Chest
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Sarcopenia and osteoporosis are systemic features of COPD. The present study investigated the association between sarcopenia and osteopenia/osteoporosis and the factors associated with low bone mineral density (BMD) in men with COPD. ⋯ Sarcopenia is closely correlated with osteopenia/osteoporosis in men with COPD. Moreover, different factors are associated with low BMD according to the presence/absence of sarcopenia in that population.
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Interventional pulmonology (IP) is a rapidly evolving subspecialty of pulmonary medicine. In the last 10 years, formal IP fellowships have increased substantially in number from five to now > 30. ⋯ Recognizing the need for more uniform training across the various fellowship programs, a multisociety accreditation committee was formed with the intent to establish common accreditation standards for all IP fellowship programs in the United States. This article provides a summary of those standards and can serve as an accreditation template for training programs and their offices of graduate medical education as they move through the accreditation process.
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Resident loved ones of patients with COPD can play an important role in helping these patients engage in physical activity. We aimed to compare activity levels and exercise motivation between patients with COPD and their resident loved ones; to compare the same outcome measures in patients after stratification for the physical activity level of the loved ones; and to predict the likelihood of being physically active in patients with a physically active resident loved one. ⋯ Patients with COPD are more physically inactive and sedentary than their loved ones, despite relatively similar exercise motivation. Nevertheless, patients with an active loved one are more active themselves and have a higher likelihood of being active.
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A 61-year-old woman presented for outpatient evaluation of a 1-week history of fever and upper respiratory symptoms. She denied tobacco use, weight loss, hemoptysis, chronic cough, or recent travel and was in otherwise good health. ⋯ She denied any worsening hoarseness or any other vocal changes. She did report a positive family history of squamous cell lung cancer in her father.
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Case Reports
A Woman in Her 30s With a History of Cervical Cancer Presents With Shortness of Breath and Pleuritic Chest Pain.
A woman in her 30s presented to the ED with a 3-month history of shortness of breath on exertion, dry cough, and pleuritic chest pain. A month ago, the patient was seen at an internal medicine clinic and was found to have a right pleural effusion. A thoracentesis revealed straw-colored fluid, a total nucleated cell count of 1,260 × 106/L, and a differential with neutrophils of 0.15, lymphocytes of 0.55, macrophages/monocytes of 0.19, and eosinophils of 0.10. ⋯ A CT scan of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis was negative for distant metastases. The patient completed treatment with external beam radiation therapy and cisplatin chemotherapy 6 months ago. Three weeks prior to presentation to the ED, a repeat MRI pelvis showed no evidence of tumor progression and features consistent with posttreatment fibrotic changes.