Respiratory medicine
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An ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread around the world. It is debatable whether asymptomatic COVID-19 virus carriers are contagious. We report here a case of the asymptomatic patient and present clinical characteristics of 455 contacts, which aims to study the infectivity of asymptomatic carriers. ⋯ In summary, all the 455 contacts were excluded from SARS-CoV-2 infection and we conclude that the infectivity of some asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 carriers might be weak.
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Respiratory medicine · Aug 2020
Multicenter StudyChest X-ray features of SARS-CoV-2 in the emergency department: a multicenter experience from northern Italian hospitals.
To evaluate the imaging features of routine admission chest X-ray in patients referred for novel Coronavirus 2019 infection. ⋯ The most common X-ray pattern is multifocal and peripheral, associated with interstitial and alveolar opacities. Chest X-ray, compared to CT, can be considered a reliable diagnostic tool, especially in the Emergency setting.
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Respiratory medicine · Aug 2020
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia patients have preserved CT-measured central airway luminal area.
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a condition of neonatal chronic lung disease due to disruption or dysregulation of pulmonary development. However, the pathophysiology of BPD in the larger conducting airways is not yet fully understood. The objective of our study was to determine if the area of the central airways are altered in patients with a history of BPD. ⋯ Airway luminal area was not different between BPD patients and matched controls for any of the measured airways (p > 0.05). Total lung volume detected in the CT scans was not different between BPD patients and matched controls (median [range]; 2775 [522-6215] vs 2969 [851-5612] cm3, p > 0.05). Our results suggest the luminal areas of the large conducting airways in patients with BPD are not different from matched controls.
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Respiratory medicine · Aug 2020
Observational StudyNew opacities in lung allograft after transbronchial cryobiopsy.
The occurrence of radiological opacities post-transbronchial cryobiopsy may pose serious difficulties in differential diagnosis and management of lung allografts. This prospective study evaluated the frequency, characteristics, and evolution of new lung opacities after performing transbronchial cryobiopsy. ⋯ New pulmonary opacities >10 mm occur frequently after transbronchial cryobiopsy; a few may persist beyond 6 months. CT studies are recommended before implementing transbronchial cryobiopsy, whenever possible.
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Asthmatic smokers have reduced quality of life and need frequent specialist visits/hospitalization. Smoking habit represents for asthmatics a higher risk for comorbidities and lung function impairment. The impact of cigarette smoking on asthmatics should be addressed to evaluate the related risk factors. ⋯ Heavy smokers had more severe obstructive impairments than light and never smokers with similar ICS dose, showing a steroid insensitivity, but displayed less allergy with low FeNO and blood eosinophil count, thus being a definite phenotype.