Chest
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
The Impact of Gravity versus Suction-driven Therapeutic Thoracentesis on Pressure-related Complications: the GRAVITAS Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.
Thoracentesis can be accomplished by active aspiration or drainage with gravity. This trial investigated whether gravity drainage could protect against negative pressure-related complications such as chest discomfort, re-expansion pulmonary edema, or pneumothorax compared with active aspiration. ⋯ Thoracentesis via active aspiration and gravity drainage are both safe and result in comparable levels of procedural comfort and dyspnea improvement. Active aspiration requires less total procedural time.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
A Prospective Randomized Comparative Study of Three Guided Bronchoscopic Approaches for Investigating Pulmonary Nodules (The PRECISION-1 Study).
The capability of bronchoscopy in the diagnosis of peripheral pulmonary nodules (PPNs) remains limited. Despite decades of effort, evidence suggests that the diagnostic accuracy for electromagnetic navigational bronchoscopy (EMN) and radial endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) approach only 50%. New developments in robotic bronchoscopy (RB) may offer improvements in the assessment of PPNs. ⋯ In a cadaver model, use of RB significantly increased the ability to localize and successfully puncture small PPNs when compared with existing technologies. This study demonstrates the potential of RB to precisely reach, localize, and puncture small nodules in the periphery of the lung.
-
This review focuses on recent clinical and translational discoveries in severe and uncontrolled asthma that now enable phenotyping and personalized therapies in these patients. Although asthma is common in both children and adults and typically responds to standard therapies, a subset of individuals with asthma experience severe and/or persistent symptoms despite appropriate therapies. ⋯ A number of studies have evaluated various features of patients with severe asthma and classified patients into phenotypes with clinical relevance. This phenotyping is now incorporated into clinical practice and can be used to guide advanced biological therapies that target specific molecules and inflammatory pathways that contribute to asthma pathogenesis.
-
The 6-min walk test (6MWT) is a commonly used test for the objective assessment of functional exercise capacity for the management of patients with moderate-to-severe pulmonary disease. Unlike pulmonary function testing, the 6MWT captures the often coexisting extrapulmonary manifestations of chronic respiratory disease, including cardiovascular disease, frailty, sarcopenia, and cancer. In contrast with cardiopulmonary exercise stress testing, this test does not require complex equipment or technical expertise. ⋯ Code 94617 includes exercise test for bronchospasm including pre- and postspirometry, ECG recordings, and pulse oximetry. Code 94618, pulmonary stress testing (eg, 6MWT), includes the measurement of heart rate, oximetry, and oxygen titration when performed. If 94620 is billed after January 2018 it will not be reimbursed.
-
Bronchoscopy is essential to the practice of pulmonary medicine. It is an important diagnostic and therapeutic tool for many disease processes. Bronchoscopy can be performed in a variety of clinical settings, from the bedside to an operating room. ⋯ Designing a bronchoscopy suite is by no means a "one size fits all" process. We present an overview of critical features to be considered in the planning for an ideal bronchoscopy suite. We use the term "ideal" because it represents a subjective conception of what is perfect and does not convey a rigid, universal blueprint.