Canadian respiratory journal : journal of the Canadian Thoracic Society
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Comparative Study
An evaluation of procedural training in Canadian respirology fellowship programs: program directors' and fellows' perspectives.
In recent years, there has been a rapid growth in diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed by respirologists. ⋯ Canadian respirology fellows perform lower numbers of basic respiratory procedures, other than flexible bronchoscopy, than that suggested by the American College of Chest Physicians guidelines. Exposure and training in advanced diagnostic and therapeutic procedures is minimal. A concerted effort to improve procedural training is required to improve these results.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Assessment and management of patients with chronic cough by Certified Respiratory Educators: a randomized controlled trial.
The value of other health care professionals is increasingly being recognized to compensate for the shortage of physicians in Canada. Chronic cough is one of the most common reasons for consultation with a respirologist. In the present study, a prospective, randomized, controlled study was undertaken to determine whether Certified Respiratory Educators (CREs) could manage screened patients with chronic cough as effectively as respirologists. ⋯ CREs can safely and effectively assess, as well as appropriately treat, screened patients with chronic cough with a resultant reduction in wait times.
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The case of a 33-year-old man with aplastic anemia who experienced recurrent episodes of hypoxemia and pulmonary infiltrates during infusions of antithymocyte globulin (ATG) is described. With the use of high-dose corticosteroids, the patient's original episodes resolved, and were subsequently prevented before additional administrations of ATG. ⋯ Although the mechanism of ATG-related acute lung injury remains uncertain, it may be parallel to the mechanism of transfusion-related acute lung injury because the pathogenesis of the latter relies, in part, on antileukocyte antibodies. ATG-related toxicity should be included in the differential diagnosis of new, infusion-associated pulmonary infiltrates, and corticosteroids may be a useful therapeutic consideration in the management.