Revue médicale suisse
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Revue médicale suisse · Nov 2014
Review[Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: recent diagnostic and therapeutic advances].
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most frequent of the idiopathic interstitial pneumonias. It is a progressive disorderwith a poor prognosis. Its diagnosis requires the careful exclusion of potential causes, and a pattern of usual interstitial pneumonia at high-resolution computed tomography or video-assisted surgical lung biopsy. ⋯ The combination of prednisone and azathioprine, often prescribed until recently, has been shown to be harmful and is no longer indicated. N-acetylcystein, also used in the past decade, failed to show an efficacy. However, two new antifibrotic drugs, pirfenidone and nintedanib, have for the first time proven effective in slowing disease progression.
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Pneumonia is an importance cause of mortality and morbidity in adults. Two types of pneumonia are defined: community-acquired and nosocomial pneumonia with their corresponding etiology such as pneumococci or Haemophilus influenzae and Pseudomonas or enterobacteriaceae, respectively. ⋯ Culture in the case of nosocomial pneumonia is especially important to obtain the antibiotic susceptibility of the infectious agent and to adjust therapy. Moreover for immunocompromised patients, the differential diagnosis is much wider looking for viruses, filamentous fungi and Pneumocystis can be very informative, using new molecular assays.
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Age-related physiological changes and comorbidities affect older patients' tolerance to surgery. Pre-operative assessment in these patients requires, beside the usual physical evaluation, the systematic screening of common geriatric syndromes. Cognitive, gait and balance, nutritional, and functional impairments, all flag patients at higher risk for per- and postoperative complications. Preoperative assessment is an opportunity to detect these syndromes and propose preventative interventions (physical therapy, nutritional and cognitive support measures) likely to reduce the incidence of postoperative morbidity.