The European respiratory journal : official journal of the European Society for Clinical Respiratory Physiology
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We aimed to characterise the association of pulmonary hypertension due to hypoventilation and exercise capacity, and the haemodynamic and functional changes under noninvasive ventilation. A retrospective analysis was carried out to assess haemodynamics and functional capacity in 18 patients with daytime pulmonary hypertension, due to hypoventilation, at baseline and after 3 months of noninvasive ventilation. Patients presented with a mean±SD pulmonary artery pressure of 49±13 mmHg, preserved cardiac index (3.2±0.66 L·min(-1)·m(-2)), 6-min walking distance of 303±134 m and severely elevated N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels. ⋯ Changes in work rate correlated inversely with pulmonary artery pressure (R= -0.75; p=0.031). In this specific cohort with hypoventilation and severe pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary hypertension was associated with reduced exercise capacity. Following noninvasive ventilation, haemodynamics and exercise capacity improved significantly.
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The aim of this study was to establish which cut-off point for the forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio (i.e. fixed 0.70 or lower limit of normal (LLN) cut-off point) best predicts accelerated lung function decline and exacerbations in middle-aged smokers. We performed secondary analyses on the Lung Health Study dataset. 4045 smokers aged 35-60 years with mild-to-moderate obstructive pulmonary disease were subdivided into categories based on presence or absence of obstruction according to both FEV1/FVC cut-off points. ⋯ Our study showed that FEV1 decline in subjects deemed obstructed according to a fixed criterion (FEV1/FVC <0.70), but non-obstructed by a sex- and age-specific criterion (LLN) closely resembles FEV1 decline in subjects designated as non-obstructed by both criteria. Sex and age should be taken into account when assessing airflow obstruction in middle-aged smokers.
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Bronchiolitis obliterans is a complication after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Management of bronchiolitis obliterans comprises intensive immunosuppression, but treatment response is poor. We investigated the effect of cyclosporine A (CsA), tacrolimus (FK506), methylprednisolone (mPRED), mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and everolimus on the proliferation of primary lung myofibroblasts from HSCT patients with bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS). ⋯ Serial pulmonary function tests over 12 months after lung biopsy and under triple therapy demonstrated that patients with lymphocytic bronchiolitis had a significant improvement in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), whereas FEV1 of patients with bronchiolitis obliterans was unchanged. Our data demonstrate a pro-proliferative effect of calcineurin inhibitors on primary human lung myofibroblasts obtained from patients with BOS after HSCT. In contrast, based on the observed antiproliferative capacity of MMF in vitro, MMF-based calcineurin inhibitor-free treatment strategies should be further evaluated in patients with bronchiolitis obliterans after HSCT.
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Letter Case Reports
Bedaquiline in MDR/XDR-TB cases: first experience on compassionate use.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Dual bronchodilation with QVA149 versus single bronchodilator therapy: the SHINE study.
We investigated the efficacy and safety of dual bronchodilation with QVA149 versus its monocomponents indacaterol and glycopyrronium, tiotropium and placebo in patients with moderate-to-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This was a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled, 26-week trial. Patients (n = 2144) were randomised (2:2:2:2:1) to receive once-daily QVA149 (indacaterol 110 μg/glycopyrronium 50 μg), indacaterol 150 μg, glycopyrronium 50 μg, open-label tiotropium 18 μg or placebo. ⋯ QVA149 significantly improved dyspnoea and health status versus placebo (p<0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively) and tiotropium (p = 0.007 and p = 0.009, respectively) at week 26. All treatments were well tolerated. Dual bronchodilation with once-daily QVA149 demonstrated superior and clinically meaningful outcomes versus placebo and superiority versus treatment with a single bronchodilator, with a safety and tolerability profile similar to placebo, supporting the concept of fixed-dose long-acting muscarinic antagonist/long-acting β2-agonist combinations for the treatment of COPD.