Real-World Effectiveness of Mepolizumab in Severe Asthma: Results from the Multi-country, Self-controlled Nucala Effectiveness Study (NEST).

Introduction: The Nucala Effectiveness Study (NEST) assessed the effectiveness of mepolizumab in patients with severe asthma (SA) in countries previously underrepresented in real-world studies.

Methods: A multi-country, bi-directional, self-controlled, observational cohort study conducted in Colombia, Chile, India, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar. Historical and/or prospective data from patients with SA were assessed 12 months pre- and post-mepolizumab initiation.

Prevalence of Reverse Triggering in Early ARDS: Results From a Multicenter Observational Study.

Background: The prevalence of reverse triggering (RT) in the early phase of ARDS is unknown.

Research Question: During early ARDS, what is the proportion of patients affected by RT, what are its potential predictors, and what is its association with clinical outcomes?

Study Design And Methods: This was prospective, multicenter, and observational study. Patients who met the Berlin definition of ARDS with less than 72 h of mechanical ventilation and had not been paralyzed with neuromuscular blockers were screened.

Identification and characterization of human interferon alpha inhibitors through a WISH cell line-based reporter gene assay.

Interferons (IFNs) are important glycoproteins which can stimulate or inhibit up to three hundred different genes encoding proteins involved in antiviral defense mechanisms, inflammation, adaptive immunity, angiogenesis and among other processes. Nevertheless, different genetic alterations may lead to interferon alpha (IFN-α) overproduction in human autoimmune diseases like systemic lupus erythematosus. As a consequence, IFN-α is a central molecule whose activity must be regulated to block their harmful effect on those disorders where the endogenous cytokine production constitutes the etiology of the illnesses.

The role of surveillance cultures in guiding ventilator-associated pneumonia therapy.

Purpose Of Review: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is the most frequent cause of death among the nosocomial infections acquired in the ICU. Routine surveillance endotracheal aspirate (ETA) cultures in patients on mechanical ventilation have been proposed to predict the cause of VAP. Our aim is to review the available experience regarding the role of surveillance ETA cultures in guiding VAP antimicrobial therapy.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension in a patient with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia.

Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by the triad of epistaxis, telangiectasia and vascular malformations. Pulmonary vascular complications associated with this disease include pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (AVM) and, less frequently, pulmonary hypertension (PH). We report the case of a patient who presented multiple pulmonary AVM and PH probably due to HHT.

[Severe respiratory disease in an intensive care unit during influenza A(H1N1) 2009 pandemia].

We describe characteristics of patients admitted to our intensive care unit with severe acute respiratory illness and influenza-like syndrome during the first months of the pandemic influenza A(H1N1) 2009 in Argentina. We analyzed clinical data, severity scores, laboratory tests, microbiological and radiological findings at admission, clinical outcomes and in-hospital mortality. H1N1 was confirmed by RT-PCR.

Critical role for the mitochondrial permeability transition pore and cyclophilin D in platelet activation and thrombosis.

Many of the cellular responses that occur in activated platelets resemble events that take place following activation of cell-death pathways in nucleated cells. We tested the hypothesis that formation of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP), a key signaling event during cell death, also plays a critical role in platelet activation. Stimulation of murine platelets with thrombin plus the glycoprotein VI agonist convulxin resulted in a rapid loss of mitochondrial transmembrane potential (Deltapsi(m)) in a subpopulation of activated platelets.

[Argentine consensus of non-invasive ventilation].

Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) is nowadays increasingly used. The significant decrease in tracheal intubation related complications makes it particularly attractive in patients with moderately acute respiratory failure (ARF) who still have some degree of respiratory autonomy. It has also been used to support patients with chronic respiratory failure.