Respiratory medicine
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Respiratory medicine · Oct 2018
The usefulness of routine chest radiograph examinations in patients treated with TNF inhibitors for inflammatory arthritis in South Korea.
We aimed to investigate the usefulness of routine chest radiograph (CXR) examinations for patients with inflammatory arthritis treated with a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor in terms of (i) the role of CXR in baseline latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) screening and (ii) detecting asymptomatic active tuberculosis after TNF inhibitor initiation. ⋯ CXR should be performed as one of the LTBI screening tests for patients with inflammatory arthritis in a tuberculosis-prevalent country. However, after TNF inhibitor treatment, routine CXR follow-up was not advantageous.
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Respiratory medicine · Oct 2018
Randomized Controlled TrialA novel approach of using educational pharmaceutical pictogram for improving inhaler techniques in patients with asthma.
Proper inhaler technique is essential to maximize the benefit of medications and improve asthma outcomes. ⋯ Educational pharmaceutical pictograms represent an inexpensive and feasible intervention that can positively affect the proper use of inhalers in asthmatic patients.
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Respiratory medicine · Oct 2018
Outcomes with newly proposed classification of acute respiratory deterioration in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Respiratory-related hospitalization, in particular acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (AE-IPF), is common and associated with increasing mortality in patients with IPF. We aimed to evaluate the implications of a newly proposed framework of acute respiratory deterioration (ARD) and AE-IPF in hospitalized patients. ⋯ AE-IPF accounted for about 30% of first hospitalizations for ARD, and differentiation between AE-IPF and the other categories in ARD is important from a therapeutic and a prognostic point of view.
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Respiratory medicine · Oct 2018
Disconnect of type 2 biomarkers in severe asthma; dominated by FeNO as a predictor of exacerbations and periostin as predictor of reduced lung function.
biomarkers of Type 2 (T2) inflammation may predict asthma control and exacerbation risk. However, the relationships between individual T2 biomarkers to exacerbations and lung function in severe asthma remain uncertain. ⋯ FeNO demonstrated stronger correlation with asthma exacerbations than PBE or periostin with no definite added benefit from a composite score of the 3 biomarkers. Only periostin showed significant association with reduced lung function raising its potential as a biomarker of airway remodeling.