Publications by authors named "Asha Bonney"

Background And Objectives: Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is a frequent additional finding on lung cancer screening (LCS) low-dose computed tomography (LDCT). Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of death in LCS participants. We aimed to describe prevalence of incidental CAC detected on LDCT in LCS participants without prior history of coronary artery disease (CAD), evaluate their CVD risk and describe subsequent investigation and management.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Pulmonary nodules are often found accidentally during imaging and require ongoing monitoring based on factors like size and characteristics.
  • - A review evaluated the prevalence of significant nodules in non-cancer-related imaging, analyzing 24 studies involving nearly 31,000 participants, mainly using CT scans.
  • - Findings showed a high prevalence of significant nodules in studies with broad chest views, but there was limited focus on the characteristics of subsolid nodules, and issues like inconsistent smoking history reporting affected overall results.
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Article Synopsis
  • - Chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (CEP) is a rare lung condition where eosinophils accumulate in the lungs, and it typically responds well to corticosteroid treatment, with little progression to severe lung disease.
  • - A case is reported of a woman in her 40s with previously manageable CEP who experienced a significant worsening of her condition during her third pregnancy, leading to respiratory failure that required intensive care and mechanical ventilation.
  • - This case illustrates that pregnancy may act as a risk factor for severe exacerbations of CEP, suggesting the need for more research on proper monitoring and treatment approaches for pregnant patients with this condition.
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Introduction: Physical activity (PA) is a potentially modifiable risk factor for lung cancer, with previous research revealing that people who engage in more PA have lower risk of developing lung cancer. PA levels of lung cancer screening participants have not previously been explored.

Methods: Participants at a single Australian International Lung Screen Trial site were eligible for assessment of self-reported PA levels (International Physical Activity Questionnaire and Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly) and physical assessments (6-min walk distance, hand grip muscle strength, daily step count, and body composition) at a single time point during lung cancer screening.

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Background: Evaluation of psychosocial consequences of lung cancer screening with LDCT in high-risk populations has generally been performed using generic psychometric instruments. Such generic instruments have low coverage and low power to detect screening impacts. This study aims to validate an established lung cancer screening-specific questionnaire, Consequences Of Screening Lung Cancer (COS-LC), in Australian-English and describe early results from the baseline LDCT round of the International Lung Screen Trial (ILST).

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Background: Lung cancer screening in high-risk populations with low-dose computed tomography is supported by international associations and recommendations. Overdiagnosis is considered a risk of screening with associated harms. The aim of this paper is to determine the prevalence of subclinical lung cancer diagnosed post-mortem to better understand the reservoir of subclinical lung cancer.

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Background: Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death in the world, however lung cancer screening has not been implemented in most countries at a population level. A previous Cochrane Review found limited evidence for the effectiveness of lung cancer screening with chest radiography (CXR) or sputum cytology in reducing lung cancer-related mortality, however there has been increasing evidence supporting screening with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT).  OBJECTIVES: To determine whether screening for lung cancer using LDCT of the chest reduces lung cancer-related mortality and to evaluate the possible harms of LDCT screening.

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected different parts of Australia in distinct ways across 2020 and 2021. In 2020, Melbourne was the epicentre of COVID-19. As one of the key tertiary centres caring for the patients affected by the outbreaks, the Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) managed the majority of the Victorian inpatient caseload.

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Background: Emphysema severity is frequently measured on CT via densitometry. Correlation with scintigraphic and spirometric functional measures of ventilation or perfusion varies widely, and no prior study has evaluated correlation between densitometry and lobar ventilation/perfusion in patients with severe emphysema. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility and findings of gallium-68 (Ga) ventilation/perfusion positron emission tomography-CT (Ga-VQ/PET-CT) in severe emphysema assessment.

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Background: With the rapid development of genotype-guided therapies, molecular testing is becoming important in the management of lung cancer. Bronchoscopy is one of the most common investigations performed to diagnose and investigate lung cancer. Given the limited samples often produced by bronchoscopy, this study aims to evaluate the feasibility of performing molecular testing on cell blocks created from bronchoscope cytology brush tip washings (BTW).

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Objectives: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is an important component of lung cancer diagnosis and management, although performance can be limited due to tissue availability. We describe a novel technique for processing brush-tip washings (BTW) and evaluate the feasibility of IHC testing on these samples.

Study Design: All patients who had cell blocks (CB) created from BTW following bronchoscopic investigation of peripheral lung lesions were included.

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Multiple guidance modalities may be combined during bronchoscopic investigation of peripheral pulmonary lesions (PPLs). The relative contribution of each modality to diagnostic performance remains uncertain.Endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) with virtual bronchoscopy (VB) was routinely performed, with electromagnetic navigation (EMN) utilised only where EBUS was unable to locate PPLs or where the probe was adjacent to the lesion and on-site cytologic examination was nondiagnostic.

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Question: Otitis media is a very common condition in pediatrics and can be quite distressing for children and their parents. Is there a role for antihistamines and decongestants in the management of acute otitis media orotitis media with effusion in children?

Answer: Traditionally, antihistamines and decongestants have been used in the treatment of otitis media;however, recent guidelines, which are based on study findings with negative results, recommend against routine use. No antihistamine-decongestant combination has been shown to be of clinically significant benefit,and there are potential adverse events that need to be taken into account.

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Question: A 4-year-old girl was brought into the emergency department vomiting after having had ingested a laundry detergent capsule (LDC) from under the sink at her house. What is the risk of LDC poisoning? What can be done to treat these children?

Answer: Laundry detergent capsules are relatively new to supermarket shelves in North America, and there has been an emergence of case reports in the literature describing LDC poisoning, which is worse than poisoning from other laundry detergents. Very little is known about the mechanisms causing these severe reactions, which include airway compromise and esophageal perforation, but the attractive appearance of these capsules and easy access at home has governments and health officials concerned about an increase in poisoning.

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