The Medical clinics of North America
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Interventional pulmonology is a rapidly growing field of pulmonary medicine. It is a procedure-based subspecialty focusing on minimally invasive advanced diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. Current interventions include advanced bronchoscopic imaging, guidance methods for diagnostic bronchoscopy, therapeutic modalities for central airway obstructions, pleural interventions, and novel therapies for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This article is an introduction to pertinent interventions within the context of the diseases encountered by the trained interventional pulmonologist.
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Med. Clin. North Am. · Nov 2011
ReviewEvaluation and treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer.
Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death in the United States; however, recent clinical advances may change this outcome. New data on low-dose computed tomography for lung cancer screening, and technologic advances in surgery and radiation, have improved outcomes for those with early-stage disease. Identification of driver mutations in lung cancer has led to the development of molecular targeted therapy to improve survival of subsets of patients with metastatic disease. These advances now allow for treatment of many patients with lung cancer with comorbidities or poor performance status who would have had limited options in the past.
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Sarcoidosis is a multisystem, granulomatous disease. In this article, the various clinical manifestations, approach to, and management of, pulmonary and extrapulmonary sarcoidosis are reviewed.
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The hypoventilation syndromes represent a variety of disorders that affect central ventilatory control, respiratory mechanics, or both. Obesity hypoventilation syndrome is a clinically important disorder with serious cardiovascular and metabolic consequences if unrecognized. ⋯ Decreases in thoracic volume and limited expansion of the chest highlight the restrictive ventilatory impairments seen in hypoventilation associated with chest wall disorders. Despite the mechanism, effective hypoventilation treatment targets the underlying disease and use of noninvasive ventilation.
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In the last decade, significant progress has been made toward a better understanding of interstitial lung disease (ILD). A valuable tool for the clinician is high-resolution computed tomography, which aids in narrowing the differential diagnosis in patients with ILD and obviates the need for surgical lung biopsy when a usual interstitial pneumonia pattern is present. Clinicians evaluating and caring for patients with ILD need to recognize associated comorbidities. Substantial evidence shows that implementation of a multidisciplinary approach provides a high standard of care for patients, leading to improvements in the accuracy of clinical diagnosis that can significantly affect patient outcome.