Thorax
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HIV-infected adults are at an increased risk of lower respiratory tract infections. HIV infection impairs systemic acquired immunity, but there is limited information in humans on HIV-related cell-mediated immune defects in the lung. ⋯ BAL antigen-specific CD4(+) T cell responses against important viral and bacterial respiratory pathogens are impaired in HIV-infected adults. This might contribute to the susceptibility of HIV-infected adults to lower respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia and tuberculosis.
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Intermittent viral exacerbations in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) with chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) infection are associated with increased bacterial load. A few clinical studies suggest that rhinoviruses (RV) are associated with the majority of viral-related exacerbations in CF and require prolonged intravenous antibiotic treatment. These observations imply that acute RV infection may increase lower respiratory symptoms by increasing planktonic bacterial load. However, the underlying mechanisms are not known. ⋯ This study shows that acute infection with RV liberates planktonic bacteria from biofilm. Planktonic bacteria, which are more proinflammatory than their biofilm counterparts, stimulate increased chemokine responses in CF airway epithelial cells which, in turn, may contribute to the pathogenesis of CF exacerbations.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
UK Lung Screen (UKLS) nodule management protocol: modelling of a single screen randomised controlled trial of low-dose CT screening for lung cancer.
The UK Lung Screen (UKLS) is a randomised controlled trial of the use of low-dose multidetector CT for lung cancer screening. It completed the Health Technology Appraisal (HTA)-funded feasibility stage in October 2009 and the pilot UKLS will be initiated in early 2011. The pilot will randomise 4000 subjects to either low-dose CT screening or no screening. ⋯ The UKLS employs the 'Wald Single Screen Design', which was modelled in the UKLS feasibility study. This paper describes the modelling of nodule management in UKLS by using volumetric analysis with a single initial screen design and follow-up period of 10 years. This modelling has resulted in the development and adoption of the UKLS care pathway, which will be implemented in the planned CT screening trial in the UK.