Change in cardiorespiratory parameters following surgical correction of pectus excavatum: protocol for the historical-prospective HeartSoar cohort.

Introduction: How cardiorespiratory function changes following the surgical correction of pectus excavatum (PE) often gives mixed results, with meta-analyses demonstrating no benefit in terms of pulmonary function but improvement in cardiac function. Functional responses may depend on type of surgery, follow-up time and/or the patient's presurgical functional status, and debate persists on the purely aesthetic nature of such surgery. The aim of this protocol is to analyse data describing lung function and incremental exercise testing before vs after the surgical correction of PE.

Standard patient training versus Vik-Asthme chatbot-guided training: 'AsthmaTrain' - a protocol for a randomised controlled trial for patients with asthma.

Introduction: Therapeutic education for patients with asthma has been shown to reduce asthma morbidity. The high availability of smart phones provides the opportunity to furnish patient training via specifically designed chatbot applications. The goal of this protocol is to perform a first pilot comparison of traditional face to face versus chatbot-guided patient therapeutic education programmes for patients with asthma.

Obesity in women with asthma: Baseline disadvantage plus greater small-airway responsiveness.

Background: Obesity is known to diminish lung volumes and worsen asthma. However, mechanistic understanding is lacking, especially as concerns small-airway responsiveness. The objective of this study was therefore to compare small-airway responsiveness, as represented by the change in expiratory:inspiratory mean lung density ratios (MLD , as determined by computed tomography [CT]) throughout methacholine testing in obese versus non-obese women with asthma.

Did COVID-19 impact Positive Airway Pressure adherence in 2020? A cross-sectional study of 8477 patients with sleep apnea.

Background: Whether the COVID-19 pandemic impacts Positive Airway Pressure (PAP) adherence over the long-term is unknown and only preliminary short-term data have been reported.

Methods: With the aim of describing the impact of the first and second waves of COVID-19 on PAP adherence during 2020 in France, we designed a cross-sectional study of Sleep-Apnea (SA)-patients under PAP telemonitoring. To examine PAP adherence in adult SA patients, we assessed de-identified data from a non-profit healthcare provider database during the period January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020.

Anti-interleukin 5 therapies failure criteria in severe asthma: a Delphi-consensus study.

Background: Current practices for assessing response to anti-interleukin 5/R treatment in severe asthma patients are heterogeneous. The objective of this study was to achieve an expert consensus defining failure criteria for anti-interleukin 5/R treatment in severe asthma patients.

Methods: Experts were invited to a 5-round Delphi exercise if they were pulmonologists managing ⩾30 patients at a nationally recognized severe asthma expert centre.

Health-related quality of life and disease progression in pulmonary arterial hypertension patients: a 3-year study.

Objectives: The role of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and psychological variables in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) progression remains poorly quantified. We aimed to investigate the relationship between disease progression in PAH patients and HRQoL and psychological characteristics.

Methods: A 3-year longitudinal cohort was initiated.

Complication and lung function impairment prediction using perfusion and computed tomography air trapping (CLIPPCAIR): protocol for the development and validation of a novel multivariable model for the prediction of post-resection lung function.

Background: Recent advancements in computed tomography (CT) scanning and post processing have provided new means of assessing factors affecting respiratory function. For lung cancer patients requiring resection, and especially those with respiratory comorbidities such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the ability to predict post-operative lung function is a crucial step in the lung cancer operability assessment. The primary objective of the CLIPPCAIR study is to use novel CT data to develop and validate an algorithm for the prediction of lung function remaining after pneumectomy/lobectomy.

Sacubitril-valsartan initiation in chronic heart failure patients impacts sleep apnea: the ENTRESTO-SAS study.

Aims: Optimizing medical cardiac treatment for sleep apnoea (SA) in patients with chronic heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is an expert Grade C recommendation based on six studies encompassing a total of 67 patients only. Whether sacubitril-valsartan (SV), a cornerstone of HFrEF medical treatment, impacts SA is unknown and requires evaluation.

Methods And Results: The ENTRESTO-SAS trial is a six-centre, prospective, open-label real-life cohort study (NCT02916160).

Apnoea-hypopnoea indices determined via continuous positive airway pressure (AHI-CPAP) versus those determined by polysomnography (AHI-PSG): a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: To date, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) remains the cornerstone of obstructive sleep apnoea treatment. CPAP data describing residual sleep-disordered breathing events (ie, the CPAP-measured apnoea-hypopnoea indices (AHI-CPAP)) is difficult to interpret because it is an entirely different metric than the polysomnography (PSG) measured AHI gold standard (AHI-PSG). Moreover, manufacturer definitions for apnoea and hypopnoea are not only different from those recommended for PSG scoring, but also different between manufacturers.

Mask side-effects in long-term CPAP-patients impact adherence and sleepiness: the InterfaceVent real-life study.

Background: For some patients, Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) remains an uncomfortable therapy despite the constant development of technological innovations. To date, no real life study has investigated the relationship between mask related side-effects (MRSEs) and CPAP-non-adherence (defined as < 4 h/day) or residual-excessive-sleepiness (RES, Epworth-Sleepiness-Scale (ESS) score ≥ 11) in the long-term.

Methods: The InterfaceVent-CPAP study is a prospective real-life cross-sectional study conducted in an apneic adult cohort undergoing at least 3 months of CPAP with unrestricted mask-access (34 different masks).

Expert Consensus on the Tapering of Oral Corticosteroids for the Treatment of Asthma. A Delphi Study.

There is a need to minimize oral corticosteroid (OCS) use in patients with asthma to prevent their costly and burdensome adverse effects. Current guidelines do not provide recommendations for OCS tapering in patients with asthma. To develop expert consensus on OCS tapering among international experts.

Management of sleep apnoea syndrome (SAS) in patients with vasovagal syncope (VVS): a protocol for the VVS-SAS cohort study.

Introduction: Recurrent vasovagal syncope (VVS) is associated with decreased quality-of-life and frequent use of emergency services. The evidence base for causality, diagnostic procedures and potential VVS treatments is poor. Scattered observations in the literature suggest a link between respiratory disturbances during sleep and VVS.

Patient distrust in pharmaceutical companies: an explanation for women under-representation in respiratory clinical trials?

Background: Patient skepticism concerning medical innovations can have major consequences for current public health and may threaten future progress, which greatly relies on clinical research. The primary objective of this study is to determine the variables associated with patient acceptation or refusal to participate in clinical research. Specifically, we sought to evaluate if distrust in pharmaceutical companies and associated psychosocial factors could represent a recruitment bias in clinical trials and thus threaten the applicability of their results.

Prioritising outcomes for evaluating eosinophil-guided corticosteroid therapy among patients with acute COPD exacerbations requiring hospitalisation: a Delphi consensus study.

Objectives: Presently, those outcomes that should be prioritised for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation studies remain unclear. In order to coordinate multicentre studies on eosinophilia-driven corticosteroid therapy for patients hospitalised for acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD), we aimed to find consensus among experts in the domain regarding the prioritisation of outcomes.

Design: A modified Delphi study was proposed to recognised COPD experts.

Feasibility of Type 3 Polygraphy for Evaluating Leak Determinants in CPAP-Treated OSA Patients: A Step Toward Personalized Leak Management.

Background: Unintentional leaks (ULs) are frequent adverse effects in CPAP-treated patients. We previously published a novel methodology for analyzing the determinants of UL using polysomnography. We now propose a simplified recording system using a type 3 polygraphic device (Somnolter; Nomics S.

Poor Concordance between Sequential Transbronchial Lung Cryobiopsy and Surgical Lung Biopsy in the Diagnosis of Diffuse Interstitial Lung Diseases.

The diagnostic concordance between transbronchial lung cryobiopsy (TBLC)-versus surgical lung biopsy (SLB) as the current gold standard-in interstitial lung disease (ILD) cases requiring histology remains controversial. To assess diagnostic concordance between TBLC and SLB sequentially performed in the same patients, the diagnostic yield of both techniques, and subsequent changes in multidisciplinary assessment (MDA) decisions. A two-center prospective study included patients with ILD with a nondefinite usual interstitial pneumonia pattern (on high-resolution computed tomography scan) confirmed at a first MDA.