Chest
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Paracentesis is a commonly performed procedure and generally considered to be low risk. Despite its overall favorable safety profile, use of ultrasound has been demonstrated to reduce the incidence of complications, especially in higher risk patients. Many individual ultrasound techniques have been described in the literature, each with the goal of making paracentesis safer. This article presents a systematic approach for incorporating many of these tools into bedside practice and includes a series of illustrative figures and narrated video presentations to demonstrate the techniques described.
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Bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) is a leading cause of chronic graft-vs-host disease (cGvHD) and is associated with mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT). The nitrogen multiple breath washout test (N2-MBW) measures ventilation inhomogeneity, a biomarker of central and peripheral airway obstruction. The aim of this study was to examine ventilation inhomogeneity according to cGvHD score and histologically defined bronchiolitis obliterans (BO). ⋯ N2-MBW is highly sensitive for detecting abnormal lung function in patients following alloHSCT. LCI and SACIN seem to be promising biomarkers of lung involvement in cGvHD.
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Sleep apnea is an underdiagnosed condition in patients with heart failure. Efficient identification of sleep apnea is needed, as treatment may improve heart failure-related outcomes. Currently, use of portable sleep monitoring in hospitalized patients and those at risk for central sleep apnea is discouraged. This study examined whether portable sleep monitoring with respiratory polygraphy can accurately diagnose sleep apnea in patients hospitalized with decompensated heart failure. ⋯ Portable sleep monitoring can accurately diagnose sleep apnea in hospitalized patients with heart failure and may promote early initiation of treatment.
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Tidal volumes standardized to predicted body weight are recommended for adult mechanical ventilation, but children are frequently ventilated by using measured body weight. The goal of this study was to examine the difference in FVC (in milliliters per kilogram [mL/kg]) by using measured body weight compared with predicted body weight in children. ⋯ FVC differs significantly when standardizing to measured weight vs predicted weight. Obese children have lung volumes reflecting their predicted body weight from height. Children with low or normal BMI have lung volumes reflecting measured body weight. These findings suggest that targeting tidal volume by using the lower of measured and predicted body weights would be the most lung-protective strategy.