term care facilities may have significant implications for clinical care, healthcare costs, policy, and research. Future studies should include long-term facilities when analyzing outcomes of tracheostomy.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Aug 2015
The Host Response to the Lung Microbiome in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
The relatively sparse but diverse microbiome in human lungs may become less diverse in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This article examines the relationship of this microbiome to emphysematous tissue destruction, number of terminal bronchioles, infiltrating inflammatory cells, and host gene expression. ⋯ These results support the hypothesis that there is a host immune response to microorganisms within the lung microbiome that appears to contribute to the pathogenesis of COPD.