pulmonary diseases

KEY CLINICAL MESSAGE: Even in the absence of other symptoms or other pulmonary manifestations suggesting Sjögren's syndrome (SS), it is necessary to include SS in the differential diagnosis of diffuse cystic lung disease (CLD). ABSTRACT: A case of SS that presented initially with diffuse CLD is reported. This case is considered rare because diffuse pulmonary cysts were observed in the early stage with few symptoms, only cysts were observed without other lung lesions on imaging, cyst formation was histologically considered to be alveolar loss, and airway lesions not observed on imaging were suspected based on lung function testing...

KEY CLINICAL MESSAGE: Rare yet significant, this case sheds light on the uncommon presentation of Waldmann's disease in adults, showcasing the diagnostic challenges it poses. A multidisciplinary approach, integrating clinical, endoscopic, histological, and radiological evaluations, is crucial for accurate diagnosis and management. Further research is needed to deepen our understanding of this complex disorder. ABSTRACT: Waldmann's disease, or primary intestinal lymphangiectasia, is a rare disorder characterized by protein-losing enteropathy due to dilation and leakage of intestinal lymphatic vessels...

OBJECTIVES: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and congestive heart failure (CHF) exacerbations present with similar history and physical examination findings. This complicates both the diagnostic process and the creation of appropriate treatment plans for patients presenting in respiratory distress, particularly in the prehospital setting. Thoracic point-of-care-ultrasound (POCUS) may increase diagnostic accuracy; however, its potential to improve patient management by emergency medical services clinicians is unknown...

OBJECTIVES: COVID-19 affects the quality of life (QoL) in a reverse way after recovery, which might be multiplied by the comorbid non-communicable diseases. This study explored the relationship between comorbidities and the QoL of people who recovered from COVID-19 in Bangladesh. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted among 3244 participants between June 2020 and November 2020 using a pre-tested questionnaire through over-the-phone interviews. The WHOQOL-BREF was used to explore the QoL among the study participants...

The presented case describes a 56-year-old male with adult-onset Still's disease, exhibiting polyserositis in 2019, who underwent pleurectomy and pericardiectomy. Despite treatment with tocilizumab and methylprednisolone, the patient developed deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in 2022, managed with apixaban. A contrast-enhanced chest tomography revealed no recurrent thromboembolic events. Over a year, the patient experienced progressive dyspnea, correlating with signs of constriction on transthoracic echocardiogram...

Pemphigus vulgaris is a chronic autoimmune disease of the skin caused by the production of autoantibodies targeting desmogleins 1 and 3 usually presenting in individuals with an average age of onset of approximately 40 years. A 35-year-old obese, diabetic woman presented with fluid-filled lesions over her body for three months along with erosions and painful ulcers in her mouth and genital area for two months. Based on clinical and histopathological studies, the patient was diagnosed as a case of pemphigus vulgaris...

Alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency, an autosomal co-dominant inherited condition, significantly impacts lung and liver functions, with mutations in the SERPINA1 gene, notably the Z allele, playing a pivotal role in disease susceptibility. This retrospective descriptive study from a rural Eastern Kentucky pulmonary clinic aimed to characterize patients with AAT deficiency, focusing on demographic, clinical, and laboratory parameters extracted from electronic health records (EHR) of Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH)...

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of congestive heart failure (CHF) among patients admitted with preeclampsia as well as to analyze the independent association of CHF with in-hospital outcomes among women with preeclampsia. METHODS: Data were obtained from the National (Nationwide) Inpatient Sample (NIS) from January 2016 to December 2019. We assessed the independent association of CHF with outcomes in patients admitted with preeclampsia...

BACKGROUND: Active cigarette smoking leads to increased CXCL5 production. CXCL5 mediates the immune response by attracting immune cells to areas of inflammation. Elevated CXCL5 levels are associated with various inflammatory diseases and tumorigenesis. In addition, smoking is linked to an increase in the level of the cytokine CEACAM6 in the bloodstream of smokers. CEACAM6 is increased in pancreatic adenocarcinoma, breast cancer, non⍰small cell lung cancer, gastric cancer, colon cancer and other cancers and promotes tumor progression, invasion, and metastasis...

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is steadily increasing, leading to high mortality. Although early diagnosis can significantly reduce mortality, the efficacy of current diagnostic methods is limited. Consequently, there is a need for novel approaches for early IPA detection. METHODS: This retrospective study involved 383 hospitalized COPD patients with GOLD stages III and IV...

Objective: This study constitutes a pioneering systematic review and meta analysis delving into the clinical efficacy and safety of the combined therapy involving Wuhu Decoction and azithromycin for treating Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in pediatric patients. Methods: This study conducted a comprehensive computerized search, covering 6 Chinese databases and 6 English databases, to collect randomized controlled trials related to the combined use of Wuhu Decoction and azithromycin for treating Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in pediatric patients...

Bai Hua Qian Hu (Qianhu; Peucedanum praeruptorum Dunn) is a classical medicinal plant traditionally prescribed for respiratory ailments, including cough, pulmonary hypertension, and asthma. In this review, we summarize the research progress of the toxicology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacology, phytochemistry, botany, quality control, and traditional uses of P. praeruptorum in order to support future investigations into the scientific and therapeutic promise of this important medicinal plant. Information pertaining to P...

BACKGROUND: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a common manifestation of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) and a substantial contributor to hospitalisation, increased morbidity, and mortality. In-vivo evidence of ongoing tissue remodelling in IIM-ILD is scarce. We aimed to evaluate fibroblast activation in lungs of IIM-patients and control individuals using ⁶⁸Ga-labelled inhibitor of Fibroblast-Activation-Protein (FAPi) based positronic emission tomography and computed tomography imaging (PET/CT)...

BACKGROUND: Airway remodeling is a significant pathological characteristic of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In recent years, hypoxia-inducible factor 1-α (HIF-1α), a member of the hypoxia-inducible factor protein family, has gained attention. However, the potential correlation between HIF-1α and COPD airway remodeling remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: This study explored the expression patterns of HIF-1α in patients with COPD and its association with airway remodelling...

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare 28-day mortality between patients have hospital-acquired influenza (HAI) and those have community-acquired influenza (CAI) during the 2017-2019 influenza seasons in a tertiary care center in İstanbul, Türkiye. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort included all hospitalized patients who had confirmed influenza infection and were over 17 years old. HAI was defined as a case of influenza that tested negative in a PCR test or had no signs of influenza on admission but with a positive test result at any point after 72 hours of admission...

PURPOSE: Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a signaling lipid involved in many biological processes, including inflammatory and immune regulatory responses. The study aimed to determine whether admission S1P levels are associated with disease severity and prognosis after spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). METHODS: Data of 134 patients with spontaneous ICH and 120 healthy controls were obtained from Biological Resource Sample Database of Intracerebral Hemorrhage at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University...

BACKGROUND: Survey research is well suited to measuring the knowledge, behavior, and attitudes of study participants and has been widely used in medical education and pulmonary and critical care medicine research. Although the ease of survey administration via electronic platforms has led to an increased volume of survey publications, improving the quality of this work remains an important challenge. OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of key steps for rigorous survey design and conduct...

BACKGROUND: Understandable, comprehensive, and accessible educational materials for patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) are lacking. Patients consistently ask for improved access to evidence-based information about ILD. Nonetheless, few research studies focus directly on developing and evaluating interventions to improve patient knowledge. OBJECTIVE: We describe the current landscape of patient education in ILD, identify gaps in current approaches to information delivery, and provide frameworks to address these challenges through novel educational tools...

BACKGROUND: Few studies consider both radiological and functional outcomes in COVID-19 survivors treated in the intensive care unit (ICU). We investigated clinical findings and pulmonary abnormalities on chest computed tomography (CT) and compared outcomes of severe versus mild-moderate acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) on long-term follow-up. METHODS: This longitudinal cohort study included 118 COVID-19 patients (median age, 58 years; 79% men). Thoracic CT scans were performed 4, 10, and 22 months after hospital discharge...

INTRODUCTION: Clinical decision support (CDS) systems (CDSSs) that integrate clinical guidelines need to reflect real-world co-morbidity. In patient-specific clinical contexts, transparent recommendations that allow for contraindications and other conflicts arising from co-morbidity are a requirement. In this work, we develop and evaluate a non-proprietary, standards-based approach to the deployment of computable guidelines with explainable argumentation, integrated with a commercial electronic health record (EHR) system in Serbia, a middle-income country in West Balkans...