Amikacin Liposomal Inhalation Suspension for Non-Tuberculous Lung Infection: A Greek Observational Study.

Intravenous amikacin, recommended for severe or recurrent (MAC) infections and as initial treatment for lung disease, is often limited by serious adverse effects such as renal and auditory toxicities. Inhaled Amikacin Liposome Inhalation Suspension (ALIS) enhances pulmonary drug deposition while minimizing systemic adverse effects, and it has recently been introduced as an add-on therapy for refractory MAC infections or when other standard treatments are inadequate. This study aims to retrospectively describe the outcomes of Greek patients with difficult-to-treat non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung disease following the addition of ALIS to guideline-based therapy.

Small Airways Dysfunction and Lung Hyperinflation in Long COVID-19 Patients as Potential Mechanisms of Persistent Dyspnoea.

Background: Reticulation, ground glass opacities and post-infection bronchiectasis are present three months following hospitalisation in patients recovering from SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with the severity of acute infection. However, scarce data exist on small airways impairment and lung hyperinflation in patients with long COVID-19.

Aim: To evaluate small airways function and lung hyperinflation in previously hospitalised patients with long COVID-19 and their association with post-COVID-19 breathlessness.

Evaluation of Antibody Kinetics Following COVID-19 Vaccination in Greek SARS-CoV-2 Infected and Naïve Healthcare Workers.

We investigated the antibody kinetics after vaccination against COVID-19 in healthcare workers of a Greek tertiary hospital. Eight hundred and three subjects were included, of whom 758 (94.4%) received the BNT162b2 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech), eight (1%) mRNA-1273 (Moderna), 14 (1.

Do the Kinetics of Antibody Responses Predict Clinical Outcome in Hospitalized Patients With Moderate-to-Severe COVID-19?

Background/aim: The relationship between the kinetics of antibody responses to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the severity of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is poorly understood. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether serum SARS-CoV-2 antibody kinetics serve as an early predictor of clinical deterioration or recovery in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Patients And Methods: In this prospective observational study, 102 consecutive patients (median age: 60 years, 58% males) with symptomatic COVID-19 infection diagnosed by real-time polymerase chain reaction assay, hospitalized in two tertiary hospitals, were included.

Hydropneumothorax With Persistent Air Leak in a Patient With Mild COVID-19 Disease.

COVID-19 is a pandemic viral disease with a catastrophic global impact. The severity of COVID-19 symptoms ranges from very mild to severe and affects mainly the respiratory system. Spontaneous pneumothorax and pleural effusion are rarely seen in spontaneously breathing COVID-19 patients.

Comparison of advanced closed-loop ventilation modes with pressure support ventilation for weaning from mechanical ventilation in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: To compare neurally adjusted ventilatory assist (NAVA), proportional assist ventilation (PAV), adaptive support ventilation (ASV) and Smartcare pressure support (Smartcare/PS) with standard pressure support ventilation (PSV) regarding their effectiveness for weaning critically ill adults from invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV).

Methods: Electronic databases were searched to identify parallel-group randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing NAVA, PAV, ASV, or Smartcare/PS with PSV, in adult patients under IMV through July 28, 2021. Primary outcome was weaning success.

Sinus bradycardia is associated with poor outcome in critically ill patients with COVID-19 due to the B.1.1.7 Lineage.

The progress of COVID-19 from moderate to severe may be precipitous, while the characteristics of the disease are heterogenous. The aim of this study was to describe the development of sinus bradycardia in critically ill patients with COVID-19 and its association with outcome in outbreak due to the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.

Bronchocentric granulomatosis in rheumatoid arthritis: case report and literature review.

Bronchocentric granulomatosis (BcG) is characterized by granulomatous destruction of bronchial or bronchiolar walls and adjacent parenchyma, with debris and exudates filling the airway lumen. Approximately 50% of total cases have been associated with asthma and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, while it has been rarely reported in the context of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We describe the case of a 69-year-old female RA patient with BcG presenting as a solitary cavitary pulmonary mass.

Primary Hemangiopericytoma Arising in Extralobar Pulmonary Sequestration: A Coincidence or Two Rare Disorders?

Background/aim: Extralobar pulmonary sequestration (EPS) is an unusual congenital defect characterized by the presence of non-functioning lung tissue receiving arterial supply from the systemic arteries. Primary hemangiopericytoma (HPC) is an uncommon potentially malignant tumor of vascular origin that usually involves the soft tissue of the extremities or retroperitoneum, but extremely rarely affects the lung. We present the rare case of a primary pulmonary HPC arising in an EPS.

How can autoantibodies predict the long-term outcome of patients with interstitial lung disease? Results from a retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate whether positive serum autoantibodies (AAbs) have any impact on survival and time evolution of radiological findings and pulmonary function indices in patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD).

Patients And Methods: Ninety four patients with regular clinical, functional and high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) imaging follow-up for at least 12 consecutive months and complete testing for a panel of AAbs most commonly associated with ILD were enrolled in this retrospective two-center study. Eligible patients were divided into two groups based on the presence [ILD/AAb(+)] (n = 69) or absence [ILD/AAb(-)] (n = 25) of positive serum AAbs.

Prevalence and spectrum of symptomatic pulmonary involvement in primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Objectives: The present cross-sectional study aimed to estimate the prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) and define the clinical, functional and imaging characteristics of symptomatic pulmonary disease in pSS.

Methods: Four hundred and fourteen consecutive pSS patients were interviewed for the presence of chronic respiratory complaints (cough and/or dyspnea). Symptomatic pSS patients without respiratory or other comorbidities underwent further investigation with clinical evaluation and assessment with pulmonary functional testing (PFTs) and chest high resolution CT (hrCT) on inspiratory and expiratory phase.

A case study of polypharmacy management in nine European countries: Implications for change management and implementation.

Background: Multimorbidity and its associated polypharmacy contribute to an increase in adverse drug events, hospitalizations, and healthcare spending. This study aimed to address: what exists regarding polypharmacy management in the European Union (EU); why programs were, or were not, developed; and, how identified initiatives were developed, implemented, and sustained.

Methods: Change management principles (Kotter) and normalization process theory (NPT) informed data collection and analysis.

Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors as a Novel Targeted Therapy Against Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: Where Are We Now and What Should We Expect?

Non-small cell lung cancer constitutes the most common type of lung cancer, accounting for 85-90% of lung cancer, and is a leading cause of cancer-related death. Despite the progress during the past years, poor prognosis remains a challenge and requires further research and development of novel antitumor treatment. Recently, the role of histone deacetylases in gene expression has emerged showing their regulation of the acetylation of histone proteins and other non-histone protein targets and their role in chromatin organization, while their inhibitors, the histone deacetylase inhibitors, have been proposed to have a potential therapeutic role in diverse malignancies, including non-small cell lung cancer.

The Role of Bronchoscopic Findings and Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid Cytology in Early Diagnosis of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia.

Background: Early diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is necessary to reduce morbidity and improve survival of critically ill patients in the ICU. The purpose of the present study is to examine the performance of macroscopic bronchoscopic findings and cytological analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) as an early diagnostic tool for VAP, either alone or in combination with clinically oriented scores (modified Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score [CPIS] or Johanson criteria).

Methods: BAL was performed in 54 consecutive mechanically ventilated subjects.

Metachronous and synchronous primary lung cancers: diagnostic aspects, surgical treatment, and prognosis.

The average lifelong rate of developing a new primary lung cancer approximates 1% and 6% per year after radical therapy for non-small-cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer, respectively. The frequency of recorded synchronous and metachronous lung cancers has been increasing in the recent years because of the development of early detection techniques and advances in cancer therapy. The distinction between multiple synchronous or metachronous primary lung cancers and intrapulmonary metastases is based on established clinicopathological criteria, however it is often difficult, although of great importance for the management and prognosis of these patients.

Cryptogenic organizing pneumonia in Sweet's syndrome: case report and review of the literature.

Background And Aims: Sweet's syndrome or acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis is characterized by fever, leukocytosis and tender erythematous plaques, which show infiltration by mature neutrophils on histological examination. Pulmonary involvement is rare in Sweet's syndrome.

Method: We describe the case of a 17-year-old man with a myelodysplastic syndrome following therapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma who developed Sweet's syndrome and cryptogenic organizing pneumonia.

Benign metastasizing leiomyoma presenting as cavitating lung nodules.

Benign metastasizing leiomyoma (BML) was initially used to describe single or multiple pulmonary nodules composed of proliferating smooth muscle cells (lacking cellular atypia) in premenopausal females 3 months to 20 y after hysterectomy for uterine leiomyoma. The lung is the most commonly involved site, thus including many malignant and benign entities in the differential diagnosis. The present case refers to a 47-y-old premenopausal woman with a history of subtotal hysterectomy for a uterine leiomyoma presenting with bilateral cavitating pulmonary nodules.

Evolution of cardiac dysfunction in patients with antiphospholipid antibodies and/or antiphospholipid syndrome: a 10-year follow-up study.

Objectives: To describe the evolution of valve involvement and myocardial dysfunction over time in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with or without antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) and/or antiphospholipid syndrome (APS).

Methods: From an initial cohort of 150 patients assessed by transthoracic echocardiography 10 years ago, 17 patients with primary APS (PAPS), 23 with SLE-associated APS (SLE/APS), 19 with SLE positive for aPL without APS, and 23 with SLE negative for aPL were re-evaluated in the present echocardiography study.

Results: Valvulopathy was detected in 65% of PAPS and 62% of SLE patients with or without aPL.

An alternative technique for surgical management of poststernotomy osteomyelitis and reconstruction of the sternal defect.

Introduction. Sternal osteomyelitis with or without mediastinal infection is a severe and rare complication of median sternotomy. In this paper, an alternative technique for the reconstruction of sternal defects with the use of bilateral pectoralis major pedicled muscle flaps is presented.

Relative contributions of the ribcage and abdomen to lung volume displacement during speech production.

We tested the hypothesis that the pattern of chest wall configuration during speech production correlates with the pattern of chest wall motion during resting breathing. Twenty-one men (age 40 +/- 8 years) with ankylosing spondylitis and varied degrees of ribcage involvement participated in the study. None of the patients had an obvious speech abnormality.

Pattern and distribution of myocardial fibrosis in systemic sclerosis: a delayed enhanced magnetic resonance imaging study.

Objective: To assess the prevalence and pattern of myocardial fibrosis as detected by delayed enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DE-MRI) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), and to evaluate a possible association between myocardial fibrosis and cardiac arrhythmias.

Methods: Forty-one patients with SSc underwent 24-hour Holter monitoring, Doppler echocardiography, and DE-MRI following gadolinium administration.

Results: Technically acceptable DE-MRIs were obtained in 36 patients with SSc.

Determinants of pulmonary arterial hypertension in scleroderma.

Objective: To define risk factors associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in a large cohort of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Methods: SSc patients undergoing screening for PAH by means of Doppler echocardiography were identified and their charts were retrospectively reviewed. In all patients, we recorded systolic pulmonary artery pressure along with pulmonary function testing, clinical, and laboratory data.