Respiratory medicine case reports
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Respir Med Case Rep · Jan 2020
Case ReportsA presentation of E-Cigarette vaping associated lung injury (EVALI) caused by THC-Containing electronic smoking device.
Several cases have recently been reported concerning the development of a syndrome of acute lung injury associated with the use of electronic cigarettes, leading to respiratory failure and several deaths. We present a case of a young veteran who presented with e-cigarette vaping associated lung injury (EVALI) to a primary care clinic and who required subsequent inpatient admission and home oxygen therapy after discharge. ⋯ This outpatient case of EVALI prompts primary care providers to raise suspicion of this condition, and enquire about the use of e-cigarettes, particularly THC-containing vaping products. Furthermore, in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic, similar clinical and radiographic presentations between COVID-19 and EVALI can be seen.
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Respir Med Case Rep · Jan 2020
Case ReportsConfirmed E-cigarette or vaping product use associated lung injury (EVALI) with lung biopsy; A case report and literature review.
E-cigarette or vaping has become an increasingly popular alternative to smoking tobacco. In September 2019 multiple cases of confirmed E-cigarette or vaping product use associated lung injury were published. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the pathologic mechanism of this condition. ⋯ The underlying pathophysiological mechanism in E-cigarette or vaping product use associated lung injury is most likely acute lung injury related to direct inhalant-mediated parenchymal inflammation.
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Respir Med Case Rep · Jan 2020
Case ReportsSuccessful recovery from critical COVID-19 pneumonia with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: A case report.
A public health emergency of current international concern is the outbreak of a severe respiratory illness, that is, coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The disease initially started in Wuhan, China, and it rapidly spread to most regions of the world. ⋯ We describe the patient's clinical course, from mild symptoms at the time of illness onset to symptoms of severe pneumonia as the illness progressed. We provide important information regarding our clinical experience for further understanding of management discrepancies, as treatment with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or pharmacotherapy (e.g., antivirals, immunomodulators, and glucocorticoids) is often dependent on the severity of symptoms.
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Respir Med Case Rep · Jan 2020
Case ReportsNebulized fentanyl for refractory dyspnea secondary to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): A case report.
We present a case where we evaluated the effectiveness of nebulized fentanyl in the treatment of refractive dyspnea in a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with major complications and comorbidities. Nebulized fentanyl was used to successfully decrease the subjective symptoms of refractory dyspnea in this given patient. Nebulized fentanyl appears to be a cost-effective treatment option in patients that experience episodes of severe shortness of breath (SOB).
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Respir Med Case Rep · Jan 2020
Case ReportsPulmonary cement embolism complicating percutaneous kyphoplasty: A case report.
Vertebral cement augmentation procedures, as kyphoplasty (KP) or percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP), are commonly used for the management of pain of the vertebral column usually due to fractures related to traumatic injury, osteoporosis or metastatic lesion. It is a useful and safe technique with few complications. Among them, symptomatic pulmonary cement embolism (PCE) can happened, even rarely described in the literature, leading to severe cardio-respiratory manifestations depending on the location and size of the cement emboli. ⋯ In this case, the pulmonary cement embolism occurred after kyphoplasty, which is associated with less risk of PCE than vertebroplasty. The procedure was done under biplanar fluoroscopy and no leakage of cement was noted, which would raise suspicion for CPE. Repeat imagine after this procedure is not routinely done. This case demonstrates that systematic imaging post procedure should be considered.An anticoagulation with rivaroxaban seems to be effective in our patient.