Chest
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Practice Guideline
Use of management pathways or algorithms in children with chronic cough: CHEST Guideline and Expert Panel Report.
Using management algorithms or pathways potentially improves clinical outcomes. We undertook systematic reviews to examine various aspects in the generic approach (use of cough algorithms and tests) to the management of chronic cough in children (aged ≤ 14 years) based on key questions (KQs) using the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome format. ⋯ Compared with the 2006 Cough Guidelines, there is now high-quality evidence that in children aged ≤ 14 years with chronic cough (> 4 weeks' duration), the use of cough management protocols (or algorithms) improves clinical outcomes, and cough management or testing algorithms should differ depending on the associated characteristics of the cough and clinical history. A chest radiograph and, when age appropriate, spirometry (pre- and post-β2 agonist) should be undertaken. Other tests should not be routinely performed and undertaken in accordance with the clinical setting and the child's clinical symptoms and signs (eg, tests for tuberculosis when the child has been exposed).
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Asthma disproportionately affects minority populations and is associated with psychosocial stress such as racial/ethnic discrimination. We aimed to examine the association of perceived discrimination with asthma and poor asthma control in African American and Latino youth. ⋯ Perceived discrimination is associated with increased odds of asthma and poorer control among African American youth. SES exacerbates the effect of perceived discrimination on having asthma among Mexican American and other Latino youth.
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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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Despite the relationship between idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and advancing age, little is known about the epidemiology of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in the elderly. We describe the diagnoses, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of patients who were elderly at the time of ILD diagnosis. ⋯ Although IPF was the single most common diagnosis, the majority of elderly subjects had non-IPF ILD. Our findings highlight the need for every patient with new-onset ILD, regardless of age, to be surveyed for exposures and findings of CTD. Unclassifiable ILD was common among the elderly, but for most, the radiographic pattern was inconsistent with UIP. Although the effect of ILD may be more pronounced in the elderly due to reduced global functionality, ILD was not more severe or aggressive in this group.
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Diaphragm flutter is a rare disorder defined by dyspnea and often thoracoabdominal pain associated with rapid rhythmic involuntary contractions of the diaphragm with no effective treatment. A 35-year-old woman's flutter was triggered by increasing the depth of breathing and by (electrical) stimulation of the diaphragm. Medical therapy, phrenic nerve crush, and diaphragm pacer stimulation were ineffective. ⋯ For 16 months, it has continued to halt flutter with rare episodes when getting out of bed that resolve with up to 40 minutes of NVS. To our knowledge, this is the first case of idiopathic diaphragmatic flutter for which diaphragm rest was used as successful treatment with no adverse effects. This should be tried for future cases.