BACKGROUND The independent, mediation, interaction, and joint effects of socioeconomic status (SES) and phenotypic frailty on the incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are unclear. RESEARCH QUESTION Do SES and frailty increase the risk of COPD independently or jointly ? Is there an interaction between the two factors in incident COPD? Does frailty play a mediating role between SES

BACKGROUND Quantitative chest computed tomography (CT) may be a useful predictor of outcome in rheumatoid arthritis-related interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD). RESEARCH QUESTION What is the utility of deep learning-based lung fibrosis quantitation on CT in assessing disease severity, predicting mortality and identifying progression in RA-ILD? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS CT scans on a primary cohort of

BACKGROUND Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) causes episodes of fragmented sleep and intermittent hypoxia and leads to excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). Deficits in cognitive function are a troublesome symptom in patients with OSA and EDS. RESEARCH QUESTION How does solriamfetol affect cognitive function in patients with cognitive impairment associated with OSA and EDS? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS SHARP

BACKGROUND The current guidelines do not recommend β-blockers in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) unless indicated by comorbidities. However, the evidence regarding the role of β-blockers in PAH is contradictory. RESEARCH QUESTION What are the effects of β-blockers on clinical outcomes in patients newly diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), and how do these outcomes differ based

BACKGROUND Response to pulmonary rehabilitation is not equal for all participants, and may vary across health outcomes for any one individual. Alternative modes of pulmonary rehabilitation delivery, e.g. telerehabilitation, may improve program access but could also affect response to rehabilitation. RESEARCH QUESTIONS What is the rate of clinical response to home-based telerehabilitation compared to

BACKGROUND There are limited FDA-approved medications and real-world data on sarcoidosis treatment in the U.S. and concordance of practice patterns with guideline recommendations have not been well characterized. RESEARCH QUESTION What are the practice patterns and factors associated with treatment for patients with sarcoidosis in the year following diagnosis? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS We conducted

BACKGROUND Pneumothorax is a major complication following endoscopic lung volume reduction with valves with a prevalence of up to 34%. While some patients benefit from valve implantation despite pneumothorax, others are significantly impaired after lung collapse. RESEARCH QUESTION What are the differences in the severity grades of pneumothorax and how does that affect our clinical practice? STUDY DESIGN

BACKGROUND Sarcoidosis is an idiopathic multiorgan disease with variable clinical outcomes. Comprehensive analysis of sarcoidosis mortality in U.S. Veterans is lacking. RESEARCH QUESTIONS What are the trends in all-cause mortality among U.S. Veterans with sarcoidosis, and how are these trends influenced by demographics, Black vs. White racial disparities, and geographic variability in relation to mortality

TOPIC IMPORTANCE Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) represent a broad group of heterogeneous parenchymal lung diseases. Some ILDs progress, causing architectural distortion and pulmonary fibrosis, thus are called fibrotic ILDs. Recent studies have shown a beneficial effect of antifibrotic therapy in fibrotic ILDs other than Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) that manifest progressive pulmonary fibrosis

Parasitic infections in the United States are mostly seen in immigrants and travelers. In many cases, pulmonary and intensive care physicians fail to consider parasitic disease, which can result in delayed diagnosis and adverse outcomes. Almost 2,000 cases of imported malaria are diagnosed in the United States each year. Severe cases can be confused with bacterial sepsis (shock, lactic acidosis, pneumonia

BACKGROUND Guidelines advise minimising asthma exacerbation risk is achieved partially through good clinical practice activities, including scheduled asthma reviews, inhaler technique checks and asthma management plans. We assessed how frequently these activities are provided and how effective they are in clinical practice. RESEARCH QUESTION Do guidelines-recommended activities such as asthma reviews

BACKGROUND Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) may suffer from insomnia and use hypnotics. However, the effect of the use of hypnotics on their clinical course remains unclear. RESEARCH QUESTION Is the use of hypnotics associated with an increased risk of mortality in patients with IPF? STUDY DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS This study included 99 and 123 patients with IPF from the Hamamatsu and

A 52-year-old woman with a history of leiomyoma uteri and tobacco-use disorder in remission presented with 2 months of progressive back pain. Her pain was located between her shoulder blades and was described as constant with intermittent sharp, stabbing sensation. It was nonradiating and aggravated by inspiration. She denied fever, cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, or recent changes in weight

A 72-year-old man who underwent bilateral orthotropic lung transplantation for interstitial lung disease 6 months ago presented to the clinic with a 2-week history of cough, shortness of breath, and mid-back pain. The donor was negative for cytomegalovirus (CMV) and positive for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and the recipient was positive for both CMV and EBV. He also reported headaches but denied any

A 53-year-old man was admitted with complaints of recurrent cough, mucopurulent phlegm, and fever for 10 days. These symptoms started in his youth, and he had experienced three or more acute attacks per year in the past 3 years. Persistent nasal obstruction was noticed. When asked for symptoms, the patient denied heartburn, wheezing, aspiration, night sweats, and weight loss. The patient was married

A 54-year-old Egyptian man with a 5-day history of worsening cough, high-grade fever, and progressive dyspnea was referred to our hospital. A 3-day course of ceftriaxone provided in an outpatient setting showed no clinical improvement. Medical history was unremarkable, except for bilateral pulmonary embolism diagnosed 3 years earlier. The patient actively smoked and denied the use of alcohol and illicit

A 10-month-old boy with a weight of 5 kg demonstrated recurrent respiratory infections after birth, respiratory distress after feeding, and slow weight gain. At the time of presentation, he had been experiencing a cough accompanied by pyrexia for > 20 days. Prenatal ultrasound examinations revealed no abnormalities. He was born at full term via cesarean delivery and weighed 2.9 kg at birth. He was

Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) is a form of hemoptysis caused by disruption of the alveolar-capillary basement membrane causing alveolar bleeding. Inhalation of cocaine and other sympathomimetic agents are described as one of many pathologic causes. We describe what is to the author's knowledge the first reported case of DAH caused by inhalation of bupropion, a norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor

BACKGROUND Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) management is guided by the respiratory symptom burden, assessed using the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) scale and/or COPD Assessment Test (CAT). RESEARCH QUESTION What is the ability of mMRC and CAT to detect abnormally high exertional breathlessness on incremental cardiopulmonary cycle exercise testing (CPET) in people with COPD?

BACKGROUND Evaluating expiratory airway function in infants is challenging, as the gold standard, the raised-volume rapid thoraco-abdominal compression technique is technically difficult and has a high failure rate. RESEARCH QUESTION Are measurements obtained during passive expiration from total lung capacity correlated with forced expiration measurements obtained by the raised-volume technique in

BACKGROUND Lower respiratory tract infections are common in patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after an acute brain injury and may have deleterious consequences. RESEARCH QUESTION In adults with acute brain injury receiving invasive mechanical ventilation in an ICU, is the administration of prophylactic parenteral antibiotics, compared to placebo or usual

BACKGROUND Treatment for lung cancer can improve prognosis, but 5-year survival remains low at 26%. An examination of treatment using data with higher population coverage, and among a broader number of treatment modalities and individual characteristics, would provide greater insight into differences in lung cancer treatment. RESEARCH QUESTION Among adults diagnosed with lung cancer, how does reported

A 72-year-old gentleman with metastatic pancreatic cancer was admitted to the ICU with increased oxygen demand and confusion, likely related to pulmonary metastases. In the presence of his son, the healthcare agent, and the team, the patient requested to be do-not-attempt-resuscitation and do-not-intubate (DNR/DNI) before losing decision-making capacity. When the patient's brother and another son heard

BACKGROUND Serum anti-glycopeptidolipid (GPL) core immunoglobuin A (IgA) antibody test has been proposed as a diagnostic tool for Mycobacterium avium complex pulmonary diseases. Cross-reactivity with other non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), including M. abscessus, indicates that it may have a role as a broader screening test for NTM pulmonary disease (NTM-PD). NTM-PD is believed to be underdiagnosed

BACKGROUND Recent treatment guidelines for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have replaced the long-acting beta2-agonist and inhaled corticosteroid (LABA-ICS) combination with single-inhaler triple therapy that adds a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA-LABA-ICS). Yet, the corresponding trials reported numerically higher incidences of cardiovascular adverse events with triple therapy

Aspergillus species cause diverse clinical manifestations in bronchiectasis including allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), Aspergillus sensitization (AS), and raised IgG indicating exposure to or infection with Aspergillus.

The Advanced Practice Respiratory Therapist (APRT) is a new healthcare practitioner trained to provide a scope of practice that exceeds that of the registered respiratory therapist (RRT) and is aligned with an advanced practice provider (APP) role. As part of a physician-led team, APRTs are trained to provide diagnostic and therapeutic patient care services in multiple settings across the health care

Oronasal masks are used widely for treating OSA with CPAP. However, oronasal CPAP is associated with lower effectiveness and lower adherence than nasal CPAP.

BACKGROUND The clinical and prognostic characteristics of mild-to-moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with and without emphysema remain inadequately investigated. RESEARCH QUESTION Do the clinical and prognostic characteristics differ between mild- to-moderate COPD with and without emphysema? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS We obtained clinical data of 989 participants with mild-to-moderate

Pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) is the treatment of choice for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). Although most have normalization of pulmonary artery (PA) pressures, development of residual pulmonary hypertension (RPH) is challenging to predict.

Alongside the recognized Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) classification, the Staging of Airflow Obstruction by Ratio (STAR) severity scheme has been proposed for categorizing COPD.

Critical illness can render patients at heightened risk of anonymity, loss of dignity, and dehumanization. Because dehumanization results in significant patient distress, it is imperative to find ways to humanize care in the ICU. A Get to Know Me board (GTKMB) is a personal patient profile designed to bring the patient from anonymity; however, its widespread adoption has been challenging.

BACKGROUND Obesity-associated asthma results in increased morbidity and mortality. We report one-year asthma outcomes with the Counterweight-Plus weight management programme (CWP) compared to usual care (UC) in a single-centre, randomised, controlled trial in patients with difficult-to-treat asthma and obesity. RESEARCH QUESTION Can CWP use result in improved asthma control and quality of life compared

Albumin infusions may be renally protective or harmful in patients with septic shock who have kidney impairment. This can affect the need for renal replacement therapy (RRT) and in-hospital mortality.

Research on isolating genetically different strains within the same species in patients undergoing treatment for Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) pulmonary disease (PD) is limited. We investigated the frequency of genetically distinct strains identified within the same species among on-treatment isolates compared with pretreatment isolates throughout the course of MAC-PD treatment.