Interventional Pulmonology Productivity, Compensation, and Practice Benchmarks: The AABIP 2022 Report.

Background: Interventional pulmonology (IP) is a growing field that has not yet been recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties or incorporated into national benchmark organizations. As a result, there is a lack of data on IP practice patterns, physicians' compensation and productivity targets.

Methods: We sent an anonymous survey to 647 current or past physician members of the AABIP.

Stakeholder perspectives on current determinants of ultrasound-guided thoracentesis in resource limited settings: a qualitative study.

Objective: Preprocedure pleural fluid localization using bedside ultrasound has been shown to reduce complications related to thoracentesis and is now considered the standard of care. However, ultrasound-guided thoracentesis (USGT) has not been broadly adopted in many low-resource settings. With increasing affordability and portability of ultrasound equipment, barriers to USGT are changing.

COVID-19 Impact on Interventional Pulmonology Training.

The impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic extends beyond the realms of patient care and healthcare resource use to include medical education; however, the repercussions of COVID-19 on the quality of training and trainee perceptions have yet to be explored. The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of interventional pulmonology (IP) fellows' involvement in the care of COVID-19 and its impact on fellows' clinical education, procedure skills, and postgraduation employment search. An internet-based survey was validated and distributed among IP fellows in North American fellowship training programs.

Bronchoscopic treatment of inoperable nonsmall cell lung cancer.

Patients with unresectable lung cancer range from those with early-stage or pre-invasive disease with comorbidities that preclude surgery to those with advanced stage disease in whom surgery is contraindicated. In such cases, a multidisciplinary approach to treatment is warranted, and may involve medical specialties including medical oncology, radiation oncology and interventional pulmonology. In this article we review bronchoscopic approaches to surgically unresectable lung cancer, including photodynamic therapy, brachytherapy, endoscopic ablation techniques and airway stenting.

Bronchoscopic Lung Volume Reduction with Valves and Coils. A Network Meta-analysis.

Coils and endobronchial valves are the most widely used bronchoscopic lung volume reduction devices in patients with advanced emphysema. However, the choice of each specific device depends on emphysema characteristics (homogeneous vs. heterogeneous) and presence of lobar collateral ventilation (CV).

Use of Tracheostomy During the COVID-19 Pandemic: American College of Chest Physicians/American Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology/Association of Interventional Pulmonology Program Directors Expert Panel Report.

Background: The role of tracheostomy during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic remains unknown. The goal of this consensus statement is to examine the current evidence for performing tracheostomy in patients with respiratory failure from COVID-19 and offer guidance to physicians on the preparation, timing, and technique while minimizing the risk of infection to health care workers (HCWs).

Methods: A panel including intensivists and interventional pulmonologists from three professional societies representing 13 institutions with experience in managing patients with COVID-19 across a spectrum of health-care environments developed key clinical questions addressing specific topics on tracheostomy in COVID-19.

An International Survey of Mediastinal Staging Practices amongst Interventional Bronchoscopists.

Introduction: In potentially curable non-small-cell lung cancer, different practice guidelines recommend invasive me-diastinal staging in tumors larger than 3 cm, central, or hy-permetabolic N1 lymph nodes. There is no consensus concerning the use of an endosonographic procedure or a mediastinoscopy in the first line in patients with a radiologically normal mediastinum, while in case of a mediastinal involvement, the latest European guidelines recommend the combination of endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) and endoscopic ultrasound/endoscopic ultrasound with EBUS endoscope (EUS/EUS-B), using a systematic endosonographic procedure. This international survey was conducted to describe current medical practices in endoscopic mediastinal staging amongst interventional bronchoscopists.

Orphan Lung Diseases.

There are hundreds of rare orphan lung diseases. We have highlighted five of them, one from each of the five major categories of pulmonary disorders: pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (a rare diffuse parenchymal lung disease), pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (a rare autoimmune and diffuse parenchymal lung disease), lymphangioleiomyomatosis (a rare cystic lung disease), yellow nail syndrome (a rare pleural disease), and Mounier-Kuhn syndrome (a rare airway disorder). The pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnostic criteria, treatment options, and prognosis of each disorder is discussed.

Community-acquired Pneumonia and Hospital-acquired Pneumonia.

Pneumonia is among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most likely cause in most cases, the variety of potential pathogens can make choosing a management strategy a complex endeavor. The setting in which pneumonia is acquired heavily influences diagnostic and therapeutic choices.

Interventional Pulmonology: A Focused Review for Primary Care Physicians.

Interventional pulmonology (IP) has evolved in recent decades, and recent advances have greatly expanded the services offered by IP physicians. IP is best defined as the use of advanced techniques for the evaluation and treatment of benign and malignant pulmonary disorders. The field has further advanced with the recent establishment of a board certification via the American Association of Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology and the release in 2017 of accreditation standards for specialized fellowship training.

Are Transbronchial Cryobiopsies Ready for Prime Time?: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: There is a lack of consensus regarding the yield and safety of transbronchial cryobiopsies for diagnosing diffuse parenchymal lung diseases (DPLD). The purpose of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis assessing the diagnostic yield and safety profile of transbronchial cryobiopsies in DPLD.

Methods: A literature search of MEDLINE, EMBASE databases, and Google Scholar was performed in August 2017.

Computed Tomography Bronchus Sign and the Diagnostic Yield of Guided Bronchoscopy for Peripheral Pulmonary Lesions. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Rationale: Indeterminate peripheral pulmonary lesions (PPLs) often require tissue diagnosis. If nonsurgical biopsy techniques are considered, deciding between bronchoscopic transbronchial versus computed tomography-guided transthoracic biopsy can be difficult. The former has a low diagnostic yield with a low complication risk, whereas the latter has a better diagnostic yield but a higher complication rate.

Advances in Interventional Pulmonology.

Much has changed since the last review of interventional pulmonology (IP) published in this Clinics series. The rate of development of new techniques and their complexities require IP physicians to be constantly maintaining and updating their skill set. International agreed training pathways help ensure that the interventionalists of the present and future have the required knowledge of anatomy, manual dexterity, and clinical judgment to keep up with the continuing advances that are constantly expanding IP's diagnostic and therapeutic boundaries.