Chest
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Accuracy of high-speed video analysis to diagnose primary ciliary dyskinesia.
Diagnosis of primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) relies on a combination of tests. High-speed video microscopy analysis (HSVA) is widely used to contribute to the diagnosis. It can be analyzed on the day of diagnostic consultation, but the qualitative analyses are subjective. Diagnostic accuracy and reliability of assessing ciliary function have not been robustly evaluated. We aimed to establish the accuracy of HSVA to diagnose PCD compared with a combination of tests, and to assess the interobserver reliability of HSVA analysis. ⋯ Specialist scientists accurately diagnosed PCD using HSVA, with high interobserver agreement. HSVA can be reliably used to counsel patients and commence treatment on the day of testing while awaiting confirmatory investigations.
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The golden ratio (phi, Φ = 1.618) is a proportion that has been found in many phenomena in nature, including the cardiovascular field. We tested the hypothesis that the systolic over mean pulmonary artery pressure ratio (sPAP/mPAP) and the mean over diastolic pressure ratio (mPAP/dPAP) may match Φ in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and in control patients. ⋯ In PAH and in control patients, the fluctuations in sPAP and dPAP around mPAP exhibited a constant scaling factor matched to Φ. This remarkable property allows linkage of various empirical observations on pulmonary hemodynamics that were hitherto apparently unrelated. These findings warrant further confirmation in other types of pulmonary hypertension and warrant explanation.
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The insertion of a subclavian central venous catheter is generally associated with a high rate of success and a favorable risk profile. The use of ultrasound for procedural guidance has been demonstrated to further increase the rate of success and reduce the risk of specific mechanical complications, especially in patients with difficult surface anatomy. Many individual ultrasound techniques have been described in the literature; this article presents a systematic approach for incorporating 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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Review Case Reports
A 76-Year-Old Woman With Incidental Right Middle Lobe Atelectasis.
A 76-year-old nonsmoking woman visiting from Honduras for the last 6 months with no known medical history originally presented to the ED complaining of abdominal pain. While in the ED, an incidental right middle lobe collapse was found on CT abdomen scan. Review of systems was positive for a chronic productive cough with white sputum for 3 years. She denied association with fevers, chills, night sweats, hemoptysis, appetite changes, or weight loss.
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Comparative Study
Use of Computed Tomography to Quantify Progression and Response to Treatment in LAM.
In lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), infiltration of the lungs with smooth muscle-like LAM cells results in cystic destruction and decline in lung function, effects stabilized by sirolimus therapy. LAM lung disease is followed, in part, by high-resolution CT scans. To obtain further information from these scans, we quantified changes in lung parenchyma by analyzing image "texture." ⋯ Increased cyst score was associated with increased texture degradation near cysts. Sirolimus treatment improved lung texture surrounding cysts and stabilized cyst score. Eleven texture properties were associated with FEV1, Dlco, cyst score, and response to sirolimus. Texture analysis may be valuable in evaluating LAM severity and treatment response.