Chest
-
Millions of smartphones contain a photoplethysmography (PPG) biosensor (Maxim Integrated) that accurately measures pulse oximetry. No clinical use of these embedded sensors is currently being made, despite the relevance of remote clinical pulse oximetry to the management of chronic cardiopulmonary disease, and the triage, initial management, and remote monitoring of people affected by respiratory viral pandemics, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 or influenza. To be used for clinical pulse oximetry the embedded PPG system must be paired with an application (app) and meet US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) requirements. ⋯ Our findings support the application for full FDA/ISO approval of the smartphone sensor with app tested for use in clinical pulse oximetry. Given the immense and immediate practical medical importance of remote intermittent clinical pulse oximetry to both chronic disease management and the global ability to respond to respiratory viral pandemics, the smartphone sensor with app should be prioritized and fast-tracked for FDA/ISO approval to allow clinical use.
-
Case Reports
Cement Factory Worker Presenting With Raynaud Phenomenon, Breathlessness, and Digital Ulcers.
A 54-year-old man who had worked in a cement factory for the past 30 years, presented to the chest clinic with complaints of insidious onset, gradually progressive breathlessness with intermittent dry cough of three years' duration. The symptoms were associated with bluish discoloration of fingers on exposure to cold. He also gave a history of digital ulcers at the fingertips of the same duration. ⋯ He denied any similar illness in the family. On eliciting his occupational history, he revealed that other coworkers in his workspace had complained of a similar illness. He was a nonsmoker and teetotaller with no known addictions or exposure to chemicals.
-
A 72-year-old Chinese man presented with a 5-month history of chronic dry cough, weight loss, and progressive dyspnea. There was no associated hemoptysis, hoarseness, epistaxis, or fever on systemic review. He was a nonsmoker and had no family history of malignancy. ⋯ On physical examination, he was afebrile and normotensive, and he had pulse oxygen saturation of 97%. Examination of the chest was remarkable only for reduced breath sounds over the right chest. He did not have digital clubbing, distended neck veins, or cervical lymphadenopathy.
-
A 29-year-old man with no significant medical history presented to the ED with a 4-week history of chest pain. The pain was insidious, located on the right side of the chest, increased by deep breathing, and incompletely alleviated by acetaminophen. ⋯ He denied any recent fevers, chills, dyspnea, cough, night sweats, hemoptysis, or history of trauma but had lost at least 8 kg in the past 6 months. The patient was from Morocco and had lived in France for 1 year.
-
Kidney disease has been linked to risk for hospitalization-related (HR) VTE, but the effect size and differences across types of kidney disease are described poorly. ⋯ We found that AKI increases the risk for HR VTE in a large, heterogeneous population that included medical and surgical patients. However, this relationship was not seen in patients with traumatic injuries.