Chest
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Over 1.5 million pleural effusions occur in the United States every year as a consequence of a variety of inflammatory, infectious, and malignant conditions. Although rarely fatal in isolation, pleural effusions are often a marker of a serious underlying medical condition and contribute to significant patient morbidity, quality-of-life reduction, and mortality. ⋯ The last decade has seen greater implementation of real-time imaging assistance for pleural effusion management and increasing use of smaller bore percutaneous chest tubes. This article will briefly review recent pleural effusion management literature and update the latest changes in common procedural terminology billing codes as reflected in the changing landscape of imaging use and percutaneous approaches to pleural disease management.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Standardizing the analysis of physical activity in patients with COPD following a pulmonary rehabilitation program.
There is a wide variability in measurement methodology of physical activity. This study investigated the effect of different analysis techniques on the statistical power of physical activity outcomes after pulmonary rehabilitation. ⋯ Changes in physical activity following pulmonary rehabilitation are best measured for 4 weekdays, including only days with at least 8 h of wearing time (during waking hours) and considering the difference in DT as a covariate in the analysis.