Thorax
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Randomised crossover trial of telemonitoring in chronic respiratory patients (TeleCRAFT trial).
Randomised crossover trial with 6 months of standard best practice clinical care (control group) and 6 months with the addition of telemonitoring. ⋯ Telemonitoring added to standard care did not alter time to next acute hospital admission, increased hospital admissions and home visits overall, and did not improve quality of life in chronic respiratory patients.
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To determine the prevalence of systemic corticosteroid-induced morbidity in severe asthma. ⋯ Oral corticosteroid-related adverse events are common in severe asthma. New treatments which reduce exposure to oral corticosteroids may reduce the prevalence of these conditions and this should be considered in cost-effectiveness analyses of these new treatments.
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TB remains a major public health concern, even in low-incidence countries like the USA and the UK. Over the last two decades, cases of TB reported in the USA have declined, while they have increased substantially in the UK. We examined factors associated with this divergence in TB trends between the two countries. ⋯ To achieve TB elimination in the UK, a re-evaluation of current TB control policies and practices with a focus on foreign-born are needed. In the USA, maintaining and strengthening control practices are necessary to sustain the progress made over the last 20 years.
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Comparative Study
Neural correlates of cough hypersensitivity in humans: evidence for central sensitisation and dysfunctional inhibitory control.
Chronic non-productive coughing is a major complication of pulmonary disease and can also occur in many individuals without identifiable underlying pathology. The common clinical link in patients with cough is an enhanced sensitivity of the respiratory system to stimuli that subsequently evoke excessive coughing. The aetiology of this 'cough hypersensitivity syndrome' is unclear but believed to involve hypersensitivity of the sensory neural pathways that innervate the airways and lungs. ⋯ These findings provide insight into the central neurobiology of cough hypersensitivity and suggest that both central amplification of cough sensory inputs and reduced capacity to suppress cough motor behaviours define patients with problematic cough.