Chest
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Practice Guideline
Symptomatic Treatment of Cough Among Adult Patients With Lung Cancer: CHEST Guidelines and Expert Panel Report.
Cough among patients with lung cancer is a common but often undertreated symptom. We used a 2015 Cochrane systematic review, among other sources of evidence, to update the recommendations and suggestions of the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) 2006 guideline on this topic. ⋯ Compared with the 2006 CHEST Cough Guideline, the current recommendations and suggestions are more specific and follow a step-up approach to the management of cough among patients with lung cancer, acknowledging the low-quality evidence in the field and the urgent need to develop more effective, evidence-based interventions through high-quality research.
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Sepsis contributes to up to half of all deaths in hospitalized patients, and early interventions, such as appropriate antibiotics, have been shown to improve outcomes. Most research has focused on early identification and treatment of patients with sepsis in the ED and the ICU; however, many patients acquire sepsis on the general wards. ⋯ We discuss data highlighting the benefits and limitations of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria for screening patients with sepsis, such as its low specificity, as well as newly described scoring systems, including the proposed role of the quick sepsis-related organ failure assessment (qSOFA) score. Challenges specific to detecting sepsis on the wards are discussed, and future directions that use big data approaches and automated alert systems are highlighted.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Improved cough and cough-specific quality of life in patients treated for scleroderma-related interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD): Results of Scleroderma Lung Study II.
Cough is a common symptom of scleroderma-related interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD), but its relationship to other characteristics of SSc-ILD, impact on cough-specific quality of life (QoL), and response to therapy for SSc-ILD have not been well studied. ⋯ FC occurs commonly in SSc-ILD, correlates with both the presence and severity of GERD and ILD at baseline, and declines in parallel with improvements in both ILD and GERD over a 2-year course of therapy. Frequent cough might serve as a useful surrogate marker of treatment response in SSc-ILD trials.
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Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a chronic, progressive, life-threatening disease that requires expert multidisciplinary care. To facilitate this level of care, the Pulmonary Hypertension Association established across the United States a network of pulmonary hypertension care centers (PHCCs) with special expertise in PH, particularly pulmonary arterial hypertension, to raise the overall quality of care and outcomes for patients with this life-threatening disease. Since the inception of PHCCs in September 2014, to date 35 centers have been accredited in the United States. ⋯ Multiple tactics were undertaken to implement the strategic plan, training, and tools throughout the PHCC network. In addition, strategies to foster collaboration between care center staff and individuals with PH and their families are the cornerstone of the PHCCs. The Pulmonary Vascular Network of the American College of Chest Physicians believes this to be a positive step that will improve the quality of care delivered in the United States to patients with PH.
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The effects of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) on adult patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF) are controversial. We aimed to further determine the effectiveness of HFNC in reducing the rate of endotracheal intubation in adult patients with ARF by comparison to noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) and conventional oxygen therapy (COT). ⋯ In patients with ARF, HFNC is a more reliable alternative than NIPPV to reduce the rate of endotracheal intubation than COT.