Chest
-
Meta Analysis
Improving Cancer Probability Estimation in Non-Diagnostic Bronchoscopies: A meta-analysis.
In patients with peripheral pulmonary lesions (PPLs), nondiagnostic bronchoscopy results are not uncommon. The conventional approach to estimate the probability of cancer (pCA) after bronchoscopy relies on dichotomous test assumptions, using prevalence, sensitivity, and specificity to determine negative predictive value. However, bronchoscopy is a multidisease test, raising concerns about the accuracy of dichotomous methods. ⋯ Conventional dichotomous methods for estimating pCA after nondiagnostic bronchoscopies underestimate the likelihood of malignancy. Physicians should opt for the multidisease test approach when interpreting bronchoscopy results.
-
Acute pulmonary embolism (PE) is a common disease encountered by pulmonologists, cardiologists, and critical care physicians throughout the world. For patients with high-risk acute PE (defined by systemic hypotension) and intermediate high-risk acute PE (defined by the absence of systemic hypotension, but the presence of numerous other concerning clinical and imaging features), intensive care often is necessary. Initial management strategies should focus on optimization of right ventricle (RV) function while decisions about advanced interventions are being considered. ⋯ Norepinephrine is a reasonable first choice for hemodynamic support with vasopressin as an adjunct. IV loop diuretics may be useful if evidence of RV dysfunction or volume overload is present. Fluids should be given only if concern exists for hypovolemia and absence of RV dilatation. Supplemental oxygen administration should be considered even without hypoxemia. Positive pressure ventilation should be avoided if possible. Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation cannulation should be implemented early if ongoing deterioration occurs despite these interventions.
-
Review
Recommendations for Clinicians to Combat Environmental Disparities in Pediatric Asthma: A Review.
Asthma is a common and complex lung disease in children, with disproportionally higher prevalence and related adverse outcomes among children in racial and ethnic minority groups and of lower socioeconomic position. Environmental factors, including unhealthy housing and school-based exposures, can contribute to increased asthma morbidity and widening disparities. This underscores a significant environmental justice issue and suggests the need for clinical interventions to reduce sources of environmental exposures and ultimately diminish the observed disparities in childhood asthma. ⋯ Racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities exist in asthma morbidity in children, and such disparities are driven in part by environmental factors at the housing and school level. Clinicians can make evidence-based recommendations to drive effective exposure reduction strategies to mitigate asthma morbidity and reduce observed disparities.
-
Multicenter Study
COPD Subtypes Are Differentially Associated with Cardiovascular Events and COPD Exacerbations.
The coronary artery calcium score (CACS) and ratio of the pulmonary artery to aorta diameters (PA:A ratio) measured from chest CT scans have been established as predictors of cardiovascular events and COPD exacerbations, respectively. However, little is known about the reciprocal relationship between these predictors and outcomes. Furthermore, the prognostic implications of COPD subtypes on clinical outcomes remain insufficiently characterized. ⋯ Two chest CT scan parameters, CACS and PA:A ratio, hold distinct predictive values for cardiovascular events and COPD exacerbations that are influenced by specific COPD subtypes.
-
With telemedicine's expansion during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become critical to evaluate whether patients have equitable access to and capabilities to use televisits optimally for improved COPD outcomes such as reduced hospitalizations. This scoping review evaluated whether televisit-based interventions are evaluated among and equitably effective in improving health care use outcomes among diverse patient populations with COPD. ⋯ Most studies failed to report on participants' race or income, leading to a lack of data on the equity of interventions' effectiveness across diverse patient populations. Multimethod televisit-based interventions, particularly with an in-person component, most commonly were effective; no associations were seen with study quality or size. With the increasing reliance on telemedicine to provide chronic disease care, the lack of data among diverse populations since the COVID-19 pandemic began limits generalizability of these findings for real-world clinical settings. More comprehensive evaluations of televisit-based interventions are needed in the era after the pandemic within and across diverse patient populations.