Seminars in respiratory and critical care medicine
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Semin Respir Crit Care Med · Aug 2023
Multicenter StudyExpert Review on Nonsurgical Management of Parapneumonic Effusion: Advances, Controversies, and New Directions.
Parapneumonic effusion and empyema are rising in incidence worldwide, particularly in association with comorbidities in an aging population. Also driving this change is the widespread uptake of pneumococcal vaccines, leading to the emergence of nonvaccine-type pneumococci and other bacteria. Early treatment with systemic antibiotics is essential but should be guided by local microbial guidelines and antimicrobial resistance patterns due to significant geographical variation. ⋯ The IET dosing regimen used in the UK Multicenter Sepsis Trial -2 has the most evidence available but data surrounding alternative dosing, concurrent and once-daily instillations, and novel fibrinolytic agents are promising. Prognostic scores used in pneumonia (e.g., CURB-65) tend to underestimate mortality in parapneumonic effusion/empyema. Scores specifically based on pleural infection have been developed but require validation in prospective cohorts.
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Semin Respir Crit Care Med · Aug 2022
Multicenter StudyNonmalignant Central Airway Obstruction: Options for Challenging Cases.
Benign central airway obstruction is commonly referred as nonmalignant central airway obstruction (NMCAO). This is in part related to its lack of benign nature and significant life-quality impairment in patients. It is a pathologic entity with various etiologies and therefore a wide range of therapeutic options are available. ⋯ The lack of a common pathophysiologic pathway translating into a nonspecific symptom presenting as NMCAO has complicated treatment standardization and subsequently limited solid research to favor of one approach over another one. Our intent is to describe the limited evidence of the most utilized nonsurgical treatment for NMCAO as well as some upcoming promising therapeutic options such as mitomycin C injection, microdebrider, biodegradable stents, radiotherapy, Hybrid Knife, and endoluminal spray cryotherapy. Our goal with this manuscript is to motivate other authors to venture into prospective, multicenter, open-label trials aimed to describe long-term outcomes in patients with NMCAO.
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Semin Respir Crit Care Med · Apr 2022
Multicenter StudyHospital-Acquired Pneumonia/Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia and Ventilator-Associated Tracheobronchitis in COVID-19.
Although few studies evaluated the incidence of hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) or ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis in COVID-19 patients, several studies evaluated the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in these patients. Based on the results of a large multicenter European study, VAP incidence is higher in patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia (36.1%), as compared with those with influenza pneumonia (22.2%), or no viral infection at intensive care unit (ICU) admission (16.5%). ⋯ VAP is associated with increased mortality, duration of mechanical ventilation, and ICU length of stay in COVID-19 patients. Further studies should focus on the incidence of HAP especially in ICU non-ventilated patients, better determine the pathophysiology of these infections, and evaluate the accuracy of currently available treatment guidelines in COVID-19 patients.