Chest
-
Observational Study
Cardiovascular Risk in COPD: Deciphering the Contribution of Tobacco Smoking.
The observation that COPD is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVDs) comes from comparisons between smokers with COPD and smokers without COPD. The mechanisms that explain increased risk of CVD in patients with COPD are still unclear. ⋯ Analysis of an unselected group of patients with COPD with different causes suggests that: (1) COPD by itself is not sufficient to explain increased aPWV; and (2) tobacco smoking is a risk factor for elevated aPWV in COPD.
-
Age has been implicated as a factor in the plateau of long-term survival after lung transplant. ⋯ The youngest and oldest adult recipients experienced the lowest posttransplant survival through divergent pathways that may present opportunities for intervention to improve survival after lung transplant.
-
A 21-year-old Chinese man presented with a nonproductive cough for the past 5 months. He denied fevers, chills, night sweats, chest pain, dyspnea, hemoptysis, or weight loss. He was an undergraduate with an unremarkable medical history. ⋯ He was administered empiric anti-TB therapy (ethambutol, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and rifapentine). But his cough had not improved by 4 months later. Thus he came to our hospital for a second opinion.
-
Case Reports
A 36-Year-Old Woman Presenting With Left Upper Quadrant Discomfort, Encephalopathy, and Respiratory Failure.
A 36-year-old woman with a history of hypertension and alcoholism reported 2 days of left upper quadrant pain and jaundice. Within hours of admission, she became somnolent and hypoxic. ⋯ She had no history of drug abuse, cigarette smoking, liver disease, autoimmune disease, or pancreatitis. She had no home medications.