Respirology : official journal of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology
-
Comparative Study Observational Study
Discriminative and predictive properties of multidimensional prognostic indices of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a validation study in Taiwanese patients.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a pulmonary disease with systemic involvement. Several multidimensional indices have been developed to predict long-term outcomes. However, these indices have not been compared and validated in Taiwanese patients with COPD. ⋯ ADO, BODEx and CPI scores are useful predictors of all-cause mortality with significantly discriminative properties in Taiwanese patients with COPD.
-
Comparative Study
Impact of needle gauge on characterization of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) histology samples.
Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is a minimally invasive mediastinal node sampling technique used for lung cancer staging and diagnosis of mediastinal lesions. The four published studies assessing sampling with 21-G or 22-G needles conflict. The study objective is to evaluate the diagnostic utility of 21-G versus 22-G EBUS-TBNA needles, and the ability to subcharacterize both benign and malignant lesions using histopathological assessment only. ⋯ This large UK single-centre study suggests 21-G EBUS-TBNA needles are superior to 22-G in characterizing benign lesions (especially sarcoidosis) and NSCLC when using histopathological assessment. Making a positive benign diagnosis may avoid the need to perform mediastinoscopy. Obtaining sufficient histological material to subcharacterize NSCLC and particularly lung adenocarcinoma allows appropriate testing for genetic mutations facilitating targeted oncological therapy.
-
Comparative Study
Impact of pulmonary hypertension on exercise performance in patients with interstitial lung disease undergoing evaluation for lung transplantation.
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a known complication in patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD). Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is an essential tool for the assessment of patients with cardiac and pulmonary diseases due to its prognostic and therapeutic implications. Few studies have evaluated the relationship between CPET response and mean pulmonary artery pressures (mPAP) in ILD. The purpose of the present study was to determine and compare the potential correlations between CPET, 6-min walk test (6MWT), pulmonary function testing (PFT) and PH in patients with ILD being evaluated for lung transplantation. ⋯ This is the first study that analyses 6MWD, PFT and CPET in patients with ILD awaiting lung transplantation with and without PH. The present study demonstrates the significant impact of PH on exercise capacity and performance in patients with ILD awaiting lung transplantation.
-
The gold standard for the histological diagnosis of interstitial lung diseases (ILD) is an open lung biopsy (OLB). Tissue samples obtained by forceps transbronchial lung biopsies (TBB) are usually too small. We aim to evaluate the efficacy and safety of cryo-TBB for the diagnosis of ILD and to explore its role as substitute for OLB. ⋯ Cryo-TBB is a safe and effective minimally invasive modality for the diagnosis of ILD. No OLB is needed in the majority of patients.