Thorax
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Treatment of acute emergencies in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) can be challenging. In the UK and Ireland, management of adult patients with PAH is centred in eight nationally designated pulmonary hypertension (PH) centres. However, many patients live far from these centres and physicians in local hospitals are often required to manage PAH emergencies. ⋯ Emergencies are not uncommon in PAH. While expertise in PAH management is essential, all physicians involved in acute care should be aware of the principles of acute management of PAH emergencies. A multidisciplinary approach is necessary, with physicians from tertiary PH centres supporting care locally and planning safe transfer of patients to PH centres when appropriate.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Aspirin reduces lipopolysaccharide-induced pulmonary inflammation in human models of ARDS.
Platelets play an active role in the pathogenesis of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Animal and observational studies have shown aspirin's antiplatelet and immunomodulatory effects may be beneficial in ARDS. ⋯ These are the first prospective human data indicating that aspirin inhibits pulmonary neutrophilic inflammation, at both low and high doses. Further clinical studies are indicated to assess the role of aspirin in the prevention and treatment of ARDS.
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Multicenter Study
Do COPD subtypes really exist? COPD heterogeneity and clustering in 10 independent cohorts.
COPD is a heterogeneous disease, but there is little consensus on specific definitions for COPD subtypes. Unsupervised clustering offers the promise of 'unbiased' data-driven assessment of COPD heterogeneity. Multiple groups have identified COPD subtypes using cluster analysis, but there has been no systematic assessment of the reproducibility of these subtypes. ⋯ Identical clustering analyses across multiple COPD cohorts showed modest reproducibility. COPD heterogeneity is better characterised by continuous disease traits coexisting in varying degrees within the same individual, rather than by mutually exclusive COPD subtypes.
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Uncertain prediction of outcome in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) impedes individual patient management and clinical trial design. ⋯ A single set of superimposed inspiratory-expiratory CT scans may predict progression of lung injury and outcome in ARDS; if these preliminary results are validated, this could facilitate clinical trial recruitment and individualised care.
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Pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis (PLCH) is a diffuse lung disease that usually affects young adult smokers. PLCH affects different lung compartments; bronchiolar, interstitial and pulmonary vascular dysfunction may coexist to varying extents, resulting in diverse phenotypes. Analyses of PLCH tissues have identified activating mutations of specific mitogen-activated protein kinases (BRAFV600E and others). ⋯ While there is no general consensus regarding the role of immunosuppression or chemotherapy in management, selected patients may experience improvement in lung function with therapy. Determination of BRAFV600E or other mutations may assist with the development of an individualised approach to therapy. Patients with progressive disease should be referred to specialised centres and considered for a trial of pharmacotherapy or evaluated for transplantation.