Chest
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Traditional methods for cardiopulmonary assessment of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pose risks to both patients and examiners. This necessitates a remote examination of such patients without sacrificing information quality. ⋯ Use of the 5G-based robot-assisted remote ultrasound system is feasible and effectively obtains ultrasound characteristics for cardiopulmonary assessment of patients with COVID-19. By following established protocols and considering medical history, clinical manifestations, and laboratory markers, this system might help to evaluate the severity of COVID-19 remotely.
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Comorbidities significantly contribute to morbidity, mortality, and health-care costs in individuals with COPD. Comorbidity prevalence does not always correlate with lung disease severity, and the elevated risk of certain comorbidities is often independent of shared risk factors such as tobacco burden. ⋯ Recent studies suggest that certain radiographic features on thoracic imaging may serve as surrogate markers of comorbidity in patients with COPD. This review evaluates these studies in the context of the growing availability of chest CT scans in the lung cancer screening era and discusses how chest CT imaging can be leveraged to identify those COPD patients at highest risk for comorbid disease.
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Aspiration community-acquired pneumonia (ACAP) and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in patients with aspiration risk factors (AspRFs) are infections associated with anaerobes, but limited evidence suggests their pathogenic role. ⋯ Hospitalized patients with ACAP or CAP/AspRF+ had similar anaerobic flora compared with patients without aspiration risk factors. Gram-negative bacteria were more prevalent in patients with severe ACAP. Despite having similar microbiological flora between groups, a large proportion of CAP patients received anti-anaerobic antibiotic coverage.
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Multicenter Study
Impact of the Percepta Genomic Classifier on Clinical Management Decisions in a Multicenter Prospective Study.
The Percepta genomic classifier has been clinically validated as a complement to bronchoscopy for lung nodule evaluation. ⋯ The down-classification of nodule malignancy risk with the Percepta test decreased additional invasive procedures without a delay in time to diagnosis among those with lung cancer.
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Women with hyperglycemia during pregnancy are at high risk for adverse perinatal outcomes. Maternal sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) during pregnancy is common and is a risk factor for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). However, the relationship between SDB severity and glucose control is unknown. ⋯ Greater severity of SDB was associated with higher nocturnal and morning glucose levels in women with GDM.