Travel-acquired paediatric tuberculosis in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, 2002-2018
Extract
In most low-burden settings, travel data is not routinely collected for tuberculosis (TB) case-notification and the quantitative contribution of travel to paediatric TB disease burden is unknown. The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) regional TB programme serves the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Ontario, Canada, is closely integrated with GTA public health units, and manages most paediatric TB disease in the area and about 30% of all paediatric TB patients in the province of Ontario [1]. (Source: European Respiratory Journal)
Source: European Respiratory Journal - February 22, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Ali, M., El Hafid, M., Farrar, D. S., Kourdi, H., Rea, E., Waters, V., Lam, R., Morris, S. K., Kitai, I. Tags: Respiratory infections and tuberculosis Research letters Source Type: research
Diminished airway host innate response in people with cystic fibrosis who experience frequent pulmonary exacerbations
Conclusions
A diminished innate host protein defence may play a role in the pathophysiological mechanisms of frequent CF pulmonary exacerbations. Frequent exacerbators may benefit from therapies targeting this dysregulated host immune response. (Source: European Respiratory Journal)
Source: European Respiratory Journal - February 22, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Houston, C. J., Alkhatib, A., Einarsson, G. G., Tunney, M. M., Taggart, C. C., Downey, D. G. Tags: CF and non-CF bronchiectasis Original Articles: Cystic fibrosis Source Type: research
Dyspnoea in acutely ill mechanically ventilated adult patients: an ERS/ESICM statement
This statement outlines a review of the literature and current practice concerning the prevalence, clinical significance, diagnosis and management of dyspnoea in critically ill, mechanically ventilated adult patients. It covers the definition, pathophysiology, epidemiology, short- and middle-term impact, detection and quantification, and prevention and treatment of dyspnoea. It represents a collaboration of the European Respiratory Society and the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine. Dyspnoea ranks among the most distressing experiences that human beings can endure. Approximately 40% of patients undergoing invasive...
Source: European Respiratory Journal - February 22, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Demoule, A., Decavele, M., Antonelli, M., Camporota, L., Abroug, F., Adler, D., Azoulay, E., Basoglu, M., Campbell, M., Grasselli, G., Herridge, M., Johnson, M. J., Naccache, L., Navalesi, P., Pelosi, P., Schwartzstein, R., Williams, C., Windisch, W., Heu Tags: Acute lung injury and critical care Original Articles: ERS/ESICM statement Source Type: research
Indwelling pleural catheters or chest drains for managing malignant pleural effusions: a distinction without a difference?
Extract
In patients with symptomatic malignant pleural effusion (MPE), definitive effusion management is traditionally achieved by either indwelling pleural catheter (IPC) placement or by attempting chemical pleurodesis (instilling graded talc slurry through a chest drain or insufflating talc during a thoracoscopy) [1]. The goal of these interventions has been symptom palliation (usually dyspnoea and, less commonly, chest pain), and both IPCs and talc pleurodesis have been shown to be comparably effective in achieving this purpose (as assessed by patient-reported visual analogue scale) [2]. However, both have their pros an...
Source: European Respiratory Journal - February 8, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Chaddha, U., Porcel, J. M., Murgu, S. D. Tags: Editorials Source Type: research
Fibroblast heterogeneity in pulmonary fibrosis: a new target for therapeutics development?
Extract
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic interstitial lung disease with unknown aetiology [1]. The prevalence of this devastating disease continues to increase, affecting approximately 500 per 100 000 adults over the age of 65 years in the USA, and leading to rising rates of hospital admissions and deaths [2–5]. Two therapies for IPF approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, nintedanib and pirfenidone, can attenuate the decline in lung function. However, neither of these drugs can stop or reverse disease progression [6, 7]. Thus, an improved understanding of the pathogenesis of IPF and its unde...
Source: European Respiratory Journal - February 8, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Tsoyi, K., Rosas, I. O. Tags: Editorials Source Type: research
Sfrp1 inhibits lung fibroblast invasion during transition to injury-induced myofibroblasts
Conclusions
Our study reveals the convergence of spatially and transcriptionally distinct fibroblast lineages into transcriptionally uniform myofibroblasts and identifies SFRP1 as a modulator of TGFβ1-driven fibroblast phenotypes in fibrogenesis. These findings are relevant in the context of therapeutic interventions that aim at limiting or reversing fibroblast foci formation. (Source: European Respiratory Journal)
Source: European Respiratory Journal - February 8, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Mayr, C. H., Sengupta, A., Asgharpour, S., Ansari, M., Pestoni, J. C., Ogar, P., Angelidis, I., Liontos, A., Rodriguez-Castillo, J. A., Lang, N. J., Strunz, M., Porras-Gonzalez, D., Gerckens, M., De Sadeleer, L. J., Oehrle, B., Viteri-Alvarez, V., Fernand Tags: Mechanisms of lung disease Original Articles: Basic mechanisms of disease Source Type: research
The impact of outpatient versus inpatient management on health-related quality of life outcomes for patients with malignant pleural effusion: the OPTIMUM randomised clinical trial
Conclusions
While HRQoL significantly improved in both groups, there were no differences in patient-reported global health status at 30 days. The outpatient pathway using an IPC was not superior to inpatient treatment with a chest drain. (Source: European Respiratory Journal)
Source: European Respiratory Journal - February 8, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Sivakumar, P., Fitzgerald, D. B., Ip, H., Rao, D., West, A., Noorzad, F., Wallace, D., Haris, M., Prudon, B., Hettiarachchi, G., Jayaram, D., Goldring, J., Maskell, N., Holme, J., Sharma, N., Ismail, I., Kadwani, O., Simpson, S., Read, C. A., Sun, X., Dou Tags: Lung cancer Original Articles: Pleural disease Source Type: research
ERJ Podcast January 2024: The microbiome in early life and childhood asthma
Extract
As part of the January issue, the European Respiratory Journal presents the latest in its series of podcasts. Chief Editor James Chalmers interviews Early Career Editor Zhaozhong Zhu about the effects of the microbiome in early life on childhood asthma. (Source: European Respiratory Journal)
Source: European Respiratory Journal - February 5, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Tags: Podcast Source Type: research
Nintedanib and symptoms of fibrotic lung disease: a glimmer of hope for patients living with pulmonary fibrosis
Extract
Patients diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis face progressive loss of lung function and debilitating symptoms such as shortness of breath, cough and fatigue. Historically, clinical trials of novel therapies for pulmonary fibrosis have focused on slowing disease progression, as defined by a decline in forced vital capacity (FVC). Landmark studies such as ASCEND, CAPACITY and INPULSIS paved the way for approval of the first anti-fibrotic drugs for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) by establishing their ability to slow FVC decline [1–3]. The INBUILD clinical trial extended the indication for anti-fibrotic treatm...
Source: European Respiratory Journal - February 1, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Podolanczuk, A. J., Aronson, K. I. Tags: Editorials Source Type: research
Reply to: ERS/ATS spirometry interpretation standards: a gap in grading severity of airflow obstruction
Extract
S.P. Bhatt and co-workers raise an important point with respect to how airflow obstruction and severity of impairment are defined in the updated European Respiratory Society/American Thoracic Society (ERS/ATS) pulmonary function testing interpretation standard [1]. There is general consensus that airflow obstruction is defined as an impaired forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) relative to the forced vital capacity (FVC) (i.e. FEV1/FVC). The second component, grading of the severity of impairment, assesses the overall functional assessment of the obstruction. Unlike total lung capacity (TLC) and diff...
Source: European Respiratory Journal - February 1, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Stanojevic, S., Kaminsky, D. A., Miller, M. R., Thompson, B. Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
TARGETing the utility of CT-guided pleural biopsy facilitated by PET-CT imaging
Extract
Malignancy is the most common cause of exudative pleural effusions [1, 2]. About 40% of patients with lung cancer, which is the predominant aetiology of malignant pleurisy [3], develop pleural effusions during the course of their illness [4]. In addition, approximately 90% of pleural mesotheliomas exhibit a unilateral pleural effusion on computed tomography (CT) [5]. Pleural fluid cytological examination remains the gold standard for diagnosing malignant pleural effusion (MPE). However, its overall sensitivity is roughly 50%, and remains particularly low in squamous cell lung cancer (14–24%) and mesothelioma ...
Source: European Respiratory Journal - February 1, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Bodtger, U., Porcel, J. M. Tags: Editorials Source Type: research
"ERS/ESTS/ESTRO/ESR/ESTI/EFOMP statement on management of incidental findings from low dose CT screening for lung cancer." E.L. O'Dowd, I. Tietzova, E. Bartlett, et al. Eur Respir J 2023; 62: 2300533.
(Source: European Respiratory Journal)
Source: European Respiratory Journal - February 1, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Tags: Author Correction Source Type: research
"Every beet you take": lowering systolic blood pressure and improving vascular function/exercise capacity via the dietary nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway in patients with COPD
Extract
15 years ago in the European Respiratory Journal, Mannino et al. [1] presented their report identifying an increased risk of developing hypertension in patients with COPD (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) stage 3/4) of 1.6-fold, and increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) of 2.4-fold. Thus, hypertension prevalence in COPD is high: 35–55% [2]. Hypertension/high systolic blood pressure (SBP) remains the single biggest risk factor contributor to global mortality (and disability in >50-year-olds) accounting for >50% of CVD deaths, the single largest cause of mortality [3]...
Source: European Respiratory Journal - February 1, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Webb, A. J. Tags: Editorials Source Type: research
Reconciling the past and considering the future of pulmonary function test interpretation
Extract
In 2023, the American Thoracic Society (ATS) published a research statement that called for the discontinuation of race- or ethnicity-based interpretation of pulmonary function tests [1]. After decades of recommendations to use specific reference equations developed for people of different ancestral origins [2–4], many people in the respiratory community, especially outside of the USA, are confused about what to do in their daily practice. (Source: European Respiratory Journal)
Source: European Respiratory Journal - February 1, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Dinh-Xuan, A. T., Graham, B. L., Thompson, B., Miller, M. R., Stanojevic, S. Tags: Editorials Source Type: research
Staring us in the face: resumption of CPAP therapy
Extract
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment is the mainstay treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). The treatment offers significant benefits, including improvements in cognition, mood [1] and metabolic outcomes [2]. However, CPAP prescription is vexed by the issue of poor compliance, with approximately 34% of patients no longer using the treatment effectively after 6 months [3] and up to 50% off CPAP at 3 years [4]. In this context, the paper by Pépin et al. [4] offers a potential solution to the problem of CPAP treatment failure: a re-trial of CPAP. (Source: European Respiratory Journal)
Source: European Respiratory Journal - February 1, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Joosten, S. A., Genta, P. R. Tags: Editorials Source Type: research
