Effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on hospitalizations for non-Covid-19-pneumonia and exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases in Switzerland: comparison of national data between 2020/2021 and 2015-2019.

Background: Protective measures applied during the Covid-19 pandemic had a marked impact on the incidence of pneumonia. However, systematic data are lacking for hospitalizations for pneumonia and acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive lung diseases (AECOPD) not caused by SARS-CoV-2 in Switzerland. We aimed to compare the incidences of hospitalization for these entities between 2020/2021 and prepandemic years.

Tracking Real-World Physical Activity in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Over One Year: Results from a Monocentric, Prospective, Observational Cohort Study.

Introduction: Lung function constraints and comorbidities such as coronary heart disease, sarcopenia, and mood disorders make chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients avoid physical activity (PA). However, PA represents an important pillar of COPD management and is explicitly recommended by professional associations to enhance physical functioning and positively modulate disease progression.

Methods: In this monocentric, prospective, observational feasibility study, it was our primary objective to investigate the association between PA and the evolution of the COPD assessment test (CAT) and the occurrence of acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD), respectively.

Quantification of breathing irregularity for the diagnosis of dysfunctional breathing using proportional tidal volume variation: a cross-sectional, retrospective real-world study.

Objectives: To develop a statistical approach that provides a quantitative index measuring the magnitude of the irregularity of the breathing response to exercise for the diagnosis of dysfunctional breathing.

Design: Cross-sectional, retrospective, real-world study.

Setting: Single-centre study.

Impact of the 2022 pulmonary hypertension definition on haemodynamic classification and mortality in patients with aortic stenosis undergoing valve replacement.

Aims: With the 2022 pulmonary hypertension (PH) definition, the mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) threshold for any PH was lowered from ≥25 to >20 mmHg, and the pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) value to differentiate between isolated post-capillary PH (IpcPH) and combined pre- and post-capillary PH (CpcPH) was reduced from >3 Wood units (WU) to >2 WU. We assessed the impact of this change in the PH definition in aortic stenosis (AS) patients undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR).

Methods And Results: Severe AS patients ( = 503) undergoing pre-AVR cardiac heart catheterization were classified according to both the 2015 and 2022 definitions.

Autoimmunity Against Surfactant Protein B Is Associated with Pneumonitis During Checkpoint Blockade.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-related pneumonitis is a serious autoimmune event affecting as many as 20% of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), yet the factors underpinning its development in some patients and not others are poorly understood. To investigate the role of autoantibodies and autoreactive T cells against surfactant-related proteins in the development of pneumonitis. The study cohort consisted of patients with NSCLC who provided blood samples before and during ICI treatment.

Treatment and outcomes of patients with chronic lung disease and acute myocardial infarction: Insights from the nationwide AMIS plus registry.

Background: Limited data are available on patients with chronic lung disease (CLD) presenting with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We aimed to analyse baseline characteristics, treatment and outcome of those patients enrolled in the Swiss nationwide prospective AMIS Plus registry.

Methods: All AMI patients enrolled between January 2002 and December 2021 with data on CLD, as defined in the Charlson Comorbidity Index, were included.

Assessment of functional diversities in patients with Asthma, COPD, Asthma-COPD overlap, and Cystic Fibrosis (CF).

The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the discriminating power of spirometric and plethysmographic lung function parameters to differenciate the diagnosis of asthma, ACO, COPD, and to define functional characteristics for more precise classification of obstructive lung diseases. From the databases of 4 centers, a total of 756 lung function tests (194 healthy subjects, 175 with asthma, 71 with ACO, 78 with COPD and 238 with CF) were collected, and gradients among combinations of target parameters from spirometry (forced expiratory volume one second: FEV1; FEV1/forced vital capacity: FEV1/FVC; forced expiratory flow between 25-75% FVC: FEF25-75), and plethysmography (effective, resistive airway resistance: sReff; aerodynamic work of breathing at rest: sWOB), separately for in- and expiration (sReffIN, sReffEX, sWOBin, sWOBex) as well as static lung volumes (total lung capacity: TLC; functional residual capacity: FRCpleth; residual volume: RV), the control of breathing (mouth occlusion pressure: P0.1; mean inspiratory flow: VT/TI; the inspiratory to total time ratio: TI/Ttot) and the inspiratory impedance (Zinpleth = P0.

Electronic Nicotine-Delivery Systems for Smoking Cessation.

Background: Electronic nicotine-delivery systems - also called e-cigarettes - are used by some tobacco smokers to assist with quitting. Evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of these systems is needed.

Methods: In this open-label, controlled trial, we randomly assigned adults who were smoking at least five tobacco cigarettes per day and who wanted to set a quit date to an intervention group, which received free e-cigarettes and e-liquids, standard-of-care smoking-cessation counseling, and optional (not free) nicotine-replacement therapy, or to a control group, which received standard counseling and a voucher, which they could use for any purpose, including nicotine-replacement therapy.

Non-pharmaceutical interventions to optimize cancer immunotherapy.

The traditional picture of cancer patients as weak individuals requiring maximum rest and protection is beginning to dissolve. Too much focus on the medical side and one's own vulnerability and mortality might be counterproductive and not doing justice to the complexity of human nature. Unlike cytotoxic and lympho-depleting treatments, immune-engaging therapies strengthen the immune system and are typically less harmful for patients.

Gender-specific disease trajectories prior to the onset of COPD allow individualized screening and early intervention.

Background: Nation-wide hospitalization databases include diagnostic information at the level of an entire population over an extended period of time. Comorbidity network and early disease development can be unveiled. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an underdiagnosed condition for which it is crucial to identify early disease indicators.

The impact of metabolic stressors on mitochondrial homeostasis in a renal epithelial cell model of methylmalonic aciduria.

Methylmalonic aciduria (MMA-uria) is caused by deficiency of the mitochondrial enzyme methylmalonyl-CoA mutase (MUT). MUT deficiency hampers energy generation from specific amino acids, odd-chain fatty acids and cholesterol. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a well-known long-term complication.

Smartphone-based cough monitoring as a near real-time digital pneumonia biomarker.

Background: Cough represents a cardinal symptom of acute respiratory tract infections. Generally associated with disease activity, cough holds biomarker potential and might be harnessed for prognosis and personalised treatment decisions. Here, we tested the suitability of cough as a digital biomarker for disease activity in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and other lower respiratory tract infections.

Nighttime Continuous Contactless Smartphone-Based Cough Monitoring for the Ward: Validation Study.

Background: Clinical deterioration can go unnoticed in hospital wards for hours. Mobile technologies such as wearables and smartphones enable automated, continuous, noninvasive ward monitoring and allow the detection of subtle changes in vital signs. Cough can be effectively monitored through mobile technologies in the ward, as it is not only a symptom of prevalent respiratory diseases such as asthma, lung cancer, and COVID-19 but also a predictor of acute health deterioration.

Compartmentalization of the host microbiome: how tumor microbiota shapes checkpoint immunotherapy outcome and offers therapeutic prospects.

The host microbiome is polymorphic, compartmentalized, and composed of distinctive tissue microbiomes. While research in the field of cancer immunotherapy has provided an improved understanding of the interaction with the gastrointestinal microbiome, the significance of the tumor-associated microbiome has only recently been grasped. This article provides a state-of-the-art review about the tumor-associated microbiome and sheds light on how local tumor microbiota shapes anticancer immunity and influences checkpoint immunotherapy outcome.

Functional Predictors Discriminating Asthma-COPD Overlap (ACO) from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

Background: A significant proportion of patients with obstructive lung disease have clinical and functional features of both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), referred to as the asthma-COPD overlap (ACO). The distinction of these phenotypes, however, is not yet well-established due to the lack of defining clinical and/or functional criteria. The aim of our investigations was to assess the discriminating power of various lung function parameters on the assessment of ACO.

Identification of smoking cessation phenotypes as a basis for individualized counseling: An explorative real-world cohort study.

Introduction: The rate of relapse in smokers attempting to quit is generally high. In order to maximize the chances of success, it is of interest to better understand the dynamic of lapse and relapse during smoking cessation. We hypothesized that specific behavioral patterns in tobacco consumption could predict the probability of quitting success and could open the possibility for a more targeted approach.

Inhaled aviptadil for the possible treatment of COVID-19 in patients at high risk for ARDS: study protocol for a randomized, placebo-controlled, and multicenter trial.

Background: Despite the fast establishment of new therapeutic agents in the management of COVID-19 and large-scale vaccination campaigns since the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in early 2020, severe disease courses still represent a threat, especially to patients with risk factors. This indicates the need for alternative strategies to prevent respiratory complications like acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) associated with COVID-19. Aviptadil, a synthetic form of human vasoactive intestinal peptide, might be beneficial for COVID-19 patients at high risk of developing ARDS because of its ability to influence the regulation of exaggerated pro-inflammatory proteins and orchestrate the lung homeostasis.

Pulmonary Surfactant Proteins Are Inhibited by Immunoglobulin A Autoantibodies in Severe COVID-19.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome with fatal outcomes. Evidence suggests that dysregulated immune responses, including autoimmunity, are key pathogenic factors. To assess whether IgA autoantibodies target lung-specific proteins and contribute to disease severity.