Challenges With the Intolerance of Biologics in Severe Eosinophilic Asthma: The Risk of Exacerbations Is Time-Dependent With the Rise of Eosinophils.

Patients with severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA) can benefit from biologic therapy but some subjects may present an immune-mediated side effect. These patients will not meet the treatment goals and might have an increased risk of exacerbations. Monitoring these patients by determining blood eosinophil (BE) levels could be one of the tools that may allow a follow-up to prevent a worsening of asthma or exacerbations.

Asthma Symptoms Mimicking Myofibroblastic Tracheal Tumor in Pediatric Diagnosis.

Tracheal tumors in pediatric patients are rare, accounting for 2% of all airway abnormalities and 0.2% of all pediatric tumors. Diagnosis is often delayed due to the heterogeneity of presenting symptoms, such as stridor and wheezing, which are frequently misattributed to other conditions.

Delayed Diagnosis of Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia in Low-Middle-Income Countries: The Clinical Value of Nasal Nitric Oxide.

Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a rare lung disease that causes chronic oto-sino-pulmonary disease with irreversible lung damage. Several diagnostic methods exist, but electron microscopy (EM) is the most accurate tool, as it visualizes alterations in the axonemal ultrastructure; however, some patients may present a normal ciliary structure. Therefore, other diagnostic methods have been promoted, such as genetic studies or immunofluorescence of specific markers; nonetheless, they are not very accessible and expensive and even present a high level of false negatives.

Mexican Hispanics show significant improvement in lung function approximately 1 year after having severe COVID-19.

The long-term effects of COVID-19 on lung function are not understood, especially for periods extending beyond 1 year after infection. This observational, longitudinal study investigated lung function in Mexican Hispanics who experienced severe COVID-19, focusing on how the length of recovery affects lung function improvements. At a specialized COVID-19 follow-up clinic in Yucatan, Mexico, lung function and symptoms were assessed in patients who had recovered from severe COVID-19.

Understanding the Gaps in the Reporting of COPD Exacerbations by Patients: A Review.

Exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are associated with loss of lung function, poor quality of life, loss of exercise capacity, risk of serious cardiovascular events, hospitalization, and death. However, patients underreport exacerbations, and evidence suggests that unreported exacerbations have similar negative health implications for patients as those that are reported. Whilst there is guidance for physicians to identify patients who are at risk of exacerbations, they do not help patients recognise and report them.

Small airway disease in post-acute COVID-19 syndrome, a non-conventional approach in three years follow-up of a patient with long COVID: a case report.

Background: Small airways disease (SAD), a novel finding described in post-acute COVID-19 patients, should be suspected when respiratory symptoms continue, air trapping persists on expiratory CT scans, and imaging findings fail to improve despite objectively better conventional pulmonary function test (PFT) parameters. The forced oscillation technique (FOT) and Multiple breathing washout (MBW) are both very sensitive methods for detecting anomalies in the peripheral airways.

Case Presentation: We discuss the case of a 60-year-old Hispanic patient who had severe COVID-19 pneumonia and developed dyspnea, fatigue, and limited daily activity a year later.

[Small airway: from definition to treatment].

The small airway, present since the origins of humanity and described barely a century ago, has recently been discovered as the anatomical site where inflammation begins in some obstructive lung diseases, such as asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), per se. Small airway dysfuction was identified in up to 91% of asthmatic patients and in a large proportion of COPD patients. In subjects without pathology, small airway represent 98.

Inflammation associated with lung function abnormalities in COVID-19 survivors.

Background: Activation of inflammatory pathways promotes organ dysfunction in COVID-19. Currently, there are reports describing lung function abnormalities in COVID-19 survivors; however, the biological mechanisms remain unknown. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between serum biomarkers collected during and following hospitalization and pulmonary function in COVID-19 survivors.

Modeling mortality risk in patients with severe COVID-19 from Mexico.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by a coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the COVID-19 disease pandemic that began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Since then, nearly seven million deaths have occurred worldwide due to COVID-19. Mexicans are especially vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic as Mexico has nearly the worst observed case-fatality ratio (4.

Effect of Altitude on Respiratory Functional Status in COVID-19 Survivors: Results from a Latin American Cohort-FIRCOV.

Laura Gochicoa-Rangel, Santiago C. Arce, Carlos Aguirre-Franco, Wilmer Madrid-Mejía, Mónica Gutiérrez-Clavería, Lorena Noriega-Aguirre, Patricia Schonffeldt-Guerrero, Agustín Acuña-Izcaray, Arturo Cortés-Telles, Luisa Martínez-Valdeavellano, Federico Isaac Hernández-Rocha, Omar Ceballos-Zúñiga, Rodrigo Del Rio Hidalgo, Sonia Sánchez, Erika Meneses-Tamayo, and Iván Chérrez-Ojeda; and on Behalf of the Respiratory Physiology Project in COVID-19 (FIRCOV). Effect of altitude on respiratory functional status in COVID-19 survivors: results from a Latin American Cohort-FIRCOV.

Dynamic inflammatory response among routine laboratory biomarkers and their predictive ability for mortality in patients with severe COVID-19.

Background: The severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is related to several factors, including age, sex, and comorbidities (obesity, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension). However, systemic inflammation plays a fundamental role in COVID-19 pathophysiology. Several studies have described this association employing specific biomarkers that are not routinely used in clinical practice.

Challenges in the Management of Post-COVID-19 Pulmonary Fibrosis for the Latin American Population.

This commentary aims to highlight some of the major issues (with possible solutions) that the Latin American region is currently dealing with in managing post-COVID-19 pulmonary fibrosis. Overall, there is little evidence for successful long-term COVID-19 follow-up treatment. The lack of knowledge regarding proper treatment is exacerbated in Latin America by a general lack of resources devoted to healthcare, and a lack of availability and access to multidisciplinary teams.

Clinical predictors of lung function in patients recovering from mild COVID-19.

Background: Few studies have assessed lung function in Hispanic subjects recovering from mild COVID-19. Therefore, we examined the prevalence of impaired pulmonary diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) as defined by values below the lower limit of normal (< LLN, < 5th percentile) or less than 80% of predicted in Hispanics recovering from mild COVID-19. We also examined the prevalence of a restrictive spirometric pattern as defined by the ratio of forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV) to forced vital capacity (FVC) being ≥ LLN with the FVC being < LLN.

Cystatin C is a marker for acute kidney injury, but not for mortality among COVID-19 patients in Mexico.

Background: Patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 can develop acute kidney injury (AKI), associated with adverse clinical outcomes. In Mexico, an AKI incidence of 60.7% was reported in patients with COVID-19.

Pneumomediastinum Associated with COVID-19: A Case Series.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the new coronavirus SARSCoV-2, is an infectious disease that has caused an increase in hospitalizations for pneumonia; the spectrum of clinical presentation is variable. One such presentation, pneumomediastinum (PM), is defined as the presence of air or some other gas in the mediastinum. It is a rare condition, usually benign and self-limited; it has been seen in patients with COVID-19.

Humoral immune response in healthcare workers after two doses of a BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine in Yucatan, Mexico.

The antibody response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as well as the host immune response after vaccination and viral infection have shown to be highly heterogeneous. This is a case series study analysing humoral immune response and vaccination side effects after two doses of a BNT162b2 mRNA among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Mexico. All participants were scheduled for their two doses of mRNA BNT162b2 vaccine and provided information through a questionnaire: demographic characteristics, antibody serum titres and vaccination-related side effects.

Secondary spontaneous pneumothorax: a time to re-evaluate management.

Spontaneous pneumothorax (SP) is defined as the presence of air in the pleural cavity and remains a significant health problem. Secondary SP (SSP) is associated with underlying lung diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and interstitial lung disease (ILD), and is associated with poor outcomes. The current guidelines in the management of SSP have not been updated since the last decade; therefore, new protocols focused on the management of SSP should be evaluated.

Clinical impact of obesity on respiratory diseases: A real-life study.

Background: Obesity has become an epidemic that affects Mexico; significantly interferes with respiratory physiology by decreasing lung volumes, therefore, might be considered as a relevant risk factor associated with the development of respiratory diseases.

Objective: Our primary outcome was to analyze the frequency and risk factors between obesity and respiratory disease in the Mexican population.

Materials And Methods: An observational, single-center, descriptive study, which included the totality of patients who were referred for medical attention at the Respiratory and Thorax Surgery Unit at the Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad de la Península de Yucatán during the period from January 2015 to December 2018.

Serum IL-6: A potential biomarker of mortality among SARS-CoV-2 infected patients in Mexico.

Background: The first case of SARS-CoV-2 in Mexico was reported in February 2020, since then, high rates of mortality due to COVID-19 have been found. Cytokine storm is linked to the severity and decreasing the survival among infected patients by COVID-19. The serum levels of Interleukin 6 (IL-6) have been correlated to mortality in COVID-19 cases and could be used as indicator of mortality in COVID-19 cases.

[Overview of the interstitial lung disease in the Southeast of Mexico].

Background: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) corresponds to a heterogeneous group of pathologies that differ in etiology with common clinical and radiological manifestations. In Latin America and Mexico, reports are scarce and the need for studies to understand the scenario is emphasized.

Objective: To analyze a multidimensional profile in patients with interstitial lung disease in Yucatan.