Pulmonary aspergillosis presenting with recurrent haemoptysis.

Pulmonary aspergillosis presents with a variety of clinical forms including invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, chronic necrotising aspergillosis, aspergilloma, chronic cavitary pulmonary aspergillosis and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. Haemoptysis is a devastating complication of pulmonary aspergillosis and a common indication for surgery. We report a case of a 54-year-old man with a history of pulmonary tuberculosis and diabetes mellitus, who presented with productive cough and haemoptysis for 2 months.

Hazards with ordering troponin in patients with low pretest probability of acute coronary syndrome.

Background: In clinical practice, we progressively rely on biomarkers, without estimating the pretest probability. There is not enough support for the use of cardiac troponin (cTn) I in the management of noncardiac patients. We studied the rate at which this test was ordered, the prevalence of detection of a positive result in noncardiac patients, and the impact of this incidental finding on clinical management.

Heparin dose adjustment required to maintain goal-activated partial thromboplastin time during therapeutic hypothermia.

Purpose: The impact of therapeutic hypothermia (TH) on unfractionated heparin (UFH) management is essentially unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of TH on UFH dosing and activated partial thromboplastin (aPTT) response.

Materials And Methods: Consecutive patients treated from 2005 to 2011 who received intravenous UFH via a dosing nomogram during TH were included.

Screening for severe physical inactivity in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: the value of simple measures and the validation of two physical activity questionnaires.

Objectively measured severe physical inactivity (SPI) has been reported as the strongest independent predictor of mortality in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Activity monitoring is not feasible in routine clinical practice; therefore, we set out to determine the utility of simple clinical measures for predicting SPI in patients with COPD. A total of 165 patients with COPD wore an activity monitor for 5 days to define the presence or absence of SPI.