The European respiratory journal : official journal of the European Society for Clinical Respiratory Physiology
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The aim of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of tunnelled pleural catheters (TPC) in patients with malignant pleural effusions who would otherwise be candidates for pleurodesis. Patients were selected from a previously reported database of 250 TPC insertions. The study group was selected based on lung re-expansion and survival as a surrogate maker of eligibility for pleurodesis procedure, as defined by survival of > or =90 days and lung re-expansion > or =80% post-drainage on a standard chest radiograph 2 weeks post TPC placement. ⋯ There was no need for a repeat procedure in 87% of cases overall and in 92% of patients experiencing SP. There were few complications and no procedure-related deaths. Tunnelled pleural catheters are an effective way of controlling malignant pleural effusions when used as first-line treatment in patients who appear to be candidates for pleurodesis procedures.
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Pulmonary hypertension (PH) may complicate idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) but the prevalence of PH in IPF remains undefined. The present authors sought to describe the prevalence of PH in IPF. The lung transplant registry for the USA (January 1995 to June 2004) was analysed and IPF patients who had undergone right heart catheterisation (RHC) were identified. ⋯ Pulmonary hypertension is common in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients awaiting lung transplant, but the elevations in mean pulmonary arterial pressure are moderate. Lung volumes alone do not explain the pulmonary hypertension. Given the prevalence of pulmonary hypertension and its relationship with surrogate markers for quality of life (e.g. activities of daily living), future trials of therapies for this may be warranted.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
The need for macrolides in hospitalised community-acquired pneumonia: propensity analysis.
The present study compared beta-lactam macrolide ("combination") therapy versus beta-lactam alone ("monotherapy") for hospitalised community-acquired pneumonia, using propensity scores to adjust for the differences between patients. A prospective multinational observational study was carried out. Baseline patient and infection characteristics were used to develop a propensity score for combination therapy. ⋯ The mortality in these groups was identical, with three (11%) demises each. The multivariable odds ratio for mortality associated with combination therapy, adjusted for the propensity score and the Pneumonia Severity Index, was 0.69 (95% confidence interval 0.32-1.48). The benefit of combination therapy versus monotherapy cannot be reliably assessed in observational studies, since the propensity to prescribe these regimens differs markedly.
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Used appropriately, biomarkers improve the assessment of respiratory tract infections and sepsis. Most prominently, circulating procalcitonin levels increase by a factor of several tens of thousands during sepsis. Using a sensitive assay, procalcitonin safely and markedly reduces antibiotic usage in respiratory tract infections and nonbacterial meningitis. ⋯ However, at increased levels they can become harmful for their host. Multiple mechanisms of action were proposed. In several animal models the modulation and neutralisation of hormokines during infection was shown to improve survival, and thus might open new treatment options for severe infections, especially of the respiratory tract.
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It was hypothesised that the time to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis in liquid culture of sputum from patients with pulmonary tuberculosis may be a better indicator for the duration of respiratory isolation than sputum smear status. Pre-treatment and during-treatment sputum acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear and culture results were reviewed in 284 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. The time to detect M. tuberculosis in liquid culture (TTD-TB) was the number of days from inoculation of the Mycobacterial Growth Indicator Tube to culture detection and visualisation of AFB. ⋯ These criteria would have reduced the duration of respiratory isolation by 1,516 days in the 143 study participants with sputum smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis. Provided clinical and radiographical criteria are satisfactory, use of the time to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis in liquid culture could enable the duration of respiratory isolation to be predicted from the pre-treatment sputum smear grade. The recommendations enable isolation to end well before sputum becomes smear negative, with considerable benefits to patients and healthcare providers.