Expert review of respiratory medicine
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Interventional pulmonology (IP) remains a rapidly expanding and evolving subspecialty focused on the diagnosis and treatment of complex diseases of the thorax. As the field continues to push the leading edge of medical technology, new procedures allow for novel minimally invasive approaches to old diseases including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and metastatic or primary lung malignancy. ⋯ This need for advanced training has led to the need for standardization of training and the institution of a subspecialty board examination. In this review, we will discuss the dynamic field of IP as well as novel technologies being investigated or employed in the treatment of thoracic disease.
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Expert Rev Respir Med · Apr 2014
ReviewAdvances in ventilator-associated lung injury: prevention is the target.
Mechanical ventilation (MV) is the main supportive treatment in respiratory failure due to different etiologies. However, MV might aggravate ventilator-associated lung injury (VALI). Four main mechanisms leading to VALI are: 1) increased stress and strain, induced by high tidal volume (VT); 2) increased shear stress, i.e. opening and closing, of previously atelectatic alveolar units; 3) distribution of perfusion and 4) biotrauma. ⋯ VALI can also occur by using high VT in previously non injured lungs. We believe that prevention is the target to minimize injurious effects of MV. This review aims to describe pathophysiology of VALI, the possible prevention and treatment as well as monitoring MV to minimize VALI.
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Bronchiectasis is a common disease with important impacts on patient's quality of life and on healthcare systems in terms of healthcare costs, hospitalisations and mortality. After decades of being regarded as an orphan disease there are an increasing numbers of treatments available, or in late-stage clinical trials. Assessment of disease severity is fundamental to clinical management. ⋯ These terms are often applied to radiological appearances, but while important, computed tomography findings are not sufficiently precise to capture the complex impact of the disease. Studies are beginning to define the risk factors for mortality, hospital admissions, exacerbations and impaired quality of life in bronchiectasis, allowing us to propose new definitions of what constitutes severe bronchiectasis. An improved understanding of severity and prognosis in this disease will aid clinical decision making and the application of new therapies.
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Expert Rev Respir Med · Apr 2014
The clinical utility of bronchoalveolar lavage in interstitial lung disease - is it really useful?
Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) can be a very useful tool in the diagnosis of interstitial lung disease, but BAL must be performed properly and the retrieved BAL fluid adequately processed and analyzed to allow accurate conclusions to be drawn from BAL analysis. A differential cell count of nucleated immune cells can show cell patterns that suggest or support certain diagnoses, and other testing (stains and cultures for infectious pathogens, malignant cell cytology) can be performed on BAL fluid that can also aid in diagnosis. When combined with the results of a careful history, physical examination, thoracic imaging, and other pertinent laboratory testing, the BAL analysis may allow a confident diagnosis of a specific interstitial lung disease to be made without proceeding to more invasive testing (e.g., surgical lung biopsy) that is associated with increased risk of complications.