Hospital Admission Factors Independently Affecting the Risk of Mortality of COVID-19 Patients.

Introduction: COVID-19 is a disease characterized by high in-hospital mortality, which seems to be dependent on many predisposing factors.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical symptoms, abnormalities in the results of laboratory tests, and coexisting chronic diseases that independently affected the risk of in-hospital mortality in patients with COVID-19.

Patients And Methods: We analyzed the records of patients with COVID-19 who were hospitalized from 6 March 2020 to 30 November 2021.

New 6-Minute-Walking Test Parameter-Distance/Desaturation Index (DDI) Correctly Diagnoses Short-Term Response to Immunomodulatory Therapy in Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis.

Unlabelled: The six-minute-walking test (6MWT) is an easy-to-perform, cheap and valuable tool to assess the physical performance of patients. It has been used as one of the endpoints in many clinical trials investigating treatment efficacy in pulmonary arterial hypertension and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. However, the utility of 6MWT in patients diagnosed with hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is still under investigation.

International consensus on lung function testing during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has negatively affected the delivery of respiratory diagnostic services across the world due to the potential risk of disease transmission during lung function testing. Community prevalence, reoccurrence of COVID-19 surges and the emergence of different variants of SARS-CoV-2 have impeded attempts to restore services. Finding consensus on how to deliver safe lung function services for both patients attending and for staff performing the tests are of paramount importance.

Comparability of portable and desktop spirometry: a randomized, parallel assignment, open-label clinical trial.

Introduction: Portable spirometers are often perceived as inaccurate. We aimed to evaluate the performance of AioCare®, a new portable spirometer, by comparing it with a reference desktop spirometer.

Materials And Methods: Sixty-two patients diagnosed with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease performed spirometry examinations on a portable and the reference spirometer.

Sarcoidosis in coexistence with chronic granulomatous disease.

Granulomas formations are present in many lung diseases. Coexistence of one or more of these diseases is very rare. Diagnostics of such cases always poses a challenge.

[Successful treatment of infrarenal aortic aneurysm in the case of a patient after renal transplantation].

The management of the abdominal aortic aneurysm is associated with several risk factors, especially in patients after renal transplantation. Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) can be the proper treatment in feasible cases. The authors present a patient's case who underwent renal transplantation and developed an infrarenal aortic aneurysm some years later.

Tolerogenic dendritic cells in organ transplantation.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are specialized cells of the innate immune system that are characterized by their ability to take up, process and present antigens (Ag) to effector T cells. They are derived from DC precursors produced in the bone marrow. Different DC subsets have been described according to lineage-specific transcription factors required for their development and function.

The innate immune response to allotransplants: mechanisms and therapeutic potentials.

Surgical trauma and ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) are unavoidable aspects of any solid organ transplant procedure. They trigger a multifactorial antigen-independent inflammatory process that profoundly affects both the early and long-term outcomes of the transplanted organ. The injury associated with donor organ procurement, storage, and engraftment triggers innate immune activation that inevitably results in cell death, which may occur in many different forms.

Inhibiting Inflammation with Myeloid Cell-Specific Nanobiologics Promotes Organ Transplant Acceptance.

Inducing graft acceptance without chronic immunosuppression remains an elusive goal in organ transplantation. Using an experimental transplantation mouse model, we demonstrate that local macrophage activation through dectin-1 and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) drives trained immunity-associated cytokine production during allograft rejection. We conducted nanoimmunotherapeutic studies and found that a short-term mTOR-specific high-density lipoprotein (HDL) nanobiologic treatment (mTORi-HDL) averted macrophage aerobic glycolysis and the epigenetic modifications underlying inflammatory cytokine production.

Inhaled therapies in patients with moderate COPD in clinical practice: current thinking.

COPD is a complex, heterogeneous condition. Even in the early clinical stages, COPD carries a significant burden, with breathlessness frequently leading to a reduction in exercise capacity and changes that correlate with long-term patient outcomes and mortality. Implementation of an effective management strategy is required to reduce symptoms, preserve lung function, quality of life, and exercise capacity, and prevent exacerbations.

Neutrophil derived CSF1 induces macrophage polarization and promotes transplantation tolerance.

The colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF1) regulates the differentiation and function of tissue macrophages and determines the outcome of the immune response. The molecular mechanisms behind CSF1-mediated macrophage development remain to be elucidated. Here we demonstrate that neutrophil-derived CSF1 controls macrophage polarization and proliferation, which is necessary for the induction of tolerance.

Physical Activity, Not Sedentary Time, Predicts Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry-measured Adiposity Age 5 to 19 Years.

Purpose: To examine the associations among physical activity (PA), sedentary time (SED), and TV viewing (TV) with fat mass (FAT) and visceral adipose tissue mass (VAT) from childhood through adolescence (5-19 yr).

Methods: Participants in the Iowa Bone Development Study (n = 230 males and 233 females) were examined at ages 5, 8, 11, 13, 15, 17, and 19 yr. Accelerometers measured moderate- or vigorous-intensity PA (MVPA; min·d), light-intensity PA (LPA; min·d), and SED (h·d).

Use the Lower Limit of Normal, Not 80% Predicted, in Judging Eligibility for Lung Resection.

Background: Impaired lung function (LF) is a well-known risk factor for perioperative complications in patients qualified for lung resection surgery. The recent European guidelines recommend using values below 80% predicted as indicating abnormal LF rather than the lower limit of normal (LLN).

Objectives: To assess how the choice of a cut-off point (80% predicted vs.

Myeloid derived suppressor cells and autoimmunity.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells are a heterogeneous group of immature myeloid cells with immunoregulatory function. When activated and expanded, these cells can suppress T cell functions via cell-to cell interactions as well as soluble mediators. Recent studies investigated the involvement of MDSC in autoimmune diseases.

Cardiac Sarcoidosis: Is it More Common in Men?

Introduction: Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous disease which predominantly affects the lungs, although granulomas can also involve all other organs, including the heart. Cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) may occur at any stage of the disease and may be the cause of sudden cardiac death, even in a previously asymptomatic patient. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of CS in a large group of patients diagnosed or followed up due to sarcoidosis.

What comorbidities accompany sarcoidosis? A large cohort (n=1779) patients analysis.

Background: Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous multiorgan disease with the most common manifestation is in the chest, although the granulomas can also involve all other organs causing variety of symptoms mimicking different diseases.

Objectives: To evaluate the incidence of comorbidity in a large group of patients with sarcoidosis diagnosed or followed in referral center for lung diseases in Poland.

Patients And Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis in a group of 1779 patients discharged with the final diagnosis "sarcoidosis" (ICD-10: D86) from January 2008 to October 2011.