Clinical medicine (London, England)
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Multicenter Study
Increased frequency of pneumothorax and pneumomediastinum in COVID-19 patients admitted in the ICU: A multicentre study from Mumbai, India.
There are limited data regarding the incidence of pneumothorax in COVID-19 patients as well as the impact of the same on patient outcomes. ⋯ Our study demonstrates that air leaks occur with a higher frequency in patients with COVID-19 than in other ICU patients. When present, such air leaks contributed to poor outcomes with almost 74% mortality rates in these patients.
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Long COVID is a common occurrence following COVID-19 infection. The most common symptom reported is fatigue. Limited interventional treatment options exist. We report the first evaluation of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for long COVID treatment. ⋯ Long COVID-related fatigue can be debilitating, and may affect young people who were previously in economic employment. The results presented here suggest potential benefits of HBOT, with statistically significant results following 10 sessions.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the development of highly effective vaccines that provide hope to the global community for reducing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and limiting the mortality and morbidity caused by the disease. These vaccines have been produced using differing technologies, taken through clinical trials, and rolled out across the UK at unprecedented speed. However, the recent emergence of rare cases of life-threatening thrombosis in association with thrombocytopenia has threatened to derail one particular vaccine, the Oxford AstraZeneca ChAdOx1 vaccine, upon which many countries are dependent for their vaccination programmes. The story of how this situation has been managed in the UK at the height of the vaccine roll-out represents a remarkable collective endeavour on the part of the haematology community, working closely with other acute medical and surgical professionals within the NHS and the UK health regulatory bodies, to provide rapid expert guidance that has saved lives and helped keep the national vaccination programme on track.
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Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) are a heterogeneous group of diseases characterised by varying degrees of fibrotic and/or inflammatory abnormalities of the lung parenchyma. Management of ILD is often challenging for non-respiratory physicians. We discuss the respiratory assessment and management of patients with ILD presenting with acute breathlessness on the acute take, including acute exacerbations of ILD.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The unspoken benefit of participation in a clinical trial.
Publicly funded trials do not usually offer financial incentives to volunteers. An intensive level of medical care could act as an additional motivator for participation. Our aim was to establish whether patients may draw any clinical benefit from volunteering in a clinical trial. ⋯ Compared with routine care, patients screened for a clinical trial may come under an increased level of scrutiny that may affect their clinical management. This may act as additional motivator to attract patients to future studies.