Chest
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A 69-year-old woman with a medical history significant for COPD, ulcerative colitis (UC), and tobacco dependence was referred to a pulmonologist for lung nodules found on routine annual low-dose CT scan for lung cancer screening. Her review of systems was negative for dyspnea, angina, hemoptysis, fever, night sweats, anorexia, and weight loss. She had a successful total proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis performed 5 years ago because of acute fulminant UC refractory to corticosteroids and biologic agents. ⋯ She denied any history of lung cancers in her family. She was an active smoker and had a 35-pack-year smoking history. She worked as a cashier in a local supermarket and had been doing so for the past 25 years.
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A 65-year-old man was admitted to the ICU for septic shock due to pneumonia. He remained on mechanical ventilation for 96 hours. His shock resolved, and he no longer required IV vasopressor therapy. ⋯ Chest radiography before reintubation showed no new parenchymal process, but an elevated left diaphragm. After a thorough workup, it was determined that diaphragmatic weakness was the most likely reason for respiratory failure. The team questioned whether there was a way to have detected this before extubation.
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The clinical research we do to improve our understanding of disease and to develop new therapies has temporarily been delayed as the global health-care enterprise has focused its attention on those impacted by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Although rates of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection are decreasing in many areas, many locations continue to have a high prevalence of infection. Nonetheless, research must continue and institutions are considering approaches to restarting non-COVID-related clinical investigation. ⋯ Such procedures potentially increase risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to research staff, use limited personal protective equipment, and require conduct in negative-pressure rooms. One must also be prepared to address the potential for COVID-19 resurgence. With research subject and staff safety and maintenance of clinical trial data integrity as the guiding principles, here we review key considerations and suggest a step-wise approach for resuming respiratory clinical research.
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Emphysema is a chronic respiratory disorder characterized by destruction of alveoli, usually due to cigarette smoking or exposure to noxious particles or gases. Dysfunction of proteins that are involved in lung development and maintenance, such as alpha-1 antitrypsin, also contributes to emphysema. Filamin A (FLNA) is an actin-binding protein involved in cytoskeleton reorganization. ⋯ Pulmonary manifestations consist of a wide range of pulmonary disorders that occur during infancy. We report the first familial case of emphysema in non- and very low-smoking adults who carry a loss-of-function mutation of the FLNA gene. The identification of this new risk factor for emphysema encourages (1) screening, prevention and monitoring of pulmonary disorders in patients with FLNA mutation and (2) screening for FLNA mutation in patients with early-onset emphysema that is associated with low-smoking or vascular or connective tissue anomalies.
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Chronic beryllium disease (CBD), a granulomatous disease with similarities to sarcoidosis, arises only in individuals exposed to beryllium. Inhaled beryllium can elicit a T-cell-dominated alveolitis leading nonnecrotizing granulomata. CBD can be distinguished from sarcoidosis by demonstrating beryllium sensitization in a lymphocyte proliferation test. ⋯ We describe a cluster of beryllium-sensitized workers from an industry not related to beryllium caused by environmental exposure to beryllium-containing concrete dust, which exhibited markedly elevated beryllium content. Importantly, analyses of dust samples collected from different localities showed that they contain markedly different amounts of beryllium. Thus, besides workplace-related exposure, environmental factors also are capable of eliciting a beryllium sensitization.