Chest
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Epinephrine is the most commonly used drug in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) resuscitation, but evidence supporting its efficacy is mixed. ⋯ Use of standard-dose epinephrine, high-dose epinephrine, and epinephrine plus vasopressin increases ROSC and survival to hospital admission, but may not improve survival to discharge or functional outcome. Standard-dose epinephrine improved survival to discharge among patients with nonshockable rhythm, but not those with shockable rhythm.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Respiratory support techniques for COVID-19-related ARDS in a sub-Saharan African country: A multi-center observational study.
Limited data from low-income countries report on respiratory support techniques in COVID-19-associated ARDS. ⋯ SOX, HFNO, CPAP, NIV, and IMV were used as respiratory support techniques in patients with COVID-19-associated ARDS in Uganda. Although these data are observational, they suggest that the use of SOX and HFNO therapy as well as awake proning are associated with a lower mortality resulting from COVID-19-associated ARDS in a resource-limited setting.
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OSA is a common sleep-breathing disorder linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Intermittent upper airway obstruction and hypoxia, hallmarks of OSA, have been shown in animal models to induce substantial changes to the gut microbiota composition, and subsequent transplantation of fecal matter to other animals induced changes in BP and glucose metabolism. ⋯ OSA-related hypoxia, but not the number of apneas/hypopneas, is associated with specific gut microbiota species and functions. Our findings lay the foundation for future research on the gut microbiota-mediated health effects of OSA.
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Case Reports
Isolated pulmonary arteriovenous malformations associated with BMPR2 pathogenic variants.
Heritable pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is an uncommon cause of PAH and is associated most frequently with pathogenic variants of BMPR2. Prior studies have described abnormalities in pulmonary arterial, venous, and bronchial artery vessels associated with these pathogenic variants. ⋯ Although pulmonary AVMs commonly are associated with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia and rarely are seen in heritable PAH, evidence is increasing that abnormalities in the BMP9 pathway are found in both of these conditions. Through these cases and the current understanding of the BMP9 pathway, we propose that BMPR2 variants place patients at increased risk of pulmonary AVMs and may warrant screening.